Walla Walla Wine Tasting - Day 1

Some friends and I planned a nice weekend in Walla Walla for some wine tasting. Dave, Woody, Trish, Lisa and myself all took off early on a Friday and headed east. After making the 4 hour trek up the Columbia River, we secured a couple tent sites at Blue Valley RV Park, on the north side of town (camping in the city, yo). Thus began the fun!

Our first order of the day (Friday night, really) was to go for a tour through downtown and get the lay of the land. Right off the bat, we keyed in on Red Monkey, if only for the funny name. Dinnertime! Great burgers and drinks, but as it turns out, this is a restaurant...and nightclub! Hmm. We finished up right at the transition between the two, and once the lame hiphop beats started hitting, we knew it was time to move on.

Our next stop was Mill Creek Brewpub for $3.33 margaritas! Yes, they were sickly-sweet with cheap mix and cheaper tequila, but...$3.33! Couldn't pass that up! As a bonus, friend Des finally showed up, having left PDX much later than the rest of us, and made the trip out alone.

The last stop of the night was the Sapolil Cellars Tasting Room for some live music and a glass of their excellent Patina Vineyard Syrah, and "Gandy Dancer", a blend of Syrah, Sangiovese and Malbec. Great little place, with a fun, diverse crowd. Located next door to the Cayuse Vineyards tasting room (which is almost never open).

The town pretty-much rolls up the sidewalks, along with everything else, around midnight, so we headed back to the campground to rack out and make an early start on our wine tasting excursion. My Day 2 and Day 3 posts cover the majority of our wine tastings. Read on!