I once found myself frantically putting together a map of the best Walla Walla wineries because my sister asked 3 days before Labor Day, “Hey, want to go to Walla Walla?”
Obviously the answer was yes, I do want to visit this popular wine region ~4.5 hours east of Seattle. So as with any trip I take, I started excessively planning all the places we should go. I scoured other “best of” lists, articles outlining awards, and asked around to create a carefully-curated Walla Walla winery map for our family wine vacation (what, you don’t take kids on wine trips?). And then over the years, I kept adding to it as I visited the area again and again.
The result? This thorough list of all the best Walla Walla wineries you should visit on your trip.
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Map of the Best Walla Walla Wineries
Here’s my map of Walla Walla wineries as well as restaurants, breweries, and other things to do. The gray areas on the map highlight the area’s distinct wine tasting regions.
Walla Walla was discovered by our good old friends Lewis and Clark, but it wasn’t until 1984 that it became an official wine region (a.k.a. “American Viticultural Area,” or AVA). Located in the southeast area of the Washington-Oregon border, the region spans nearly 3,000 vineyard acres and hosts more than 120 wineries, according to the Walla Walla Wine Alliance.
The climate makes the region look desert and farm-like at the same time. You’ll see lush green grass followed by yellow and gray brush or sandy-looking mountains.
The region is split into six districts, spanning across both Washington and Oregon:
- Westside
- Downtown
- Airport District
- Eastside
- Southside
- Oregon
I highlight each region in my map of Walla Walla wineries (merging the Southside and Oregon regions).
My shortlist of the best wineries in Walla Walla
There are way more wineries in Walla Walla than you can possibly fit into one trip. To help you narrow down your options, here are my favorite Walla Walla wineries.
If you decide to hit up as many of them as you can, make sure to have a designated driver because Uber/Lyft is not a thing in Walla Walla. If you don’t want someone in your crew to be the DD, Mainstreet Drivers will drive your car around and be the DD instead. Or you can book a private van tour with just your group.
Want me to plan an itinerary for you?
I’m a licensed travel planner and can create a custom itinerary for you so you don’t have to do any of the thinking. I’ll make sure to fit as many of my favorite wineries as I can into your trip!
KINHAVEN Winery & Vineyard
website | district: Southside (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$25 pp, waived with 2 bottle purchase | open: Thurs – Mon, appt recommended but also accept walk-ins
KINHAVEN is a boutique winery producing about 2,000 cases of wine a year using a mix of their estate-grown and sourced grapes. It’s run by husband Cameron and wife Kasey, both of who have a lot of hospitality experience. Kasey is a wedding planning pro and her keen design eye can be enjoyed throughout the gorgeous tasting room. Cameron used to be a chef at Passatempo Taverna and TMACS, two of Walla Walla’s best restaurants. As a result, he strives to make wine that pairs well with food.
What I love about KINHAVEN’s wine is how they ride mostly in the medium-body and high acid realm. So many of the best Walla Walla wineries focus on big, punch-you-in-the-face reds. I love those, but I’ve come to love zippier and bright wines more as I’ve gotten older. So I’m thankful KINHAVEN delivers.
Fun fact: Their winery dog, Monte, was named one of the top 15 wine dogs by Washington Tasting Room Magazine!
Pro tip: If you need to make choices of which wineries to visit, KINHAVEN also has a tasting room in Woodinville near Seattle, so if you’re from the area maybe wait until you get back home to try their wines (though their vineyards in Walla Walla are beautiful!).
Alton Wines
website | district: Southside (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$35 pp, waived with 2 bottle purchase | open: Thurs – Sun, appt recommended but also accept walk-ins
I’m nothing if not consistent. Alton Wines is similar to KINHAVEN in that they focus on lower alcohol, softer wines with balance vs. those big tannic reds that put Walla Walla on the map. It’s also owned by a husband and wife, and yes, the tasting room is equally as posh.
But that’s where the similarities end. Alton owners Ashley and Joe decided to pivot into wine making from the corporate world. Joe was in finance and Ashley still works in tech at Nordstrom, but they decided to move to Walla Walla from Seattle because of their obsession with wine and Joe’s nostalgia for the farm life he had growing up.
Now they make about 3,000 cases a year and run arguably the most beautiful tasting room in all of Walla Walla. Ashley was pouring for us when we last visit, so I asked her their wine philosophy. She said Walla Walla is known for wines meant to age, but they source unique grapes to create wines that aren’t too fancy to open up on the Tuesday after you purchase it.
Devona
website | district: Airport District (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$25 pp, waived with 3 bottle purchase | open: by appt only
Pronounced “Dev-own-a”, this winery is owned by John and Molly Abbott, two titans of the wine industry. They went to Ohio State University in the 80s when the state’s AVA industry was having its come up. That fueled their love of wine, particularly pinot noir, so they moved to California to work in the wine industry. John went on to open Napa’s famous Canoe Ridge Vineyard.
He yearned to be closer to the winemaking process, so he decided to move to Walla Walla and open Abeja Winery with Ken and Ginger Harrison. John helped grow that now famous Walla Walla winery before venturing out on his own with Molly to start Devona.
Given their roots, the Abbotts wanted to blend their love of both Washington and Oregon’s winemaking styles. They make cabernet sauvignon and merlot as a nod to Walla Walla, but also a lot of pinot noir and chardonnay using grapes sources from the Columbia River Gorge and Willamette Valley.
The result is a winery that caters to all types of wine drinkers. With a production of only about 1,000 cases a year, Devona is very much a boutique working winery. You’ll be sitting right in the production space instead of a big fancy tasting room. But you can expect to find a hyper focus on producing wines with a sense of place.
Grosgrain Vineyards
website | district: Southside (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$25 pp, waived with 2 bottle purchase | open: daily, appt recommended but also accept walk-ins (except Tues & Wed, which are always by appt)
Pronounced “grow-grain” after the textile, Grosgrain Vineyards has successfully stitched together one of the best winery experiences within the Walla Walla Valley. Owners Matt, and ex-attorney, and Kelly, an ex-fashion designer, moved to the Pacific Northwest from California in search of a new life. Matt went to school for enology and spent time working at various Washington wineries before he stumbled upon the auction of a small 5-acre vineyard that’s now home to their tasting room and vacation rental, Casa Grosgrain.
While the tasting room looks like a warehouse from outside, upon entering you’re transported into a cool mid century modern-meets-boho space overlooking their experimental vineyard. What makes Grosgrain so special is the fact that they source and grow unique grapes you don’t find in many Walla Walla wineries. They make a small amount of a bunch of different styles, yet they somehow all have Matt’s signature zippy and quirky style. And the best part? Just about all of Grosgrain’s wines are under $50, a steal in Walla Walla.
Rotie Cellars
website | district: Southside – Oregon (get directions) | tasting fee: $40 pp, waived with $75 purchase | open: daily, appts recommended but also accept walk-ins
I frequent Rotie’s SODO tasting room here in Seattle. But a trip to their beautiful Milton-Freewater tasting room in the Rocks District is a must when you’re in Walla Walla. That’s because the Rocks District is one of the most distinct AVAs in the whole world. I attended Celebrate Walla Walla one year and multiple winemakers at various events commented that most experts can blind taste wine and immediately pick up the ones from this area.
There are a few reasons for this. First, there are only a handful of wine regions in the world with volcanic basalt soil. The Rocks District also has a unique silt top soil thanks to the Missoula Floods, the largest freshwater flood known to have happened on Earth. Glacier melt brought water that reached hundreds of feet higher than the Marcus Whitman Hotel, Walla Walla’s tallest building. It eroded the area’s granite and, once all the water was gone, wind blew the remaining silt all over the valley.
The result is an AVA that produces more savory, mineral-forward wines. Rotie takes full advantage of this and makes exceptional Rhône-style wines. That means you can expect lower alcohol, higher acid wines that are less oaky than other Walla Walla wines. I love their clean and crisp winemaking style and think you will too!
Prospice Wines
website | district: Airport District (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$25 pp, waived with $50 purchase | open: Fri – Sun, appt recommended but also accept walk-ins
I love how many of the best Walla Walla wineries are run by changemakers who were brave enough to pivot their careers and bring their unique perspectives to the wine industry. Owners Jay and Matt of Prospice Wines are a prime example.
Jay, an ex-lawyer, and Matt, an ex-architect, met fresh off their career pivots working on Walla Walla Community College’s Stan Clarke Vineyard. They both shared a passion for honoring traditional winemaking while tinkering with the possibilities of the future, so the idea of opening a winery together quickly formed.
After years working separately at various wineries, they took the plunge and created Prospice Wines. The name comes from the latin phrase “Respice, Adspice, Prospice” that translates into, “Learn from the past; live in the present; look to the future.” It guides their approach to winemaking: Using geeky scientific approaches to developing wine while honoring low-intervention, timeless methods.
The result is an Old World French-style wine that’s low on alcohol and high on acid, which creates wines that aren’t too big so that you can really taste the nuance of the terroir. Prospice is best known for viognier, but they make a few whites and rosés and about 20 reds…a nod to their experimental ethos.
itä wines
website | district: Airport (get directions) | tasting fee: $30, waived with purchase | open: Fri & Sat, or by appt other days
Itä Wines is one of the few spots on this map of Walla Walla wineries with a female winemaker. Kelsey Albro Itämeri started a vineyard on her parents’ property on the eastern foothills of the Blue Mountains and is hyper-focused on producing wines that honor the area. All of her bottles include estate-grown grapes and those sourced by neighboring vineyards in a really tight radius from her property.
Kelsy is known for being one of the first wineries finished with harvest each year. She likes picking her grapes super early to produce light-bodied wines with what she calls a “racy acidity”. I love how each of her wines zips across your palate, matching her playful approach to winemaking. Plus, she’s selling some of the most affordable wines in the area, with the top one being ~$48.
You’ll notice that Itä Wines is one of a few almost identical tasting room buildings side by side. This is an incubator program that provides the building for emerging wine talent to grow. It’s not exactly a custom crush facility, as each winery maintains their own equipment, but their close proximity to each other helps them borrow items when needed, making for a more accessibly entry into the industry. So if you want to try a bunch of tasting rooms on this map of Walla Walla wineries side by side, head here!
The Walls Vineyards
website | district: Westside (get directions) | tasting fee: $35+, waived with 3 bottle purchase | open: daily, appt recommended but also accepts walk-ins
If you want a sophisticated wine tasting experience paired with good food, The Walls Vineyard, owned by the same people behind Passatempo Taverna restaurant, is your answer. All of us said, “This place is ‘aesthetic’,” when we walked in, mimicking the lift in tone my teen niece uses when she approves of something’s style.
It’s amazing how some of the best things are born from utter tragedy. Mike left his corporate job in Seattle after the devastating loss of his wife. He ended up in Walla Walla where he began making wine out of a custom crush facility near the city’s historic penitentiary. His facility faced the walls surrounding the prison, which inspired the name for his present-day winery that now produces about 8,000 cases a year.
You can actually taste two labels at The Walls Vineyards. The namesake line features a lot of earthy, dry, and sometimes smokey red wines with a lot of complexity. All the labels feature Stanley Groovey, a comic character designed by a cartoonist from the New Yorker that’s become The Walls’ mascot.
Your other option is tasting the PÁŠXA Wines line. Named after the Indigenous word for sunflower, it focuses solely on wines made with grapes from The Rocks District. These wines are pricey, but they meander between a softness and complexity that you don’t get with more affordable bottles. I recommend adding on a tasting of their PÁŠXA line so you can do a side by side comparison!
Want to try their wines? Wine.com sells some Walls Vineyard wines worth trying.
Force Majeure Vineyards
website | district: Southside (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$50 pp, waived with $250 purchase | open: Wed – Sat by appt only
Force Majeure is one of the pricier wineries to visit in Walla Walla, but their premium wines are worth seeking out because of their commitment to farming and pioneering new agricultural methodologies aimed at coaxing their grapes to produce incredible outcomes with little intervention.
The bulk of their vineyards are in the Yakima Valley’s Red Mountain AVA. However, in 2018 they bought land in Milton-Freewater, half of which is in the Rocks District, so that they can continue creating wines characterized by the distinct flavor profiles of where the grapes are grown.
Force Majeure only produce about 5,000 cases a year, many highlighting grapes from a single vineyard. They focus on Bordeaux and Rhône-style wines, throwing in a bit of inspiration from Spain. The results are structured, elegant wines with a lot of texture, the latter of which is thanks to cement egg aging tanks that allow yeast to pick up the texture of the tank material.
Besides making incredible wines, Force Majeure also has an extremely aesthetic Walla Walla tasting room. It’s in a refurbished schoolhouse filled with calming, neutral, and textured decor. Wall hangings from local artists adorn the walls and add pops of sophisticated color. Even their bottles are beautiful because they tapped one of my favorite Pacific Northwest artists, Seth Sexton, to design the labels. So prepare not to only be blown away by their wines, but also the whole tasting experience Force Majeure provides.
Gramercy Cellars
website | district: Westside (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$25 pp, waived with $50 purchase | open: Tues – Sun, appt recommended but also accept walk-ins
Gramercy Cellars is kind of off the beaten path. There aren’t many wineries near it and it’s in an unassuming warehouse-like area near downtown Walla Walla. However, as soon as you open the door, you’re taken aback by the farmhouse interiors. Beautiful white subway tile lines the whole back wall behind the bar and there are comfy, over-sized leather couches perfect for kids to play on while parents sip.
The winery was started by Greg Harrington after he was so inspired by Washington wines, he decided to uproot his life as a sommelier in Manhattan to give winemaking a try. His focus is Rhône and Bordeaux-style wines with a heavy emphasis on syrah, all made using low-intervention methodologies so each bottle can be a reflection of the land.
This results in really yummy wines. And don’t just take my word for it! Even though Gramercy only produces about 8,000 case a year, they’ve won multiple awards for their outstanding wines using both sourced and estate-grown grapes.
Want to try their wines? Wine.com sells a bunch of Gramercy Cellars wines worth trying.
Pro tip: They are open later on Fridays and Saturdays during harvest in late September and October. You’ll be able to get some of their library wines that they don’t pour during normal tasting hours.
Echolands Winery
website | district: Westside (get directions) | tasting fee: $20 pp, waived with 2 bottle purchase | open: Wed – Mon, appts recommended but accepts walk-ins
Echolands aims to produce wine that’s an “echo” of the land it comes from. That means they’re not trying to achieve flavors unnatural to a grape, but rather let each vintage be an expression of a period in time and the natural aging process.
This is one of the most stunning tasting rooms on my map of Walla Walla wineries. You walk through a grand hall to a great room with a vaulted ceiling and huge windows overlooking vineyards. There is also a modern garden where you can enjoy your wine in the sunshine.
You can expect a lot of wines with balance and texture at Echolands. One of their most popular bottles is their Rubin that dances between shishito pepper and inky blackberry notes. It’s like a marriage of both the grape and soil, which is exactly what Echolands is aiming to put into your glass.
Want to try their wines? Wine.com sells some Echolands wines worth trying.
Pro tip: They serve late night wine by the glass and bottle after 5 PM on weekends. It’s a great way to catch sunset!
Abeja Winery
website | district: Westside (get directions) & Downtown (get directions) | tasting fee: $40 pp | open: daily by appt
Abeja Winery is a gorgeous historic farmstead about 10 minutes outside of downtown Walla Walla. Not only is it a winery, but it’s also an inn and restaurant (yup, you can stay right on their dreamy property!). The restaurant is helmed by Mike Easton, the famous chef who once owned the now-shuttered Il Corvo in Seattle, so it’s high on my list of places to try!
Pronounced “uh-bay-ha”, the Spanish word for bee, the winery has a big focus on stewardship and preservation. You can see their appreciate for the land in the beautifully-manicured garden right next to the tasting area. But they also apply that ethos to the approximately 17,000 cases of wine they produce each year.
Abeja is best known for their cabs and merlot. In fact, their reserves are so popular that they only release them to wine club members. These ageable wines often come with a long, silk finish that pair perfectly with decadent meals.
Mongata Winery
website | district: Southside (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$25 pp, waived with a minimum purchase | hours: Thurs – Sun by appt
Mongota is a newer kid and dog-friendly winery toward the southernmost edge of Milton-Freewater. The current owners, Scott and Vicki Nokleby, wanted to set roots in a spot between their blended families so that they had a place to connect with their older children. So they bought a large property in the foothills of the Blue Mountain and refurbished the historic 102-year-old barn into a tasting room with a relaxing patio overlooking the vines.
The name “Mongata” is a twist on the Swedish word “Mångata”, which means “moon street or path to the moon”. Their stunning property feels like this given it sits in a canyon flanked by two large hills often dotted with roaming cows gleefully mooing as they graze. The path draws your eye toward the stunning landscape in the distance.
Besides having a killer ambiance, Mongata tapped winemaker Peter Devison of Devison Vintners to make really approachable, fruit-forward wines using all estate-grown grapes. I was on a tour once where a winemaker said, “It’s not my job to tell you a winemakers story, but rather the story of the land.” Devison lives that ethos, so you can expect to taste a sense of place with each sip.
Pursued by Bear
website | district: Downtown (get directions) | tasting fee: $25 pp, waived with $60 purchase | open: Wed – Sun by appt only
You may think the name “Pursued by Bear” is a hunting gear outfitter rather than a winery, but the name actually comes from the Shakespearean stage direction “exit, pursued by bear”. Why you may ask? Well, Pursued by Bear is owned by Kyle MacLachlan, the actor from Twin Peaks and other popular productions.
How does a famous actor get involved with the wine industry? Well, Kyle grew up in Yakima and connected with his dad over wine. He really liked Dunham Cellars, so he ordered them for his wedding. Through that experience he stayed in touch with Dunham’s winemaker. When he moved to Abeja Winery, Kyle tapped him to partner on a new winery. The rest is history.
Pursued by Bear is a tiny tasting room off the beaten path in downtown Walla Walla. The inside feels like a rustic cabin with warm woods, rich rugs, and iconic bear art. They produce about 3,000 cases a year of really satisfying wines, particularly reds. They feel reminiscent of Abeja wines with a lot of subtle complexities, a spectrum of textures, and nuance. Head to both Abeja and Bear as you tour this map of Walla Walla wineries to see how they compare!
Want to try their wines? Wine.com sells some Pursued by Bear wines worth trying. You can also get their bottles in Met Markets around Seattle.
Spring Valley Vineyards
website | district: Downtown (get directions) | tasting fee: $30 pp, waived with 1 red or 2 white bottle purchases | open: Wed – Sun by appt only
Spring Valley Vineyards is a quaint tasting room is covered with pictures and paraphernalia from their 7th generation ranch. Tasting here isn’t just about the wine, but rather stepping back in time to learn about their history.
Each bottle has an original family photo and the staff takes you through their story with each pour. It all started in the mid-1800s when the Corkrums took the Oregon Trail from Illinois to Walla Walla, Washington to flee the Civil War. Their son, Uriah, farmed their land for wheat but lost everything during the Depression. Yet he persevered and bought the land that’s now the Spring Valley ranch.
He married Katherine, the sister of his brother’s wife, and they had Frederick. When Frederick grew up, he met vaudeville performer, Nina Lee, despite his family’s disapproval. However, Nina Lee went on to tend the ranch long after Frederick’s death, passing it onto their daughter and present-day owner Shari.
Shari eventually met Dean Darby, who was in the NFL and played for the Steelers sand Vikings. They decided to plant grapes on the Spring Valley ranch as a retirement plan. Their son Devon and his French friend, Serge finesses the family’s winemaking chops over the years. Unfortunately Devon died in a tragic accident, but Serge carried on his legacy. He recently retired, but not after teaching Spring Valley’s current winemaker, Katherine, everything Devon and him knew.
Now the winery produces about 10,000 cases of beautiful wines, mostly reds. Each sip is steeped in history, making it a great bottle to share among loved ones.
Want to try their wines? Wine.com sells some Spring Valley Vineyards wines worth trying.
Caprio Cellars
website | district: Southside (get directions) | tasting fee: free | open: daily by appt only
Wine was a way of life for Caprio Cellars’ ancestors. Owner Dennis Murphy’s grandmother grew up in Italy where everyone made their own wine. It was central to every gathering and celebration, a tradition that was passed down to Dennis. He wanted to create a winery that was like sharing a bottle over food with friends and family. That’s exactly what you can expect at Caprio Cellars.
Caprio Cellars produces about 3,800 cases of of Bordeaux-style wine using all estate-grown grapes. Your visit will include 3 tastes paired with food, plus a welcome bubbly. They have a nice variety of tropical-tasting whites, dry rosés, and richer reds, which is a break from all the red-dominate pours you’ll have while following this map of Walla Walla wineries.
The most surprising part? All of the wine tastes and food are free. Murphy’s grandmother never charged her friends for food and wine, so he doesn’t believe he should do that to visitors either.
L’ecole No 41
website | district: Westside (get directions) & Downtown (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$25-$40 pp, waived with minimum wine purchase | open: Daily (except Tues at downtown location), walk-ins welcome but appt recommended at their Westside Historic Schoolhouse location
L’ecole is one of the bigger wineries on my map of Walla Walla wineries. It’s known for producing fully estate-grown wines and having a gorgeous historic schoolhouse tasting room.
If you visit their schoolhouse location, you’ll be greeted by long path leading up to a stunning historic building. The inside is absolutely gorgeous: it’s pretty much a dream home for anyone who loves the craftsman style. But besides the beautiful interiors and great wines, the big win here was how great it is for kids.
There’s a playground in the backyard with swings, teeter totters, and monkey bars. The winery is also next door to a small farm with cows and horses that are fun to look at. Heck, after the tastings the adults even had some fun on the swings and teeter totter. Maybe a bit of too much fun, considering Travis cherry bombed Dan and made the teeter totter fall off it’s axle…but that’s a story for another time.
Want to try their wines? Wine.com sells some L’ecole 41 wines worth trying.
Pro tip: L’ecole also has a Woodinville location hear Seattle.
Woodward Canyon
website | district: Westside (get directions) | tasting fee: ~$25 pp, waived with a minimum purchase | hours: daily for walk-ins only (appt required for groups over 6)
Woodward Canyon is right next door to L’ecole. They were the second vineyard in Walla Walla and instrumental in Walla Walla getting its AVA status, so a visit is like stepping into history.
Their tasting room is a converted farmhouse with a tall, cathedral ceiling and lovely gardens perfect for a picnic. The winery is best known for big, Bordeaux-style reds but they also have some lovely whites. The vibe is more English cottage than L’ecole, so I like visiting both in the same day to experience the contrast.
Want to try their wines? Wine.com sells some Woodward Canyon wines worth trying.
Places to stop on the way to Walla Walla
Since Walla Walla is a 4.5 hour drive, you may need to stop and stretch your legs (especially if you’re with kids). Here are some ideas for things to add to your map of Walla Walla wineries!
- Visit the Stunning Suncadia Resort and nearby Roslyn
- Explore Ellensburg, one of the Cutest Small Towns in Washington
- Get Lunch at the Best Restaurants in Leavenworth
- Add on a Trip to Spokane
- Wine taste in Yakima Valley, another wine region you’ll drive by to get to Walla Walla
- Hike Hell’s Canyon, the largest river gorge in North America
- Detour to Palouse Falls State Park for stunning waterfall views
More Pacific Northwest wineries
After you visit all the spots on this map of Walla Walla wineries, check out these other wine tasting regions!
- Let Me Plan Your Custom Trip to Wine Country
- Lake Chelan Wineries
- Leavenworth Tasting Rooms
- Columbia Gorge Wineries
- Willamette Valley Wineries
- Seattle Urban Wineries
- Woodinville Wineries near Seattle
- Eugene, OR Wineries
