Visiting Washington wineries in the Columbia River Valley (not Woodinville)

[Marshall_Manning]

He left Buty. Both Buty and Dusted Valley are large enough wineries that a winemaker couldn’t work for both.

Thanks, I don’t know much about Dusted Valley but figured it would be hard unless he now is a superstar consultant with a lot of minions under him. Doesn’t seem like Chris’ way, though

[Chris_Seiber]

This! The recommendation to go Walla Walla over something far closer isn’t a slam dunk. If I was staying in Pasco, the drive to Red MOuntain is what I’d do. You’ll see many of the best vineyard sites in the whole state, a really unique geological area, and hit some fantastic wineries all within a well-hit Angels pop fly of each other. I agree, Walla Walla has tons to offer and far more tasting rooms, but I would reduce the driving and go to a truly unique area where much of the grapes are grown right there next to the wineries. I’d also recommend stopping at Kiona: a WA state pioneer whose estate vineyards are some of the oldest vines in WA. They make wines all over the buget too, and some of the cheaper stuff is great. The Old Vines Cab is amazing.

I’d second Fidelity, Cooper, and Hedges. Skip Col Solare, IMO.

Chris-Red Mountain is spitting distance from Pasco (Benton City is the nearest town to Red Mountain). There are terrific and serious wines made there and it excels with Bdx varieties. You could spend a great afternoon tasting there. Two of my favorites there are Hedges (very underrated and make the closest thing I’ve found to Bordeaux in WA) and Fidelitas but there are a bunch of others there also. Walla Walla is my favorite place though and only 45 minutes from Pasco.

That might make the most sense for us, since we would be going to evening baseball games in Pasco, and it won’t be a long enough stay to need a large number of places to visit. Thanks to you and everyone for the very helpful thoughts and idea.

[AlanJK]

+1 on Walla Walla. There are lots of tasting rooms in town and within driving distance. Some wineries require reservations, and many are open only on weekends, but you should be able to find plenty of places where you can walk in.

If you do make it to Walla Walla, also drive the extra 10 miles to Milton-Freewater, Oregon.

[Brandon_R]

The drive from Pasco to Red Mountain is +/- 20 minutes. The drive from Pasco to Walla Walla is roughly an hour.

[John_Glas]

The drive from Pasco to Red Mountain is +/- 20 minutes. The drive from Pasco to Walla Walla is roughly an hour.

The 40 minutes is worth it!

[Matt_A_u_s_t_i_n]

Seattle Met magazine just dropped a pretty comprehensive list of recommended wineries to visit in Walla Walla, penned by Sean Sullivan of Wine Enthusiast, and it does a pretty good job of covering the scene (with the disclaimer that we are included): https://www.seattlemet.com/travel-and-outdoors/best-wineries-in-walla-walla.

[Lee_Short]

There are also some nice wineries in the gorge if your travels take you that way. My top choices would be Analemma, Savage Grace, Loop de Loop. Of those, Savage Grace is probably the most up your alley.

[Joel_Pulver]

Putting in my 2 cents:

Long Shadows
Figgins
Corliss
Mark Ryan
Rotie
Sleight of Hand
Sheridan