From the heart of Washington wine country…

Day Two of Walla Walla Fall Release weekend. Today is a beautiful, crisp clear day in Walla Walla with clouds draped like a blanket over the Blue Mountains. I am happy to report, as local readers Denise and Catie commented yesterday, the raining dirt that welcomed us as we arrived in to town Thursday was quite anomalous. Frankly, I’m glad Denise noticed the dirt on her car as most of the people we talked to yesterday had no idea what we were talking about as it happened during the night.

Plans for today include stops at K Vintners, Abeja, Rasa, and Va Piano among others. Wineries we sampled/visited yesterday included Plumb Cellars, Dumas Station, Cayuse Vineyards, and Corliss Estates. Plumb Cellars is a new winery that just released their inaugural vintage which includes small productions of a Red Wine, Cabernet, and Merlot. Excellent producer Dumas Station, located east of Walla Walla but pouring at Merchants this weekend, has a set of new releases which include a Cabernet, Red Table Wine, and Reserve Cabernet from Minnick Vineyards. Cayuse Vineyards, celebrating their 13th birthday, poured wines from their 2007 and 2008 vintages. Corliss Estates, in addition to pouring a Cabernet Franc and Malbec sold only at the winery, also poured wines from Tranche Cellars including several new releases. In one of the joys of small town life, we parked a little too long downtown and arrived back to find…a five dollar ticket.

Look for tweets throughout the day @wawinereport.