Wanderlust Traveler

Vineyards in Walla Walla.

Grapes have been growing in Walla Walla since the 1880's when Italian immigrants planted wine grapes and began making homemade wines. The first winery (Blue Mountain Vineyard) was bonded in Walla Walla in the 1950's and operated for a few years before closing. In the late 1970's and early 1980's several more wineries were bonded, but the real growth began from the mid to late 1990's and by 2001 there were 30 wineries in the area. Over ten years later there are now over 100 wineries operating in the Walla Walla Valley wine region.

The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance offers visitors a very helpful brochure which has a listing of the most major wineries divided into five geographical areas; Westside, Downtown, Eastside, Southside, and Oregon. This brochure ended up becoming our most handy resource during our trip as it enabled us to tackle wineries in the same area instead of wasting time driving from one side of Walla Walla to the other.

The majority of tastings in Walla Walla cost around $5, with the fee being refundable with the purchase of wine. A few of the smaller wineries had complimentary tastings while just a few had a $10 refundable fee.

Over the course of the five days we spent in Walla Walla we ended up visiting a total of 18 wineries, which are detailed below. Warning; this post is extremely photo heavy.

Southside/Oregon Wineries:
This was probably my favorite area of wineries in Walla Walla due to the rolling hills, rows of vineyards, and the beautiful Blue Mountains which provided a very scenic backdrop to an already beautiful setting.

Basel Cellars
This former mansion-turned-winery is probably hands down one of the most beautiful in all of Walla Walla. It sits atop a hill and provides an amazing overlook of the surrounding valley. We shared a tasting here but I was so preoccupied with taking photos of the gorgeous property that I didn't pay too much attention to the wines themselves. Directly outside of the main building are a dozen or so tables that visitors can use to enjoy their glass of wine along with lunch (which you'll have to grab along the way). The venue is used often for events, including weddings. In fact, the 13,000 square foot eight bedroom Basel Cellars Estate House can be rented on weekday nights for $1200 or on the weekends for $2400. Our visit happened to occur during a weekend in which the house wasn't rented out, which is unusual for the time of year. Since the house was empty a member of the staff was offering to give visitors a guided tour of the house which we obviously jumped at. The interior of the mansion was absolutely incredible. Aside from the eight bedrooms the house also included four and a half bathrooms, an in-home movie theater, a club, and a pool house. While the wine and tasting room at Basel Cellars may not blow your socks off, its incredible mansion and amazing views certainly will!

Entrance to Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars Estate House at Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

View from Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Tasting room at Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Shyawn enjoying his wine at Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars Estate House at Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars Estate House at Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

An aerial photo of Basel Cellars in Walla Walla that I found inside the tasting room.

Shyawn at Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Basel Cellars Estate House at Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

The view from Basel Cellars in Walla Walla.

Amavi Cellars
Like Basel Cellars, Amavi Cellars also has an amazing view of vineyards, other wineries, and the famous Blue Mountains from its location perched on a hillside. The tasting room was very modern and spacious with one of its walls being lined with windows to take advantage of the beautiful views. All of the wines here were quite good but we especially enjoyed their Semillon.

Amavi Cellars in Walla Walla.

Enjoying my wine at Amavi Cellars in Walla Walla.

Amavi Cellars in Walla Walla.

View from Amavi Cellars in Walla Walla.

Amavi Cellars in Walla Walla.

Northstar Winery
We hadn't planned on stopping in at this specific winery as they served only red wines (Shyawn likes both while I prefer just whites). However, while driving to another winery in the area (Tertulia) we passed this lovely place and heard live music playing. After doing a little more research I found out that they were quite well know for their Merlot so we decided to stop in. I am very thankful that we made this choice as the hour we spent here turned out to be one of our most enjoyable moments of the trip. The sun was out in full force, the temperature was perfect (mid 70's), and we were able to enjoy beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and Blue Mountains as we listened to a live band play some wonderful music. As with Basel Cellars, Northstar is also a great winery to visit if you'd like to have a picnic. In fact, Northstar offered several types of food trays to purchase which many people took advantage of during our visit. Evidently the winery only offers live music on specific weekends but I can guarantee you that if they did this more often they would likely bring in even more visitors!

Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

View from Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

Band playing at Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

The tasting room at Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

The tasting room at Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

Tertulia Cellars
Tertulia is a Spanish word which means a social gathering of friends. This lovely winery offers a small but beautiful tasting room with their round circle emblem being used creatively throughout their design scheme in a variety of ways. The wine server we spoke with was extremely friendly and the wines were reasonably priced. The winery offers a picnic table outside that visitors can use to enjoy their wines or to have a nice picnic lunch on.

Tertulia Cellars in Walla Walla.

The tasting room at Tertulia Cellars in Walla Walla.

Tertulia Cellars in Walla Walla.

Watermill Winery/Blue Mountain Cider Company
This winery is actually located in Oregon, just south of Walla Walla in the town of Milton-Freewater. The winery is well-known for their Gewurztraminer, which I absolutely loved and ended up buying a bottle of. The family who owns Watermill Winery also manages another company called Blue Mountain Cider Company which offers tastings of a variety of hard ciders including peach and cherry, both of which we enjoyed very much.