With all of Walla Walla’s renowned warmth and friendliness—and none of its sales tax—wine tasting around Milton-Freewater, Oregon offers an enriching view into the unique cross border American Viticultural Area (AVA) that is the Walla Walla Valley.
Just across the state line, it’s an easy day trip from Walla Walla. Here’s how to make the most of your time in the area.
Skip the hotel coffee and start your day at Stay A-Round Donuts and Fry Pies. This popular food truck serving handmade donuts, flavorful berry and fruit-filled “fry pies,” and biscuits and gravy made it official and opened a brick and mortar on Main Street in late 2023. Partnered with local Blue Mountain Coffee Company, it’s a perfect pit stop to fuel up for a day on the tasting trail.
Then, make your way to Rotie Cellars, one of the area’s most established and top-scoring wineries, known for its Rhône-focused reds, mainly syrah, grenache, and mourvèdre, and whites—viognier, roussanne, and marsanne. As you taste through the lineup, enjoy the complementary lesson in geology: note that the sleek, modernist facility is surrounded by grapevines growing out of an ancient riverbed full of large, potato-sized cobblestones.
You’re in the Rocks District, after all, a sub-appellation of the Walla Walla Valley AVA and Milton-Freewater’s most renowned growing region, widely celebrated for its “funky” tasting reds.
Continue your education at Ducleaux Cellars, a charming garagiste (that’s the French word for small, family-owned wine making, usually operated out of a garage) on a quaint country property with a sprawling view of the Blue Mountains. Winemaker Toby Turley, a graduate of the Walla Walla Community College’s Enology & Viticulture Program, focuses on Rhône varieties, too, and has lately become renowned for her “Pet Nats” (short for Pétillant Naturel), gently sparkling wines known for their freshness and lower-alcohol content.
As you make your way back downtown, stop at Los Rocosos—Spanish for “The Rocks”—where winemaker and grape grower Roger Lemstrom and his wife Lucinda, accompanied by their winery dogs Rose, Gus, and Paco, will lead you through a flight of their small production wines. Also known for their Rhône-centric offerings, the winery makes a wonderful estate sangiovese, too—one of its many award-winning bottlings.
It’s time for lunch! Weather permitting, you could head back into historic downtown Milton-Freewater to construct a picnic. Grab some artisan cheese, local honey, mustard, and nuts at the Walla Walla Cheese Company, and then motor over to Vault 19 Bakery, located in a former bank, for a freshly-baked sourdough boule or crusty French loaf. Don’t forget a little something sweet: For this, bop over Petits Noirs and pick up a box of the artisan chocolatier’s “Wine Collection,” handmade chocolates expertly curated to accompany wine, featuring flavors such as Rosemary Pink Peppercorn and Fig Pistachio Fennel.
From here you could take your haul to beloved community gathering spot, Harris Park, on the South Fork of the Walla Walla River, enjoy a leisurely alfresco meal, and then head to the fairytale-like grounds of nearby Mongata Winery for yet more river views—this time with wine. Visit with friendly Great Pyrenees wine dogs Brix and Cooper while proprietors Scott and Vicky Nokleby lead you through a lineup of their estate wines from the renowned Resurgent Vineyard, and tell you all about the restoration of the 100-year-old barn they converted into the property’s farmhouse-chic tasting room.
Alternately, you could grab a seat at the Cheese Co. and tuck into one of its famous grilled cheese sandwiches (tip: order yours with pesto and a $2 cup of tomato soup) and afterwards, take your chances across the street at Atelier Freewater. The Atelier, also located in a former bank, is a one-stop shop for winemaker Todd Alexander’s many owned and shared projects—names such as Force Majeure, WeatherEye Vineyards, Holocene, Beatus, and others.
Depending on your mood, from here you could grab a bite at local hangout, Patty’s Mexican Restaurant, for more sustenance. The authentic Mexican eatery serves from a large menu that offers something for everyone, though locals will tell you to try the “birria ramen,” an inventive fusion dish combining traditional tacos and ramen noodles in a savory au jus style broth.
If you are up for one more winery, make it Zerba Cellars, on the highway back to Walla Walla. You can’t miss its adorable log cabin tasting room—it was once used as a model show home until winery owner Cecil Zerba purchased it and had it reassembled on site—but unless you visit, its most distinctive feature will remain hidden.
Tucked into the hillside behind the cabin, a massive, temperature-controlled wine cave filled with barrels awaits—if you happen to be tasting on a blisteringly hot day, it’s the place to be. Here, you’ll taste wines sourced from three vineyards all on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley, but outside of the Rocks, all uniquely aged in American oak.
The experience is unusual enough to claim “only in Oregon” status. But now you know: It’s part of Walla Walla, too.