Walla Walla, WA (March 30, 2009) – If you want a taste of Vintage Walla Walla®, the nation’s premier regional wine tasting event, then make plans to visit the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance’s booth number 201 during Taste Washington April 5 in Seattle.
Hundreds of Washington wineries participate annually at Taste Washington, where thousands of wine lovers crowd into the Qwest Field Event Center for a full afternoon of wine tasting during the event’s Grand Tasting. While nearly all wineries pour samples of their current vintages, some of Walla Walla’s leading winemakers are scheduled to offer a glimpse of what makes Vintage Walla Walla so special.
The Alliance will be doing limited pours of the Valley’s older vintage wines to help promote Vintage Walla Walla, a two-day celebration of the regional wines and foods of the spectacular Walla Walla Valley. Among the wines to be poured for these special tastings are a 1998 Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon from Woodward Canyon, a 1997 Merlot from Walla Walla Vintners and two 2002 selections from Northstar and Spring Valley. Many of the winemakers will be on hand to answer questions about their wines.
In addition to special tastings, the Alliance will have information about tickets, lodging and travel available for Vintage Walla Walla, which will be held June 5-6 in Walla Walla.
“Taste Washington is a great venue for us to offer a preview of Vintage Walla Walla,” said Elizabeth Martin-Calder, executive director of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance. “We’ll offer special, limited vintage tastings so people can get a ‘taste,’ so to speak, of what to expect when they attend Vintage.”
Held annually on the first full weekend in June, Vintage Walla Walla offers patrons a one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience the 2002 and older vintage wines from Walla Walla’s best known winemakers that are unavailable anywhere else in the world, other than from vintners’ libraries and private collections.
The 7th annual Vintage Walla Walla is built around a special, two-day tasting format. On Friday, vintage wines from the valley’s oldest wineries are poured exclusively at the intimate Vintage Pour. The Pavilion Tasting, held outside amid the gardens on the Whitman College campus, offers a broad array of wines from across the Walla Walla region accompanied by a sumptuous buffet of locally grown, exquisitely prepared cuisine.
Proceeds from the Vintage Walla Walla will benefit the Walla Walla Food Bank, part of the Blue Mountain Action Council. For information or to purchase tickets to Vintage Walla Walla, please visit www.wallawallawine.com.
Sponsors for Vintage Walla Walla include Northwest Palate magazine, kinkFM radio , Walla Walla Community College Center for Enology and Viticulture, and Wildhorse Resort & Casino.
About The Walla Walla Valley
The Walla Walla Valley is home to roughly 80 plus wineries and more than 1,600 acres of wine grapes. Walla Walla is increasingly recognized by both trade and consumers as one of the nation’s top wine regions. The wineries of the Walla Walla Valley are relatively small but make up for the lack of quantity in the quality of wines they produce. Walla Walla is known nationally and internationally for its Bordeaux-style reds and is gaining notoriety for its Syrahs, Chardonnays, and Rieslings.
About The Walla Walla Wine Alliance
The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance is a winery and grower partnership committed to furthering the awareness of the quality wineries, wines, and vineyards of the Walla Walla Valley Appellation. Our mission is to support and promote quality and excellence in our wine industry and to further national and international recognition of our region. For more information, please visit www.wallawallawine.com.
CONTACT:
Jaclyn Wolske
Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance
jaclyn@wallawallawine.com
509-526-3117
