Winter snow in Walla Walla is never a given, but wine is another story—there’s always plenty to go around.
The hope is that the two will combine seamlessly on Saturday, January 18, from 12–3 p.m., for Southside Snow Day, a wine-centric winter fest now in its second year.
“We are going to hope for mother’s nature best,” says Abby Marett, Hospitality Manager of Dusted Valley, where this year’s event will take place and snowshoeing through the winery’s estate vineyard is planned. Snowshoe rentals will be available, in the event of snow, and guests can bring their own gear, too.
“If the weather doesn’t work out, we’ll have some routes for people to do some hiking through the vineyards,” Marett says.
Experts say the best way to beat the winter blues is to get outside. For this reason alone, the scenery from Dusted Valley’s southeast-facing Sconni Block vineyard will be hard to top—it has one of the best views of the Blue Mountains anywhere in the valley.
Like last year, revelers are encouraged to dress up in ‘80s retro ski suits for a bit of flashy color to add to the fun. In addition to romps around the vineyard, fire pits with s’mores and a bonfire will be located outside to keep things cozy. Newly opened restaurant, The Salted Mill, will provide sandwiches and soup to further fend off winter’s chill.
But the wine should help with that, too.
Inside Dusted Valley’s expansive barrel room, 19 participating southside district wineries including Balboa, Canvasback, Caprio Cellars, Ducleaux Cellars, Gifford Hirlinger, Grosgrain, Isenhower Cellars, Kinhaven, Mongata, Pepper Bridge, and others will pour samples of their wines.
“We’re excited to be the host location for the event this year,” Marett says. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase the Southside wine district, it’s such a great community. And, it’s important to offer something different and unique for Walla Walla.”
From 3–6 p.m., an afterparty continues downtown, anchored by Mercer Wine Estates where DJs from Stylus Wine and Vinyl Bar in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho will spin tunes and wines by the glass and bottle will be available for purchase. Local beers from local breweries Five Dollar Ranch, Quirk, and Burwood, and a few food items from a small menu will also be available.
Additional downtown tasting rooms including Dama Wines, Vital, Seven Hills, Mark Ryan, Kontos, and Capital Call, among others, will offer guests with Snow Day wristbands 10–20% discount on bottle purchases, depending on the number of bottles purchased.
Afterparty attendees who don’t have Snow Day wristbands are welcome to attend with a small donation to the Jasper Mountain Reserve, a wildlife sanctuary in the Blue Mountains and a beneficiary of a portion of Snow Day proceeds.
Mercer Hospitality Manager Mandy Walters says it’s important to offer unique, seasonal events throughout the year to encourage year round tourism.
“Having out-of-town visitors understand that we’re not just a destination in the summer, that we aren’t as crowded as places in Seattle, or even Winthrop,” Walters says. “Winter is a great time to come, you can go cross country skiing at Tollgate, or downhill at Bluewood, go on a hike with Adventure Fit. There are all these pockets of people doing stuff collectively all year; it’s important for people to know that.”
For more details, or to purchase tickets, click the event listing here.