Day #4 and Final Day of our Walla Walla Spring Wine Adventure

Chuck Reininger, Reininger Winery

We awakened to a sunny day!  Twelve wineries down with just TWO to go.  As we departed Walla Walla, we drove to Reininger Winery where we were greeted by Owner, Chuck Reininger and treated to a wine tasting and tour in his beautiful winery just off of old Highway 12.  Reininger has long-term contracts and buys most of his grapes from vineyard owners throughout the area.  As a result, he had several one-of-a-kind wines available from various vintages which we had a chance to learn about.  One of the wines which we purchased which I am looking forward to opening is a 2004 wine named "Anomaly".  Following the tour, we picked up our bag lunches for the road and journeyed on to Red Mountain.

Wine Adventure Group at Hedges Family Estate

Dear friends, Tom & Anne-Marie Hedges, Hedges Family Estate owners were there to greet us when we arrived at their winery on Red Mountain.  We first went on a tour of their new kitchen under construction on the first floor and then went upstairs to see their Wine Library and their private living area that has a sweeping view of the vineyards and valley.  As we stood on the balcony, we felt like we had been transported to Europe with old-world architecture and landscaping reminiscent of a French chateau.  Definitely a magical place!

Anne-Marie had laid out a beautiful charcuterie selection of meats and cheeses in their private tasting room and we enjoyed tasting Tom's wine which is a Red Mountain Cabernet blend and then Anne-Marie's wine which is a 2009 Syrah blend named "Descendants Liegeois Dupont".  I loved Anne-Marie's Syrah blend so we purchased several to bring home with us to drink later.

Douglas Howe

Robin Du Brin & Ken Hatch

Douglas Howe and Ken decided to take control of Robin Du Brin's stylish sun hat and happily modeled it for the group.  Personally, I have to say that it looked MUCH better on Robin!

With Tom's offer of a 30% discount for everyone in our group, there was quite a frenzy of wine buying.  In addition to the wine they had purchased for themselves throughout the trip, Eric and Vladlinna departed with four cases of wine and two wooden wine boxes that Joe Sasenick purchased at Hedges but didn't have room to transport since he and Betty were riding with Bonny & John Midby.  I was rather impressed that I was able to fit SEVEN cases of wine (both John & Sarah Rindlaub's wine and our wine) in the trunk of my Porsche Panamera!

We arrived home tired and ready to give up wine for at least a few days.  But now, a week later, the question is where should we go and which wineries should we visit for our next wine adventure.  Thoughts, anyone?