Out in Walla Walla for Vintage weekend. Didn’t get here in time to take part in some great festivities yesterday, including a tasting of vintage Walla Walla Syrah led by Paul Gregutt and the Vintage Pour – a tasting of wines from 2002 or prior from twenty valley wineries. However, today we are heading out to Les Collines vineyard for a wine blending seminar and brunch and will be hitting some wineries in the afternoon. Information on the blending event is below. More to follow.

8:30 – 12: 30 AM
(8:30am) Morning Tailgate Party
Rise and shine! Jump on one of our buses as we caravan out across the countryside and up the rising slopes of the Blue Mountains as we convene atop Les Collines Vineyard. Enjoy that steaming cup of coffee while you gaze out across the valley from our advantageous viewpoint. Kick the dirt; examine the budding vines, and feel free to ask your questions about our unique and varied terroir with Dr. Kevin Pogue, chairman of the Geology Department at Whitman College. Growers and winemakers will be there too, welcoming you to this highly informative and scenic gathering.

9:30am – 11:15am)Blending Class Moderated by Mike Moyer, Enology Professor, Center for Enology and Viticulture
Stroll down through the rows of vines at Les Collines to our outdoor classroom under the big tent where enology instructor Mike Moyer guides you through an enlightening morning of instruction on how you too can blend wines to suite your palate. Master winemakers from the valley join in on this creative process while aptly offering a trick or two of the trade. Literally rub elbows and get your hands purple as you partner and pair up with the winemakers to artfully make a blend worthy of a bottle.

(11:15am – 12:30pm) Brunch in the Vineyard
Celebrate the fruits of your labors with a picnic brunch at Les Collines Vineyard. Northwest regional chefs prepare for you under a mid-morning sky a selection of culinary delights inspired by the unique flavor of the wines sourced from this featured vineyard. Once again, your now dear friends–the winemakers–join the festivities by eagerly pouring their wines and answering your questions about their wines and how the grapes of the vineyard have influenced the decisions they have made. Then, jump back onto one of our waiting buses and return to town; well informed and well fed.