WallaWalla

Whitman Cellars

August 2, 2010 by admin

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Our next stop at the WBC’10 was to head to lunch at Whitman Cellars in Walla Walla. We listened to Gordy Vennari of Walla Walla Vintners and Stephen Lessard of Whitman Cellars.

Whitman Cellars
1015 West Pine Street
Walla Walla, WA 99362-1756
(509) 529-1142

Walla Walla Vintners
225 Vineyard Ln
Walla Walla, WA 99362-8404
(509) 525-4724

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Beresan Winery – The End for Now

July 30, 2010 by GMN

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Sadly, we have come to the end of our adventures at the Beresan Winery….

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Beresan Winery, Tom Waliser’s Perspective

July 28, 2010 by admin

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

I am making more progress on getting through all the video that I shot out west at the WBC’10. Here is my latest video from Beresan Winery.

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Balboa Winery, Walla Walla, Washington

July 26, 2010 by GMN

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Thanks to everyone for bearing with me as the day job continues to overwhelm me….

I am still working on producing my videos that I took at the Wine Bloggers’ Conference.

This video is of Thomas Glase of Balboa Winery as we tasted his spectacular wine, Mith. Cheers!

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WBC’10 – Beresan Winery

July 20, 2010 by GMN

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Has it really been a week since I posted last? I have finally crawled out from beneath the giant pile of work that fell on me after I returned from Walla Walla in order to put together this video. The order of these videos might be coming to you out of order because I am just like that. The important part is that you can see what it is like visiting the vineyards!

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WBC’10 Meet The Sponsors

July 7, 2010 by GMN

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Now that I have returned from my cross-country trek and my holiday weekend trek I am beginning to run through my photos and video. Where to start… at the beginning I guess.

For those of you who want to know what a wine blogging conference is like, here is a sneak peak!

If you guessed that we would be chatting and tasting the wines of the sponsors, then you were right! If you guessed drunken debauchery… well, sorry to disappoint you. Maybe next year!

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Washington Wine Revisited

May 17, 2010 by admin

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

You must have thought that I forgot all about the series I was writing about Washington State wine AVAs. But you would be wrong. Like an elephant, I never forget. Busy, distracted, confused, possibly, but forgetful? Not so much.

We have looked at nine of the eleven appellations in the state and with time ticking down until I leave for my trip to the 2010 Wine Blogger’s Conference, I thought it would behoove me to get cracking on the last couple. Today, I am going to look at the biggest of the AVAs. The Columbia Valley.

The Columbia Valley is like the big daddy of Washington wine regions, though less a Titan like Cronus who swallowed his children whole and had to be cut open to set them free, but more like Zeus from whose forehead Athena sprang fully formed, in that it is home to six of the smaller, sub-AVAs. Specifically, those AVAs include Horse Heaven Hills, Lake Chelan, Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, Snipes Mountain, Wahluke Slope, WallaWalla and Yakima Valley (additionally two new AVAs named Ancient Lakes and Mid Columbia River have been applied for… we will let you know when we hear about it in the future).

The region is huge at 11 million acres of which 17,000 are under cultivation and includes 99% of all the wine grapes grown in the State of Washington. The soils are generally volcanic and loamy which allows for excellent drainage but also nutrient depleted which makes the vine work harder to produce fruit. The valley is located in the rainshadow of the Cascade Mountains (think Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens) which means that the area is dry and drip irrigation is used in vineyards Oh, yes. These grapes suffer to produce their beautiful fruit! Additionally, due to its more northern location, the Columbia Valley receives two more hours of daylight then more southern wine producing regions (i.e. California).

I am looking forward to my Washington adventure and have started to compile of list of things to do with if I arrive early (something about a leadened foot of mine that causes that to happen). For instance:

I would like to see hops growing. 75% of the hops grown in the U.S. are grown near Yakima and apparently there is a Hops Museum in Toppenish.
I have been to Mt. Rainier but I would LOVE to see Mt. St. Helens. (I know WAY too many geologists to not get a little nerdy when it comes to rocks)
I would love to see the petroglyphs at Buffalo Eddy
or the first Catholic church in Washington
or the Ahtanum Mission
and I am certain that there will be a ton of Lewis and Clark stuff.

If you know about something that a nerdy girl like me would like please let me know. I am planning to take much more audio visual stuff this year, so I am hoping to have some really cool things to show. You can contact me here.

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More Washington Places

January 25, 2010 by admin

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

I hate this time of year. I can’t hit the road and explore the way I would like to as there are too many things going on here. (Birthdays, Superbowls, etc.) So, instead? I make plans and dream of hitting the road.

And with a trip to Washington State coming up at the end of the June that gives me some time to think about where I will be going. Washington is full of viticultural areas that are mostly part of the larger Columbia Valley AVA. I am working on exploring the smaller viticultural areas first.. and began with Walla Walla since that is where I will be visiting.

This time, I am exploring the Yakima Valley. Years ago, Kevin and I drove around parts of Washington State and got pretty close to Yakima. It was an amazing place. Highly irrigated, the area is a fruit belt. Orchards of apples, peaches and even a town called Apricot (which we passed). The rest of the area not being irrigated looks like a moonscape. It is dry and desolate and I was amazed by the difference between the lush valleys and bleak hills.

That being said, the area is home to nearly 50 wineries and has cultivated wine grapes since 1869. The main varietals planted are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Lemberger, Sangiovese, Malbec, Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillion, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris and Viognier.

Hopefully, I will be able see some of these wineries on my trip west. Oh, and like my map of of the Central Delaware Valley AVA, I find a recognizable shape in this map. Instead of a dragon, today, I see a whale. In fact, given that I grew up on the East Coast, I see Fudgie The Whale, the beloved ice cream cake shape from Carvel. I won’t test this theory by inverting the shape to see if I can identify the equally beloved Cookie Puss. But you East Coasters will understand my drift….

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Walla Walla? Here I Come!

January 6, 2010 by GMN

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

This year’s Wine Blogger’s Conference will be held in Walla Walla, Washington at the end of June. So, naturally, I am preparing for the trip.

The Walla Walla AVA is a subsection of the Columbia Valley AVA and is located in both Oregon and Washington. The AVA was first established in 1984 and later amended in 2001.