Walla Walla Village Winery

It was the summer of 1967. I was 15 at the time, and my dad and mom had thrown two of my three sisters and me into the two-tone blue Ford Fairlane 500 to drive from Spokane to the Bay Area. We were going to visit my older brother, who was stationed at Fort Ord. The nightly news was reporting the latest body counts in Vietnam. Eric Burdon and The Animals’ “San Francisco Nights” was a huge hit on the radio, and my dad begrudgingly turned up the volume when the song played. We were heading to a music mecca, where The Fillmore was the venue for Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, and other acid-rock icons. Our city tour included Haight-Ashbury, where I saw plenty of hippies and psychedelic posters announcing upcoming concerts. I was to learn later that Stanley Mouse was the artistic creator behind many of the posters. Today, serious collectors wage bidding battles on eBay for his work.

So imagine my delight nearly 40 years later when I walked into the Walla Walla Village Winery tasting room and saw that its labels were designed by none other than Stanley Mouse. The same guy whose art embodied quintessential ’60s rock had loaned his talents to the creation of Walla Walla Village’s wine labels. Just as a music poster can evoke memories of events, feelings, and ideas, a wine label can also define a moment in time.

Barb and Lynn Irish Clark, owners of Walla Walla Village Winery, had Mouse create the label for their first 2003 release of gewürztraminer. His label designs also capture the spirit of other wines they offer. I was to discover that the eye-popping sunburst label perfectly represented the spiciness of the gewürztraminer, as well as the luscious, rich flavor of their “Bordello Red.” The Clarks’ son, Joel, is their winemaker, and he has created a full sleight of wines using grapes from Washington’s Columbia Valley.

Located in a renovated 1900 building, the Walla Walla Village Winery tasting room beautifully complements Walla Walla’s downtown architecture. Inside, the high ceilings feature still-shiny copper tiles, and the refurbished tasting bar dates back to an era that honored artisanship. As you sample the delectable offerings and gaze through the arched windows, you can almost imagine a horse-drawn carriage passing by. It would be the perfect moment to hear “On a warm San Francisco night ... ”

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  Order the book!

  Walla Walla Village Winery was featured in WineTrails of Walla Walla as part of the Walla Walla Downtown WineTrail on page 444!

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  Order the book!

  Walla Walla Village Winery was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Walla Walla Downtown WineTrail on page 444!