Amavi Cellars

Talk about night and day. The change from Amavi Cellars’ reconstructed log cabin on 13th Avenue near downtown Walla Walla to its newly built contemporary digs south of Walla Walla is nothing short of spectacular. Perched on a hilltop off Pepper Bridge Road, the gleaming new tasting room has that stop-your-car, break-out-your-camera impact. At least it did for me, prompting me to fish for my Nikon in the back seat.

Inside the tasting room, visitors have a full frontal view of Pepper Bridge Winery, Amavi Cellars’ sister winery, situated on a hilltop a little way in the distance. The view from a floor-to-ceiling wall of windows takes in the famous Pepper Bridge Vineyard (the source, along with Les Collines and Seven Hills Vineyards, of Amavi’s wine grapes) at a slightly higher elevation than the valley floor. Doors lead to a spacious outside deck, where I spied several visitors soaking in the view with freshly opened bottles of Amavi Cellars’ wine. As I took more photos from the deck, I had that “six S’s of wine tasting” mantra going through my mind: seeing, swirling, smelling, sipping (or swallowing), and savoring.

Back inside, Ray Goff (co-owner of Pepper Bridge Winery and Amavi Cellars) poured me a sample of their 2007 estate syrah, and I made a conscious decision to slow down and exercise the six S’s. With a lean, athletic physique and sporting a Mad Hatter’s hat, Ray gave me a generous pour and explained in his folksy Montana way that Amavi wines are one of the super values in the valley. Priced at less than $30, the creations of winemaker Jean-François Pellet are fruit-forward and ready to enjoy with an evening’s meal.

Recalling the six S’s of wine tasting, I gave my glass a few brisk swirls before sticking my nose inside the glass to smell the 100 percent syrah. There followed a full mouth onslaught (no wimpy sip this time) with agitated swishing to all parts of the palate, followed by an audible gulp. Now came the savoring part, during which, with a satisfied grin, I looked up to see Ray’s expectant eyes on me. That’s when I exclaimed in a very un–Robert M. Parker–like way, “Wow, that’s really good stuff!” I decided then and there that I should adopt my own personal seven S’s of wine tasting mantra: seeing, swirling, smelling, sipping (or swallowing), savoring, and silence … well at least enough silence to carefully consider the next words out of my mouth.

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  Order the book!

  Amavi Cellars was featured in WineTrails of Walla Walla as part of the Walla Walla WineTrail South on page 454!

• 

  Order the book!

  Amavi Cellars was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Walla Walla WineTrail South on page 454!