Walla Walla has become a wine destination

I almost burst out laughing while I was tasting through the line of wines at Dunham Cellars, when I spied a familiar looking couple coming up the walk. As they pushed inside, I cried, "Quit stalking me!" Laughter all around.

I had spent the previous day tasting south of Walla Walla, and kept running into this same couple. And now they were following me (or I them) again.

Not too surprising. Walla Walla has become a wine destination. It's only about 5 hours from Salem.

I started my Saturday with a trip to the farmer's market in downtown Walla Walla, bought a couple goat cheese crottins, then headed out to the airport.

Back in the mid-1990s, Eric Dunham, who had been making wine under his own label while assistant wine maker at L'Ecole 41, was the first to take advantage of the low rent offered at the airport, which was also an army barracks. Low rent, huge facilities, easy access, what's not to like.

Today there at least fifteen wineries at the airport. My first stop was actually at SYZYGY (an astronomical term for the alignment of three celestial bodies), to taste through five red wines. Merlot, cabernet, and syrah. Nice alignment of wines.

I then headed up to Dunham Cellars. Here at least I could freshen my tongue on a very nice (under-oaked) chardonnay, before slogging through the line-up of reds (merlot, cabernet, syrah), finishing with a couple of nice rieslings.

I then went to one of my favorites, Tamarack, where I ran into the offensive line of the Seattle Seahawks. Or so it seemed. I don't know why groups of eight think it's their job to protect the tasting room clerk from wine writers. Limited awareness? I should write a book on tasting room etiquette.

Anyway, after faking right, and running up the middle, I got a splash of chardonnay. Otherwise it was back to merlot, cab, syrah — and, sangiovese. All quite good, but out of stubbornness, I bought the sangiovese. (At almost all the wineries, a $5 tasting fee is refundable with any purchase of wine.)

Then onto an even more formidable crowd of Seattleites at Five Star Cellars. The tasting room clerk was overwhelmed. But I ran an end route to get my merlot, cab, syrah, purchasing the syrah. Then I crossed the street, walked into Eleganté, saw my young couple from Seattle, and announced, "OK, now it's official, I'm stalking you."

This new winery has only three wines, a gewurztraminer, merlot (duh), and a strawberry wine. And then on to Buty (pronounced 'beauty'), where two white wines were accompanied by two reds, the last of which I couldn't even taste for the build-up of tannin on my palate.

And that was it. I wanted to visit Patit Creek Cellars, as I heard they had a riesling. But I knew I'd have to slog through the merlot and cab as well.

One great thing about the emergence of Walla Walla as a super wine destination is that fine dining has followed. That night I had a wonderful meal at Whitehouse-Crawford restaurant.