In the past two months, a couple of wineries in the Walla Wallta Valley have moved to new locations and a new wine shop has opened in downtown Walla Walla. 

Tempus Cellars has moved to 760 C Street in the Airport District in the building where Corvus Cellars was located. When the owners of Corvus decided to concentrate on grape growing on their Red Mountain vineyard and cease producing wine, that presented owner-winemaker Joe Forest an opportunity to move to a more spacious location. I visited the new location a few days ago and got up to date. The current releases will be reviewed in the July issue of the Review of Washington Wines.

Revelry Vinters has built a new state of the art production and tasting room facility at 3978 Peppers Bridge Road south of Walla Walla (just past Amavi Cellars and Waters/Flying Trout). The old location on C Street near the Airport was bursting at the seams, and owner-winemaker Jared Burns decided to build a new facility. The Grand Opening was held on May 5th (during Spring Release Weekend). I visited a few days ago and found the new facility to be spacious and very nicely designed. The new 2015 reds will be in the July issue.

The Thief Fine Wine & Beer opened its store on 102 E Main Street on May 4th. This is something Walla Walla has been needing for a long time, a shop where one could find fine imported as well as domestic wines. There are many locals, in the wine industry and in the wine loving community, who appreciate wines from outside the Walla Walla Valley, especially European ones. So The Thief meets this need admirably.

I visited the store two days ago. It is named for the pipette used to draw wine or beer from a cask, called a "thief." There is a selection of over 300 wines, about 150 beers, plus aperitifs, Vermouths, and even a few Sakes. Most of the wines are imported, but there is a selection of local wines, priced in line with those of wineries. Emily Riley, one of the partners, along with Bryan Brammer and Kyle Pottroff, took good care of me. I purchased four bottles, three French and one Italian. I will be reviewing them in an upcoming posting on the Review Blog. I will come back for more wines to try. The shop also has a tasting bar where one can sample wines by the glass.