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Event Report:

IWFS Walla Walla Festival: A Tale of Two Wineries

What’s New

Best of the Cockle Bur compiled & edited by Harry B. Otis, 3rd President 1973-1974

“When borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most.”

W. A. Clarke

The Current Executive Board of the Omaha Branch

The President and Vice President in the Omaha Branch change every two years in April. Here is the lineup for our current Board Members.

Joe Goldstein, President, Wine Committee

Dan Thrasher Vice President and Secretary

Duke Matz Cellar Master, Treasurer, Chairman of the Wine Committee

Mark Stokes Membership

John Mathews Event Coordinator

Tom Murnan Gazette

Hasan Hyder Wine Committee

Stefan Kasan Member

Tad Singer Member

Dave Thrasher Wine Committee

Mike Wilke Wine Committee

Reminder: John Mathews is now sending event invitations under a different email address. Invitations will now come from: jmatthews@supportworkstech.com. Make sure your spam filter is programmed to permit this email address.

Event Report: IWFS Walla Walla Festival: A Tale of Two Wineries

Story by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan

The Walla Walla (WW) AVA is many times overlooked as so many of our members are laser focused on Napa Valley and the excellent Cabs that originate there. But professional wine critics and enthusiasts are starting to realize that WW makes excellent Bordeaux varietal wines, as well as Rhone varietal bottlings, at a much lower price than the Napa Valley superstars. Compared to Napa, WW wines are less ripe as it is not as warm as Napa, but WW has longer grape hang time because of a cooler climate, which increases flavor intensity. There is a lot of room for winemaker intervention, as I discovered on our first day in the field.

Our first excursion was to Echolands Winery (EL), where we had a tasting and lunch with Co-Founder Doug Frost who has the distinction of being one of three individuals who simultaneously hold a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine certificate. He is based not far from Omaha in Kansas City, MO, as is his partner at EL, Brad Bergman. The winery itself is a stunning building, with a large, glassed in tasting room that overlooks the Blue Mountain foothills. Brian Rudin is the winemaker and general manager. Their goal is to make balanced and elegant wines. The winery raises Cabernets Sauvignon & Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Cinsault, Grenache Blanc, Vermentino and Riesling. We learned that Cabernet Franc is regarded as the mother grape to different Cabernets, like Sauvignon (which is genetically considered the child of Franc). I noticed that the reds in our tasting were all on the rough, tannic side. Doug said they were made in a traditional style, and he enjoyed the wine in the glass as it transitioned from newly opened but closed-in to opened up after much swirling and waiting.

In the evening, we headed to Doubleback Winery, owned by Drew Bledsoe, who had a 14-year career

with the NFL where he played quarterback for the Patriots and was in 4 Pro Bowls. He moved back to his hometown, WW, and began the winery in 2008. The winery’s name, Doubleback (DB) is a reference to his return home. Drew’s goal was to make a world-class Cabernet Sauvignon. Obsessed with quality, his first Cabernet in 2007 was named #54 in the Wine Spectator Top 100. The winery is within sight of Echolands, but closer to the Blue Mountains. We did not meet Drew, but instead his winemaker, Josh McDaniels CEO and Director of Winemaking, who presented the wines at our dinner. We had a 2024 Chardonnay, a 2024 Pinot Noir from Oregon, three DB Cabernet Sauvignons from 2023, 2020 and 2015, and Chocolate Mousse found us with an Estate Reserve 2023 (mostly Cabernet Sauvignon).

I noticed that all the Cabs had silky tannins and were all very user friendly even at a young age. Josh explained that DB uses Pulse Air, a bubbling technique for young wines, the younger the better. Oxygen is introduced into stainless steel tanks right after crush, before barrel aging. A special air hose is attached and injects a big burst of oxygen for however long it is programmed. For example, 2 minutes 2 times a day for 10 to 25 days. It is essential to do this when the wine is as young as possible. They want tannin, but the right kind of tannin. The result is an approachable, soft tannin in even newly released wines.

So, the contrast between EL and DB was startling. EL reds were cerebral, old fashioned and TANNIC, like the Russian Army just marched over your tongue. DB had approachable, SILKY tannins on their young wines. So different. Both delicious. A tale of two wineries.