Tourist First: Washington State: Walla Walla Wine Wine

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Washington State: Walla Walla Wine Wine

Four different wineries have tasting rooms next to each other
on Walla Walla's Main Street: Truth Teller, Canoe Ridge,
Gard and Plumb Cellars. There are about 30 other
tasting rooms within walking (stumbling?) distance. Many
others are short drives away in the hills surrounding the town.

Walla Walla may be known best to some people for its unusual name, but these days that odd name conveys a certain status in the wine world. Walla Walla's many wines are winning well-deserved recognition among the West Coast's small wineries. They stand up well to competition from Napa, Sonoma and other wine-producing areas. You'll find Bordeaux-style reds, pinot noirs and many other varietals.

We arrived here on Monday, August 22, 2022, after a four-hour drive from Seattle. The temperature was approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I had thought that the further north you go, the cooler the weather, but almost every place we visited was considerably warmer than San Diego, where we live. We spent three nights here at The Finch, a motel on Main Street.

The tasting rooms that we visited included four where we bought. Truth Teller and L'Ecole in town, and Figgins and Woodward Canyon each just a few minutes from town. At Truth Teller we came away with The Cynic, a syrah, and The Confidante, a cabernet sauvignon. We went to L'Ecole's tasting room at the Marcus Whitman Hotel (the brand is actually based elsewhere in an old schoolhouse next door to Woodward Canyon) and we bought Perigee, a red blend. Figgins' tasting room is in an unpromising industrial neighborhood, but the hostess said they'd soon be buiilding a new tasting room in the middle of vineyards. Here we bought the Figgins riesling and two bottles of their Toil label from Oregon, a pinot noit and a pinot noir rose. And at Woodward Canyon, we left with a merlot and a barbera.

Walla Walla, however welcoming the tasting rooms and excellent the wines, didn't offer much more. It doesn't have the shopping or the restaurants of most California wine towns, though our friends in Portland, who are very familiar with Walla Walla, defended it on the food front. Our three dinners there were at a Greek place, an Indian place and a pizza place. None remarkable. Our friends said we misssed a very good French place. Actually, we tried to get in there but couldn't get a reservation or a walk-in table.

On the plus side, Walla Walla is at the eastern end of a glorious drive along the Columbia River. Portland is the western end.

Here are some snapshots:

It' not all wine in Wala Walla. This distiller makes
whiskey from local grapes.

The century-old Liberty Theatre is a landmark
on Walla Walla's Main Street.

A carte des vins at the Mark Ryan tasting room. Below, more signs that this is a wine town.

The lobby at The Finch opens onto a patio with an
outdoor fireplace. Coffee and mini-muffins
are on offer in the mornings.

Part of a street just off Main Street has become a public plaza, which
saw little use in the mid-day heat when we were there. Nearby are several
food vendors for take-out.

The Columbia River as seen en route from Walla Walla to Portland. On August 26,
the day after making this drive, I tested positive for covid, ending our plans for
wine tastings in Oregon with our friends, forcing us to stay in a Portland hotel
room for an extra day and generally spoiling much of our trip.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.