
Walla Walla’s Spring Wine Weekend Guide
byOld favorites and new vintages share the spotlight for season-opening Spring Release Weekend written by James Sinks In between discovering things, Galileo mused once that “wine is sunlight, held together by water.” That centuries-ago wisdom still holds true today—particularly for the constellation of bold vintages bottled each year in the sun-splashed Walla Walla Valley, the vineyard mecca along the southern border of Eastern Washington. To welcome back those trellis-warming rays and an annual pilgrimage of thirsty vinophiles, Walla Walla unfurls an early-season welcome mat. The first Friday through Sunday each May, Spring Release Weekend is the premier celebration of Washington State’s top-flight wine-making valley, now home to 125 wineries and named the nation’s top wine region in 2022 by USA Today. Expect ritzy winemaker dinners, art shows, exclusive tastings, tours including treks through the basalt-bored barrel cave at Figgins Winery and—at several places—limited-volume vintages that sell out within weeks. “There…