黑料福利社

Many in the industry argue the best way to know a region is to try their wine, but what is the best way to see a region?

, a local e-bike rental business, offers wine tasting packages that allow visitors to spend a day commuting by bicycle to three different wineries. The blend of Walla Walla鈥檚 natural beauty and the chance to try new wines creates an experience delicious for the eyes and mouth.

I arrived at the FINCH hotel on a cool Thursday morning. Andy Zissermann, owner, founder and my tour guide for the day was waiting by the firepit. After working as a mechanical engineer in Seattle for the last 20 years, Zissermann started Kickstand Tours to pursue his passion for bicycling and wine tasting.

After accepting my first souvenir, a filled, orange water bottle, I received a succinct explanation on how to operate the e-bike which had my name on the back. Instead of mechanical bicycles, electric ones are used to help make travel over Walla Walla鈥檚 hills easier as well as to accommodate people and their accessibility requirements. For those who cannot pedal, Kickstand has a tricycle with a throttle.

Once the seat was adjusted, Andy turned on his music and we picked up our lunch from local sandwich shop Graze, we were off. Although there are many different packages, from the Airport District to Prosser, I chose the Southside Walla Walla one. Once we weaved through the streets of downtown Walla Walla, glided through the historic suburbs and onto country roads, I was so glad we chose this path.

Pedaling through Walla Walla wine country

Golden wheat waved as we passed. The Blue Mountains loomed beneath the clear, blue sky. When we rode down the hills, past farmlands and ranches, the wind brushed my face. My whole body tingled with adrenaline. The long, winding road rarely saw traffic, so it was quiet. Sometimes, I was so caught up in the beauty and the silence of the countryside that I slowed down too much.

Fortunately, this didn鈥檛 delay us from our first scheduled tasting on the itinerary. After receiving my next souvenir from Kickstand, a notebook and a sticker, we headed inside , located on Peppers Bridge Road.

Sitting out on a sunlight balcony with a great view of the mountains and wine estates growing in the foothills, I sampled five different wines.

The 2023 Semillon, which Amavi calls a 鈥渨hite wine for red drinkers,鈥� is a 92-point wine consisting of 85% Semillon and 15% Blanc. It has a honey scent and citrus notes.

Then, I had a sample of my personal favorite from this winery. The 2023 Cab Franc Ros茅, an Old World style label, consists of 100% Cab Franc, aged in 100% stainless steel. Because of its unique structure, it didn鈥檛 have that fruity taste a lot of ros茅s have, but rather a tangy, almost savory one. The sensual ros茅 notes won me over.

The 2022 Walla Walla Syrah, which included 89% Syrah and 11% Grenache, bore a blueberry-pomegranate type smell and an umami, smoke meat flavor. It was smokier and less bitter than the Les Collines Syrah, which tasted plummier.

Finally, I had the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon. Although the last 20% of the wine is subject to change, the one I had contained 80% Cab Sav. 10% Cab Franc, 10% Mulbac, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

A southside stop at Sariah Cellars

After Amavi, we headed to our next winery, , located just five minutes away, nestled among green vineyards. I was welcomed with a 2024 Ros茅, 100% Sangiovese aged in 100% stainless steel. The wine had a strawberry scent and a sweet, watermelon tang.

Upon arriving, Sariah gives visitors the option to sample from either a red menu or a white menu. Because they are known for releasing seven Syrahs a year, mostly single state, I decided to travel the red path.

As I ate my Graze banh mi, I sampled the first wine on the menu. The 2021 Big Sky Cuvee. In the spring, it is more merlot-heavy, while in the autumn, the recipe incorporates more cav. The scent was reminiscent of pepper, plum, cherry and sage, while the after-taste screamed dark chocolate and espresso.

Following up was the 2021 Pinot Noir, my favorite from Sariah. Aged in neutral oak, this light, ruby-colored wine bore a jasmine scent and tasted like a bright, bursting cranberry.

Next, the 2022 Hunt and Gather Syrah. This cav-syrah blend is named so because of its smoked meat notes and mountain berry smell. While I got the huckleberry scent, the taste reminded me more of coffee. The next Syrah I had, the 2022 Reserve, was 100% Syrah and was reminiscent of currants.

The last three wines I tried were the 2022 Cab Franc, the Tempranillo and the 2021 Estate Cav. The Cab Franc, which consisted of 100% Cab, had a Rainier cherry-esque scent. The Tempranillo is a blend of 90% Temp and 10% Syrah, reminiscent of mineral-heavy rain water over rocks. The Cav, 100% Cav, was a fruit pie of a wine, with a baking spice scent and a fruity, clove and cacao taste.

Sariah wraps up the tasting with a truffle from Bright鈥檚. After I finished my wine and we had our lunches, we got back on our bikes and headed back to town to visit the final stop. Through the cool afternoon, we left the wheatfields, the quiet farmlands and the setting sun behind us and headed forward to tasting room.

An 鈥�80s-inspired finale at Time and Direction

Filled with Darth Vader figurines, lava lamps and TVs playing "Pee-wee鈥檚 Big Adventure" and "Gremlins," Time and Direction is a treasure trove of '80s nostalgia. The winery takes an irreverent, tongue-in-cheek approach to tasting, from providing Mad Libs-style notes to pun-filled and '80s-referential labels.

Time and Direction takes visitors back to the future with the 2023 1.21 Gigawatts white wine. A blend of 32% Grenache blanc, 22% Roussanne, 16% Viognier and 6% Piquepoul. While the gigawatts is a clear and sweet wine, the 2024 Fretboard Viognier is cloudier and more sour, with an almost ginger sting. The latter wine is 100% Viognier.

Next was the 2022 Space Pants Mourvedre, a 100% Mourvedre, vampire-red wine that had an out of this world cherry-apple pie scent and a clove aftertaste. The 2022 Ceci N'est Pas Un Vin Rouge Grenache, consisting of 100% Grenache, was a tart red, bore almost cherry Jolly Rancher flavor.

The final two wines of the day were the 2021 Old School Syrah and the 2021 Binary Syrah. The former is an Old World label, crafted of a blend of 92% Syrah and 8% Viognier, and bearing a prominently acerbic grape taste. The Binary, a pure Syrah, was not very smoky and resembled more of a pomegranate.

At the end of the day, we returned to the FINCH and said goodbye. Despite having a day鈥檚 workout and enough wine to last my liver a week, I didn鈥檛 feel exhausted. Invigorated by the beauty of Walla Walla and the incredible hospitality of both the three tasting rooms and Kickstand, I wanted to hop on another bike and do it all over again.