On Sunday August 18^th, Gabby and I decided it was time to give some love to Walla Walla.  So on this beautiful day we headed Southeast to the land of fabulous wine!  Without any real plan we decided to make things up as we went.  It’s August in Walla Walla Wine Country!  Our first stop was Mark Ryan in the downtown district.  They were tasting a Merlot dominant Bordeaux style blend, a 100% Syrah, a 100% Mourvèdre, and a Cabernet Sauvignon dominant Bordeaux style blend.

Our next stop was Otis Kenyon where Sarah treated us like royalty!  They were offering a wide array of wines and Sarah topped off our tasting with a 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon that was very nice!  We ended up buying a bottle of the 2009 Cab.  I could immediately see that it should cellar another year or two and still keep evolving nicely in the bottle!

Stop number 3 was Kontos Cellars.  We like their wines, but we were told that we might get a chance to meet Steve Wells.  Steve is currently making his own wines at a new winery called “Time & Direction”.  We did indeed have a chance to meet and talk with Steve who is a very knowledgeable wine expert with experience as a sommelier as well!  I can’t wait to taste his wine.  At Kontos we ended up buying a bottle of the 2016 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – a very nice wine for a very reasonable price.

As we headed out to the Southside of Walla Walla I remember Sarah at Otis Kenyon telling us that my old wine friend Boone Allen (formerly of Tamarack Cellars) was now managing the Forgeron tasting room.  So…it was an easy decision to check in on Boone’s new digs.  For all you Boone groupies…he’s doing quite well and the tasting he offered was really enjoyable.  We left with a bottle of the 2016 Boushey Vineyard Syrah.  Great seeing you again Boone!

Our final destination was Canvasback.  My wife had not yet experienced their fantastic offerings of Cabernet Sauvignon, so this was her chance.  She loved the views and we both really enjoyed the 5-taste flight!  Brian Rudin does an outstanding job in crafting big beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon’s.  We purchased a bottle of the 2016 Grand Passage to add to our ever growing collection of this really delicious wine!  It was a great August day in Walla Walla Wine Country, and we highly recommend these tasting rooms to those who enjoy great wines!  Cheers!!!