Back in June, the big news in the Walla Walla Valley was the opening of the Eritage Resort north of Walla Walla on Bergevin Springs Road, off Highway 125 (past the Penitentiary). It is the joint venture of Justin Wylie, owner and winemaker of Va Piano Vineyards, who purchased the land in 2008, Scott Knox of Vista Ventures, the developer, and Fire & Vine, the resort services provider. The Resort has ten suites, with ten villas   under construction, The management team is Terra Luthi, General Manager, Deb J Carter, Event Marketing Director, and Brian Price, Executive Chef. 

We had wanted to visit Eritage for some time and when I found out the Resort was offering a "January Date Night" promotion with a prix fixe dinner menu and a discounted rate for a suite for the night, we decided this would be the perfect opportunity to have the Eritage experience. So I went ahead and booked a dinner reservation and a room.

We arrived at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on January 15th. We were greeted by Deb and Terra, the General Manager, and then shown to our room by Logan who has been with the Resort since June. The suite was spacious and comfortable as befits a resort. Our patio suite overlooked the Eritage Vineyard and a pond which also serves as an irrigation reservoir for the vineyard. 

When we arrived for dinner we were seated by Nelissa. From the "January Date Night Menu," we ordered a bottle of 2015 Reverly "Range" Syrah/Grenache Blend. As a starter, Executive Chef, Brian Price served a delicious pureed cauliflower soup, followed by the baby gem salad of bacon and greens with a creamy garlic-parmesan dressing. The second course was grilled lamb chops. Brian then served us perfectly braised short ribs. For dessert, Lynn had the Columbia Valley Farms vanilla ice cream and I had the Classic Cheesecake with a raspberry-cherry coulis. The whole meal was delicious and the wine excellent. It was a memorable dinner.

The next morning, we were greeted by breakfast plates of hard boiled eggs, charcuterie (salami, prosciutto) and the best croissant we've had since we were in France four years ago. The juices were fresh and the caffe latte and French roast coffee nice and hot. After breakfast, we packed up and bade farewell to Deb, Terra and Kyndra. Later, I received an email asking me to rate our experience on a scale of five stars for overall, food, service and ambiance. I gave scores of five stars across the board, and also said yes, I would recommend the resort to a friend.