Post Pandemic Walla Walla Wine Tour
My vacation weekend to Walla Walla started Thursday May 6th and ended Sunday May 9th. My wife and I were treated to a complimentary vehicle provided by BMW Northwest. My father-in-law took a 2020 X5 4.0i and I took a 2019 X7 4.0i. Both with inline 6 turbo charged engines. Thanks to Manfred Scharmach (see https://scharmachauto.com/about/) for the horsepower. The trip over to Walla Walla was a fun opportunity to explore “assisted driving” abilities that BMW has been working on. My 2018 528e doesn’t have that option. Assisted Driving worked well despite some chunky cornering and a familiarization period. Some surprising moments occurred when the assistance gave up suddenly. Not a big deal, something to be aware of though. After that exploration it was time to drive like our ancestors did (ie. without AI). Acceleration was impressive but not overwhelming. Braking seemed okay; not spectacular. Handling in general was better then our family car; a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse, which can be a little jarring on spotty roads.
I was joined by my wife, father-in-law and mother-in-law. We all arrived at Hedges Family Estate in the Red Mountain AVA. We were greeted by Manfred and Lori Scharmach. Moments later we met the Hedges daughter Sarah and her assistant wine maker Wayne Didier. Finally, we were joined by David Madeira of https://www.americasautomotivetrust.org/
Our family ate a spectacular lunch with Wayne, Sarah, Manfred, Lori and David; prepared and served by Heather and Ryan Brown; the on-staff chefs. The star dish for me was the fruit tart which paired well with Hedges’ wines.
Wayne convinced me to up my coffee game. So I purchased his recommendation (Bonavita Coffee Maker). Wayne also introduced me to a new kind of Chocolate which I later purchased there on premises. It was a “Dark Milk” from a Bend, Oregon company by the name of Seahorse. This was my first tasting of such a chocolate. Very tasty, very pricey, very hard to find.
We then moved onto Col Solare Winery; where tour guide Eddie gave us an information packed tour and we tasted several of their wines. A terrible wind forced us down into their lower cellar and production facilities.
Since I’m not a wine drinker I bought a Grappa (you can see my wife rejecting it there).
We settled into the Marriott and found a place to eat at “Passatempo Taverna”. The misses had Ravioli and I the meatballs with a side of Brussel sprouts and and fresh mozzarella.
The next morning (May 7th) we made the mistake of eating the Hotel’s breakfast sandwich. It wasn’t until later we would realize what a missed opportunity that was. The town of Walla Walla has several amazing food options. Later we toured the Whitman College, complete with a dorm room sign demanding an end to claimed “colonialist practices” of Whitman College as embodied by the campus statue.
A short walk later, we arrived at the Historic Marcus Whitman Hotel, where we viewed artistic renditions of the “Whitman Massacre“.
The other massacre witnessed that day was the pistachio croissant from the Walla Walla Bread Company.
Wow, did that go down fast. Hands down the best pastry I’ve ever eaten in my life. That little treat convinced me that genuine pastries are worth caring about.
Our first Winery on Friday was Woodward Canyon. There we met owners Rick & Darcey Small. David joined us and we enjoyed six different varieties of wines and charcuteries. Turns out Rick is a car guy as well (427 Corvette and more). Rick can talk your ear right off with an energy scarcely scene.
We moved onto Dunham Cellars; near the local airport, joined again by Lori, Manfred and David. This time no personal touches with wine makers or any tours. The second charcuteries tray went down quickly.
Later Friday we met for dinner at Walla Walla Steak Company. We were joined by David, Lori and Manfred. My wife and I ordered fillet’s and they were awesome!
Saturday morning (May 8th) we had more pastries at Walla Walla Bread Company.
Next, the group took a shopping walk along Main St. Multiple stores we visited featured friendly and independent dogs, left to their own devices in the store and sidewalks.
Later we arrived at Va Piano Vineyards where we met owner Justin Wylie.
Seated in his newly constructed gazebo swing we enjoyed more wine and talked to Justin about his family history in Walla Walla, real-estate, business and his future pizza making on-sight.
Then back to Main St. for some shopping. Before that could happen we needed to eat at https://www.andraeskitchen.com/. I’d recommend the “Voodoo Fries”.
We finished the evening off at our organizer (Suzanne Hight)’s home. Suzanne Hight & Rich Cardwell were wonderful hosts. Fun fact, Rich is an architect and has worked on some well known projects (Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington and the Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Pike Place Market). Suzanne and Rich introduced us to their friends from the Newport CA area; including musician Eric Auckerman. He sang and strummed the favorites, “I walk the line”, “Ring of Fire”, “King Of The Road”, “You are my sunshine”.
The night ended with thanks and hugs! Sunday we left for home; wondering how Walla Walla grew to be so enjoyable without us knowing?
Thanks for reading. That’s it!
