Walla Walla, Whitman, Wine
My classmate Elizabeth (Whitman '05) and I went to Walla Walla this past weekend for Spring Release Weekend. I had never gone on a wine tasting trip before. We had a lot of fun, spending time with her friends, catching up with professors (namely the Mastellers), enjoying the lovely weather, and seeing how much the campus and the town have changed. I hadn't been back in three years. It's a very, very different town from the one I left, and the campus's contours have changed as well, most notably in the new fitness center (for which they had to tear down the house where McMurrer and Zander lived, although I saw Chester the cat wandering around outside Clarette's where we had breakfast on Sunday) and the fact that the one or two new sculptures I saw were actually unobjectionable. (I hate much of the sculpture at Whitman.) Apparently the driftwood horse had a bee infestation in its rear end for a while. I would have liked to have seen that.
I went by K-Dub and picked up some CDs from the free box, and wished I was around all week because I could have grabbed a spot in the finals week free-for-all slot signup to be on the air. We left campus thereafter. I was sad to have to leave so soon. Elizabeth and I have vowed to come back next year for a long weekend during the balloon festival. I loved college so much, even though I was pretty sick of it by the end of it, and even though it's definitely behind me now. It was strange to feel that I didn't belong there anymore; I was one of "those starry-eyed alums" wandering around waxing nostalgic. As I walked around I remembered how much simpler my life was in college. I knew then that life would get more complicated in the coming years, but wow, life was so easy. On the other hand, adulthood has had its rewards as well, and it might very well drive me nuts if I got sent back to do more time at Whitman like in some Drew Barrymore or Adam Sandler comedy.
So, I know nothing about wine. Whatever I know I learned from watching Sideways, and I did not want to have a trip like that. I felt like an obvious impostor there among all the well-dressed 40-something yuppies, a young destitute grad student in my cutoffs and my old KWCW T-shirt. And you know - some places treat you differently. You'll get a much shorter pour and a much different demeanor from the staff if you don't look like you're going to spend money. I limited myself to one bottle, but guess what? If I really liked your wine, but you were snooty to me, you lost any chance you had that I'd buy one measly bottle from you. Go back to sucking up to the case-buyers, I won't trouble you any further. This is why it helped that some places at least used spigots on their bottles that dispense the same pour every time - then everyone got the same amount, though attitude still mattered. Wine tastes better when the person is nice to you, it really does.
1. I visited five wineries on Saturday and one on Sunday as we were leaving town. On Saturday I started off at Forgeron. They had this fantastic Roussanne - a type of white I'd never had before - which I kind of wish I'd picked up now, because it was under $20 and it really was wonderful, kind of spicy, neither too fruity (I deplore most whites but especially fruity whites) nor too dry. They had a good food selection, as well, especially a delicious gazpacho. Several of the pourers were French - a number of Europeans in the wine business have relocated to Walla Walla, some more recently than others.
2. After Forgeron, we went to Mannina, where everyone but me bought a bottle. Not that it wasn't good, it was just a little pricey for me. I forget what it was I liked there, probably the '04 Merlot, I'll go look it up in my notes later. Excellent cheese selection, and the vintner's wife had made chocolate chip cookies that we all loved. Really nice people pouring, too, although when I asked to try the wine from Sweet Valley Wines, which shares a cellar with Mannina and had some wines out next to the Mannina wines, but who didn't have their own pourer on duty at the time, the Mannina lady got all weird and was like "well, they're our very good friends," but she refused to pour their wine for me and poured me another Mannina wine instead. And yet later on she poured some Sweet Valley for someone else. Very odd.
2a. Sweet Valley is the 500th winery in Washington State. It was also founded by the owners of the pawn shop next door. I feel this proves the suspicion I had about Walla Walla wines, that in addition to European names coming to WW who've been in the business for, cumulatively, centuries, a lot of local people just jumped on the bandwagon to make some cash. Not that this is a bad thing - the fils of the Sweet Valley family is in the Walla Walla Community College viticulture program, which has allegedly been turning out some fantastic results - they have their own little winery and here was one of their students doing his own label.
3. After Mannina, we went to Walla Walla Village Winery. I went back there the next day to buy a bottle of 2004 Cab Franc, as it stood out among the crowd of pretty flat reds I tasted during the weekend (for example, I'd never had a Sangiovese before, tasted them at a few places, and didn't like any of them), the price was right (under $25), and also because the people there were very cool. I had a long chat with the guy pouring about music, as the tasting room is decorated with music memorabilia from Hot Poop: mostly Grateful Dead stuff, tickets and artwork, and also John Lennon, the Doors, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and of course Frank Zappa. There was a lot of artwork by Stanley Mouse. When I went back on Sunday, the staff remembered me. See? Customer service: it sells, bitches. More great cheeses here, by WSU actually - who knew WSU students were good for something after all? ;)
4. Next we visited Patit Creek and its neighbor, Morrison Lane, around the corner from the fancy 26 Brix restaurant that opened a couple years ago, which sadly I didn't get to visit (though I did go to the patisserie that spun off of it, mmmm). Patit Creek was too expensive for me; I can't remember what I liked there. They're carried at QFC, though, so if I remember what I liked and QFC has it, then maybe when I have a bit of money I'll pick something up.
Patit Creek had artwork - photographs and quilts - by local artists on the walls, with corny titles. There's this rural, middle-aged corny streak in town, like you find among Midwesterners, that pops up through the veneer of Fancy Wine Valley, manifesting in things like the titles of those photos and the fact that, while there are (according to the Mastellers) an insupportable number of gourmet cheese and imported pasta-type stores in town now, they still give themselves names like "Cheese Louise." I find it delightful, actually: the pawn shop winemakers and Cheese Louise rubbing elbows with Frenchmen and yuppies from Mercer Island and Lake Oswego.
5. I was wined out by the time we went to Morrison Lane, which is right next door to Patit Creek, although we first took a long detour to stumble around in a drunken giggling gaggle of young women looking for a winery next to the Whitehouse Crawford that turned out to have closed for the day (it was already after 5 by then). I had one forgettable taste and then I sat down, listened to Chet Baker playing on the stereo, and waited for it to be time to go to the patisserie to meet the Mastellers, our old English professors, which was a great time. For dinner, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we went to a Mexican place a little ways away from downtown (up Isaacs by where the TCBY was) that had opened in my absence. It was mercifully full of families rather than wine snobs, who were already starting to invade when I was a student and who were annoying to have to listen to while one was trying to enjoy one's dinner, complaining about the air conditioning and the service and blah blah blah. We had an early night. Drinking wine all day is tiring.
6. We ran into the Mastellers again on Sunday as they were arriving at and we were leaving L'Ecole No. 41. L'Ecole is one of the established Walla Walla wineries - it was founded in 1983, only seven years after the Judgment of Paris brought California wines international recognition. L'Ecole was the only place I visited that weekend that did a cheese pairing, which I found surprising; also, they had a tasty salmon mousse. (Note I remember the food I liked much better than the wines, for which I have few if any adjectives. Heh.) The wines at L'Ecole were, if not drink-for-their-own-sake, still good dinner wines. They are widely available here: many are available at QFC on Broadway, which also carries Patit Creek and allegedly Walla Walla Village, though I couldn't find any when I looked yesterday. L'Ecole's '04 Ferguson special blend was the standout of their wines that I tried. The tasting room was getting crowded and had a long line building up by the time I'd had a couple tastes, plus I had to drive for five hours right afterward, so I only had a few of the many wines they had available.
I forgot how much I love Eastern Washington. It's really beautiful out there. The Yakima Valley is a great view as you drive through, the cliffs of the Columbia River are gorge(ou)s, Walla Walla really is a charming town (for all its problems), and this is just the perfect time of year to be out there, before it gets too hot. Elizabeth and I are definitely going back next year. Reserve your spot in our car now!
I went by K-Dub and picked up some CDs from the free box, and wished I was around all week because I could have grabbed a spot in the finals week free-for-all slot signup to be on the air. We left campus thereafter. I was sad to have to leave so soon. Elizabeth and I have vowed to come back next year for a long weekend during the balloon festival. I loved college so much, even though I was pretty sick of it by the end of it, and even though it's definitely behind me now. It was strange to feel that I didn't belong there anymore; I was one of "those starry-eyed alums" wandering around waxing nostalgic. As I walked around I remembered how much simpler my life was in college. I knew then that life would get more complicated in the coming years, but wow, life was so easy. On the other hand, adulthood has had its rewards as well, and it might very well drive me nuts if I got sent back to do more time at Whitman like in some Drew Barrymore or Adam Sandler comedy.
So, I know nothing about wine. Whatever I know I learned from watching Sideways, and I did not want to have a trip like that. I felt like an obvious impostor there among all the well-dressed 40-something yuppies, a young destitute grad student in my cutoffs and my old KWCW T-shirt. And you know - some places treat you differently. You'll get a much shorter pour and a much different demeanor from the staff if you don't look like you're going to spend money. I limited myself to one bottle, but guess what? If I really liked your wine, but you were snooty to me, you lost any chance you had that I'd buy one measly bottle from you. Go back to sucking up to the case-buyers, I won't trouble you any further. This is why it helped that some places at least used spigots on their bottles that dispense the same pour every time - then everyone got the same amount, though attitude still mattered. Wine tastes better when the person is nice to you, it really does.
1. I visited five wineries on Saturday and one on Sunday as we were leaving town. On Saturday I started off at Forgeron. They had this fantastic Roussanne - a type of white I'd never had before - which I kind of wish I'd picked up now, because it was under $20 and it really was wonderful, kind of spicy, neither too fruity (I deplore most whites but especially fruity whites) nor too dry. They had a good food selection, as well, especially a delicious gazpacho. Several of the pourers were French - a number of Europeans in the wine business have relocated to Walla Walla, some more recently than others.
2. After Forgeron, we went to Mannina, where everyone but me bought a bottle. Not that it wasn't good, it was just a little pricey for me. I forget what it was I liked there, probably the '04 Merlot, I'll go look it up in my notes later. Excellent cheese selection, and the vintner's wife had made chocolate chip cookies that we all loved. Really nice people pouring, too, although when I asked to try the wine from Sweet Valley Wines, which shares a cellar with Mannina and had some wines out next to the Mannina wines, but who didn't have their own pourer on duty at the time, the Mannina lady got all weird and was like "well, they're our very good friends," but she refused to pour their wine for me and poured me another Mannina wine instead. And yet later on she poured some Sweet Valley for someone else. Very odd.
2a. Sweet Valley is the 500th winery in Washington State. It was also founded by the owners of the pawn shop next door. I feel this proves the suspicion I had about Walla Walla wines, that in addition to European names coming to WW who've been in the business for, cumulatively, centuries, a lot of local people just jumped on the bandwagon to make some cash. Not that this is a bad thing - the fils of the Sweet Valley family is in the Walla Walla Community College viticulture program, which has allegedly been turning out some fantastic results - they have their own little winery and here was one of their students doing his own label.
3. After Mannina, we went to Walla Walla Village Winery. I went back there the next day to buy a bottle of 2004 Cab Franc, as it stood out among the crowd of pretty flat reds I tasted during the weekend (for example, I'd never had a Sangiovese before, tasted them at a few places, and didn't like any of them), the price was right (under $25), and also because the people there were very cool. I had a long chat with the guy pouring about music, as the tasting room is decorated with music memorabilia from Hot Poop: mostly Grateful Dead stuff, tickets and artwork, and also John Lennon, the Doors, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and of course Frank Zappa. There was a lot of artwork by Stanley Mouse. When I went back on Sunday, the staff remembered me. See? Customer service: it sells, bitches. More great cheeses here, by WSU actually - who knew WSU students were good for something after all? ;)
4. Next we visited Patit Creek and its neighbor, Morrison Lane, around the corner from the fancy 26 Brix restaurant that opened a couple years ago, which sadly I didn't get to visit (though I did go to the patisserie that spun off of it, mmmm). Patit Creek was too expensive for me; I can't remember what I liked there. They're carried at QFC, though, so if I remember what I liked and QFC has it, then maybe when I have a bit of money I'll pick something up.
Patit Creek had artwork - photographs and quilts - by local artists on the walls, with corny titles. There's this rural, middle-aged corny streak in town, like you find among Midwesterners, that pops up through the veneer of Fancy Wine Valley, manifesting in things like the titles of those photos and the fact that, while there are (according to the Mastellers) an insupportable number of gourmet cheese and imported pasta-type stores in town now, they still give themselves names like "Cheese Louise." I find it delightful, actually: the pawn shop winemakers and Cheese Louise rubbing elbows with Frenchmen and yuppies from Mercer Island and Lake Oswego.
5. I was wined out by the time we went to Morrison Lane, which is right next door to Patit Creek, although we first took a long detour to stumble around in a drunken giggling gaggle of young women looking for a winery next to the Whitehouse Crawford that turned out to have closed for the day (it was already after 5 by then). I had one forgettable taste and then I sat down, listened to Chet Baker playing on the stereo, and waited for it to be time to go to the patisserie to meet the Mastellers, our old English professors, which was a great time. For dinner, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we went to a Mexican place a little ways away from downtown (up Isaacs by where the TCBY was) that had opened in my absence. It was mercifully full of families rather than wine snobs, who were already starting to invade when I was a student and who were annoying to have to listen to while one was trying to enjoy one's dinner, complaining about the air conditioning and the service and blah blah blah. We had an early night. Drinking wine all day is tiring.
6. We ran into the Mastellers again on Sunday as they were arriving at and we were leaving L'Ecole No. 41. L'Ecole is one of the established Walla Walla wineries - it was founded in 1983, only seven years after the Judgment of Paris brought California wines international recognition. L'Ecole was the only place I visited that weekend that did a cheese pairing, which I found surprising; also, they had a tasty salmon mousse. (Note I remember the food I liked much better than the wines, for which I have few if any adjectives. Heh.) The wines at L'Ecole were, if not drink-for-their-own-sake, still good dinner wines. They are widely available here: many are available at QFC on Broadway, which also carries Patit Creek and allegedly Walla Walla Village, though I couldn't find any when I looked yesterday. L'Ecole's '04 Ferguson special blend was the standout of their wines that I tried. The tasting room was getting crowded and had a long line building up by the time I'd had a couple tastes, plus I had to drive for five hours right afterward, so I only had a few of the many wines they had available.
I forgot how much I love Eastern Washington. It's really beautiful out there. The Yakima Valley is a great view as you drive through, the cliffs of the Columbia River are gorge(ou)s, Walla Walla really is a charming town (for all its problems), and this is just the perfect time of year to be out there, before it gets too hot. Elizabeth and I are definitely going back next year. Reserve your spot in our car now!