As the Walla Walla Valley wineries gear up for Fall Release Weekend on November 6 - 8, here are some news and developments here.

Winery Fall Release Previews

In the Walla Walla Valley, some wineries preview their fall releases at special events for club members and friends. Among these were:

Tero & Flying Trout Wine and Swine - On Saturday, September 26, Jan and Doug Roskelley hosted a pig roast at the winery near Milton-Freewater, along with Ashley Trout. Their new releases were unveiled as well. See the October issue of the Review of Washington Wines for reviews.

Walla Walla Vintners Fall Release - On Saturday, October 3, Walla Walla Vintners poured its new Fall releases. The wines will be reviewed in the November issue which goes on line October 26th.

àMaurice Cellars Harvest Celebration - The same day, the Schafer family hosted a celebration with a tasting of new releases, along with vineyard tours, pumpkin carving, live music (with Anna Schafer's husband, Larry Cohen) and a screening of "Casablanca." New releases also to be reviewed in November.

Tranche Cellars Opening a New Tasting Room

Up until now, Tranche Cellars tasting facilities have been makeshift. Sometimes in the fermentation tank room, sometimes in a trailer. A new entrance, with nice metalwork signage, graces the entrance to the winery and the Blue Mountain Vineyard. The new tasting room is situated in front of the winery. Fall Release will feature Tranche's annual bonfire.

The Tero / Flying Trout / Waters and Locati Cellars Expanded Tasting Rooms

With the departure of Trio Vintners, Locati Cellars has moved into Trio's more spacious room, which has a spacious wine tasting bar and a humidor with a nice selection of cigars. The Tero / Flying Trout / Waters tasting room has been expanded by taking out the wall separating it from Locati.

Dusted Valley's New Winery

During the summer, one could see, just east of Braden Road in the South Valley, a large structure being built, first as a skeleton, and then eventually a building. It is Dusted Valley Vintner's new winery, which opened just in time for this year's harvest. The tasting room is still located on the Old Milton Highway.

An Elaboration on Last Week's Blog

In last week's Blog, "A Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre Resurgence?" I mentioned several vineyards planted with GSM varieties, including Tertulia's located deep down in the southeast part of the AVA. This is the Elevation 1200 (incorrectly identified as Riviere Galets, located elsewhere) Vineyard. Shortly afterwards, I got this email from Jon Meuret (Maison Bleue):

"Thanks for the mention in the most recent Blog. There are a few corrections to be made though. The Cote Rotie-like planting on the South Fork is actually mine, at least most of it. The 3 ft. x 3 ft. Sur Echalas part is planted in Grenache and Syrah, with a tiny bit of Marsanne. I will start harvesting a little next year from our estate block. The whole vineyard above is called Elevation Vineyard which is Tertulia's estate block. They do have a test plot of Syrah planted similarly though. Capri Walla Walla LLC owns the land and I have a long-term lease on my 2+ acre piece, Thought you should know."

Thanks, Jon, for letting me know. This is a good example of how vineyard developments are structured in many cases.