Cougars and Huskies Unite: Speaking of educations, Cougar Crest Winery opened
a new winery and tasting room this year. WSU fans will love the paw prints on the corks and Cougar Gold cheese for sale, but Huskies, take heed, the real reason behind the cougar-mania is that the winemaker is also a veterinarian. Try their 2005 Walla Walla Valley Estate Grown Syrah, which has an earthiness that gives it the guts to be paired with autumn dishes like hearty stews at home - or smoked meats at your next tailgate party.

Get a Grip: A little further down the road, Reininger Winery sources fruit from a number of outstanding Walla Walla vineyards, including Pepper Bridge and Spring Valley. Winemaker Chuck Reininger is a born naturalist. Formerly a mountaineering guide, he seeks to capture and enhance the essence of each vintage by exposing its Walla Walla Valley terroir. Of his 2005 Syrah, Chucks says, "Get a grip! This Syrah deserves the extra Walla in Walla Walla."

Wine, Golf, and Breakfast? As you head into Walla Walla, stop at Three Rivers Winery and taste their highly acclaimed 2004 Ahler Vineyard Syrah (this is the only place you can get it), browse the gift shop, play the winery's three short holes of golf, or, if you happen to be there on Sunday, December 7th, indulge in the Holiday Wine Country Breakfast with Winemaker Holly Turner. It includes free wine tasting, discounts, and goodie bags to take home.

A Cozy Cabin: Owned by three families, the Goffs, McKibbens and Pellets, Amavi Cellars is dedicated to producing Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon from their own Walla Walla vineyards, and they're reaping the rewards. Wine Enthusiast selected the 2006 Syrah as Editors' Choice and gave it 91 points. For a taste, visit Patty in their historic tasting room, made from an 1890s log cabin that was rescued from destruction and relocated from a Montana ranch. 

Holiday Gift Idea: While you're shopping in downtown Walla Walla, stop in Seven Hills Winery's tasting room and try the 2005 Syrah, which received great reviews this year. Wine Spectator called it "smooth and round," Wine & Spirits said it was a "Best Buy," and Northwest Palate summed it up, "All in all, this is a complex and highly satisfying Syrah." Plus - for an unforgettable holiday gift, pick up a vertical of the 97 and 98 Syrahs, made with grapes from Walla Walla Valley's oldest commercially farmed Syrah vineyard.

From Champagne to Syrah: Christophe Baron, founder of Cayuse Vineyards, left his life among the vineyards and cellars of his family's centuries-old Champagne house, Baron Albert, to become the first Frenchman to establish a winery in Washington state. Cayuse makes four estate vineyard designated Syrahs, along with a Bionic Frog Syrah. Salut!

An Independent: Spring Valley Vineyard named their Syrah after relative Nina Lee, who, following her husband’s death in 1957, didn't want to depend on anyone for her livelihood so she continued to successfully farm and operate the family’s ranch on her own for 21 years. The wine is full of ripe berries and fresh baked vanilla-berry cobbler with sweet tannins and a long, generous finish.

Top Shelf: From downtown, drive south of Walla Walla through the pastoral rolling hills and stop at Basel Cellars Estate Winery. Their 2005 Walla Walla Valley/Columbia Valley Syrah won the Gold Medal Grand Award of Excellence (First Place Overall) in the 2008 Seattle Wine Awards. It's an elegant combination of 74% Pheasant Run Vineyard Syrah (Walla Walla Valley) and 26% Lewis Vineyard Syrah (Columbia Valley) that should age gracefully for another 10 years.

The More the Merrier: In Spanish, Tertulia means "a social gathering of friends." With that in mind, gather everyone together at Tertulia Cellars' colorful, chic tasting room and try the 2006 Les Collines Walla Walla Valley Syrah - a velvety blend of 90% Syrah, 5% Grenache, 5% Tempranillo. As the holidays grow nearer, what better way is there to enjoy wine than with your loved ones?

Ready to Rock: On an entirely different note, Dusted Valley Vintners claims that their Reserve Syrah is “made for Rock Stars and NASCAR fans. It's a head bangers ball with a mosh-pit in your mouth that races back and forth across the palate like a 800 H.P. machine.” It also happens that their 2006 Boomtown Syrah was given 90 points and named one of the Top 100 Value Wines of 2008 by Wine & Spirits. Now that’s a little more respectable.

Chocolate Lovers: If you're flying to and from Walla Walla, or even if you're not, check out the quaint collection of wineries at the airport (yes, you read that correctly) including Tamarack Cellars. Wine & Spirits proclaimed in their February 2008 "Year's Best Syrah" issue that the 2004 Tamarack Syrah "is really all about chocolate, especially when first opened." Need we say more? 

K is for King: K. Vintners’ winemaker extraordinaire Charles Smith enthusiastically describes his 2006 K Syrah Morrison Lane as "BLACK! Black fruit, black earth. A super deep Syrah. The best Morrison Lane ever. I mean it!" Charles has been called the "King of Syrah" in Walla Walla, racking up high points, awards, praise, and a reputation for his single vineyard wines since he opened K. Vintners in 2001. Charles leads the charge from the property at 820 Mill Creek Road, which was homesteaded in 1853 and planted with trees by pioneers – a little slice of Americana just in time for Thanksgiving.

A Classic Syrah: You’re one lucky duck if you get a room in the Inn at Abeja, but even if you don’t, you can still buy their Syrah. Because their vineyard is at a high elevation (1310 feet) and so near the Blue Mountains, the ripening season is longer and cooler. The result is a more classic Northern Rhone-style Syrah with complexity and balance but without the concentration and higher alcohol levels of Syrah produced in warmer areas.

Walla Walla’s wine roots just keep on growing, so let your palate be your guide as you continue your adventures through wine country.  Cheers to that!

Click here for The Red Route Series: Part 1
 A Bordeaux Blend Road Trip through Yakima Valley

Click here for The Red Route Series: Part 2
A Merlot Road Trip through Columbia Valley