Our Walla Walla Wine Country Travel Guide shares a brief history of the region, terroir, where to sip, where to stay and things to do beyond the vines.

Walla Walla isn’t just a part of Washington that makes delicious onions. In a short time it has become a world-renowned wine region and culinary destination that all wine lovers should explore.

One of Washington’s 14 federally recognized American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), Walla Walla is a small farming community tucked in the southeastern corner of the state.

Sandwiched between the Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River to the east and the Blue Mountains to the west, Walla Walla’s unique geographic position makes it an agricultural heaven and an outdoor enthusiast’s dream.

To understand the Walla Walla Valley AVA, it is helpful to understand Washington State’s geographic makeup. Washington is thought to be dark and quite rainy, however, given some unique geographic features this is only true for the state’s western portion, which also happen to be the most populated (Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia). Eastern Washington is actually quite sunny, dry, and what some call a desert, getting only six to eight inches of rainfall annually. 

The Pacific Ocean and the Olympic Mountains form the state’s western boarders helping protect the Puget Sound and Seattle areas from the cool, winds from the Pacific Ocean. The Cascade Mountains to the east create a “rain shadow”, which keeps moisture in the Puget Sound and Seattle areas while protecting the state’s eastern portion, aka the Columbia Valley. As a result, the Columbia Valley – home to nine of Washington’s 14 AVAs, including Walla Walla – has the perfect wine production climate. Bonus: the climate and topography also make for ultimate weekend getaways for those living in Portland and Seattle who miss the sun.

While most of the Columbia Valley is quite dry, Walla Walla receives more moisture than others. With the Columbia River to its west and the Blue Mountains to its east, Walla Walla is cooler and wetter than a number of the eastern growing regions. This allows a limited number of vineyards in the eastern section of Walla Walla to dry farm, which is an extreme rarity in Washington and a technique that results in outstanding wine. 

What’s the Secret to Washington’s Wine Success?

The answer lies in Walla Walla’s global positioning. Wine regions around the world fall between 30°-50° degrees of latitude. Walla Walla’s latitude is 46° N, the same as the wine regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy in France.

These regions are exposed to the same angle of the sun and length of day, which impacts the grape’s exposure to growing conditions. Pair this with deep, well drained soils formed on loess hills and the unique diurnal shift – day-to-night temperature variability – Walla Walla is quite literally positioned to be one of the world’s next renowned wine regions.

Washington State has some of the most dramatic fluctuations of any wine region in the world with up to a 40° degree Fahrenheit different between day and night time temperatures. The diurnal shift ensures balance between grape sugar ripeness and crisp acidity. 

With 120+ wineries and 30 walk-in tasting rooms in downtown Walla Walla, the area offers a lot to sip in. We’ve shared the best Walla Walla wineries for your west-side grape escape.

There are endless activities in Walla Walla, from snagging Walla Walla Sweets (onions!) at the Farmer’s Market to history, hiking to golf, breweries to theater, and more.

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