Tuesday, June 26, 2012

"The Way West"...Day 11...Saturday, June 23, 2012

So...this will be the last day/night for me in Walla Walla, so I really want to make the best of it. I've got some of yesterday's coffee in the thermos (still hot), so that's a good start.
My first stop is an early lunch at my new favorite taco "dive"...Tacqueria Yungapeti...naturally. I'm feeling adventurous, so I let the cute gal behind the counter pick three for me. I end up with chorizo and egg (one of my favorites), cabeza, and one that has beef, peppers, onions and cheese (like a Philly cheese steak). They are, all of them, delicious.
My friend, Spencer, wrote down a list yesterday of small, lesser-known wineries that he thought I'd like...so that's where I'm off to next. Three of them are right in downtown Walla Walla, so I park near the transfer station for the bus. This turns out to be right next to the Saturday Farmer's Market where I buy some Walla Walla sweet onions and a pound of fresh asparagus.
My first winery stop is at a place called "Kerloo", and the winemaker is running the tasting room this morning. Their "specialties are Tempranillo (a Spanish grape), Cabernet and Merlot. I taste about five different wines and have a nice chat with the winemaker. All of the wines are great, but I limit myself to the purchase of one bottle of "table wine" which is a blend of all three grapes.
Next stop is a winery called "Rotie" which specializes in the grape varietals of the Rhone region in France. Wow...these are big, brawny, inky, deep reds...just what I like. Even their white, a blend of rousanne, Marsanne and Viognier grapes) is BIG. So...I buy a bottle of white and a bottle of their "Southern Rhone Blend".
OK...whenb I went in to Rotie, it was nice and sunny out. Now, when I come out, it's dark...windy...thunder and lightning. The wind really picks up...things are starting to blow over. Someone behind me says that this could be a tornado and...just then...a big wooden sign comes blowing down the middle of the street. My instincts tell me to seek shelter ASAP....so I run for my vehicle (yea, I know, not the safest place in a storm). Just as I get inside, the storm really breaks loose...thunder, lightning, driving rain and...then...hail. It's so loud, it sounds like someone is dropping buckets of marbles onto the Explorer from a rooftop. It's like that for twenty minutes and then...just like that...it's over and the sun is out.
One more winery stop in town...Seven Hills. They're pouring a chardonnay, a Cab, a Merlot and a Syrah...all good. I opt for another table wine (Three-legged Red), a ball cap and a water bottle.
Next, I head west out of town on Old Highway 12 to one of the wineries that I visited on my first trip here in 2008, Reininger Winery. Their specialty is Carmenere, a grape that you normally see from Chile. They're also pouring four or five other wines as well. The girls at the tasting room are nice and friendly. They know my friend, Spencer, because his partner at El Corazon is the winemaker here at Reininger. The girls are cooking up some pancakes made with blueberries just picked from behind the winery...and, soon, I've got a plateful in front of me. Now, I (along with several other fellow "tasters") am trying to decide which wine goes best with pancakes. Our "consensus pick" is the Syrah...hints of maple in the nose...or maybe that's just the syrup.
A little ways down the road is L'Ecole 41, housed in the old Public School #41 building. At the tasting room, I meet a couple from Seattle, and we start discussing what many here have referred to as America's most exclusive "cult" wine...Cayouse. They make 800 cases (total) of Cab, Merlot and Syrah a year. The entire production each year is sold to people on their customer list...and the limit is twelve bottles. It is impossible to buy it at retail anywhere. And...get this...the waiting time to get on the "list" right now is FIFTEEN YEARS. Anyway, there's no "waiting list" at L'Ecole 41, so I dive right in. They make at least different wines...single grapes and blends...all great. One of the guys running the tasting room says that, while he has never drunk any Cayouse, he did see a bottle of it once at someone's home...all locked up. So, he says, there really is a Cayouse...it's not a myth as some believe.
By now, it's late afternoon...time to head back to camp for a shower and a change of clothes before my last meal in Walla Walla.
I head over to the bus stop, and it's an hour or so before I figure out that something is wrong. Checking with the desk clerk at the hotel next to the bus stop, I find that my bus doesn't run on Sunday. So...I decide to call fot my private driver, Larry. There's only one cab company in town, and they only have one driver...Larry. So, over the last few days, Larry and I have become buddies. When he comes to pick me up, he doesn't say..."your cab is here". No...he says..."Mr. Thee, your car is waiting". This never fails to impress my fellow bar patrons...and makes me feel like a "big shot".
Tonight, my driver drops me off at "Saffron Mediterranean Bistro", which comes highly recommended by many locals. It turns out to be my best meal of the trip...by far. An appetizer of grilled Merguez sausage with homemade Harissa sauce is washed down with a few glasses of the Tempranillo from this morning's first stop, Kerloo. Then, an absolutely perfectly-cooked piece of Alaskan Halibut (my favorite fish) served on a bed of baby peas and pea shoots in a Veloute sauce...stunningly good...especially with a few glasses of a great Pinot Gris.Somehow, I've managed to save room for dessert (but you already knew that)...a cobbler of local berries served with homemade vanilla bean ice cream. All of this food has made me thirsty...so...for an "after dinner" drink, I have an icy bottle of Kolsch beer from Oregon...just like I used to drink in Cologne, Germany.
Three days of wine tasting has left me "wined out" (as they say). So...after dinner, I head up the street to the Red Monkey which advertises "Sixty Beers on Tap"...my kind of place. Soon, I'm sitting at the bar with a large draft Stella Artois in front of me, and I start talking to the guy sitting next to me, Manuel. Manuel, as it turns out, is a Techno DJ booked tonight at the Red Monkey. Now...Ilove Techno...I study it, research it and, most of all, I listen to it...a lot. But, since I'm about the only person I know that likes it, I've never had anyone to talk about it with...until tonight. So...for forty-five minutes or so, Manuel and I have the conversation that I've been waiting years to have...all about Techno. Among other things, we debate...
"What separates "house" from "deep house"?

Did "Kruder" of Kruder & Dorfmeister form "Tosca" to play something other than "drum and base"?

Is "Morcheeba", the "trip-hop" group better or worse with a new lead singer?

And, did "dub-step" evolve from the genre, "UK Garage"?

It's the most in-depth discussion that I've ever had on this subject. And...Manuel invites me to stay and listen to his sets because he'll "play things that I know you'll like". And he does...for the next three hours or so.
Meanwhile, I'm chatting up and buying a beer for the cute, red-haired, "Reubenesque" beauty next to me, Katie. She just got her real estate license and, pretty soon, she's telling me that she's got the perfect house for me in Walla Walla...big "industrial" kitchen and an acre of grapes planted out back.
And that's when I realize that I've got to get out of town...because I'm afraid. I'm afraid that if I spend one more day in Walla Walla, I'm not leaving here...I'm staying.
So...that's when I call for my driver, Larry. Back to the campground...and sleep.
I've got to leave here tomorrow...before it's too late.

Oh...and that sixth photo from the top? Dude...don't even ask!

















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