WALLA WALLA & SURROUNDS

When Lewis and Clark traveled near the mouth of a small river flowing into the mighty Columbia in 1805, they met a group of Native Americans who told them their name for that river was "Wallah Wallah." Among the locals I've met recently, opinions of the actual origins of the town's name vary, from humorous to not so flattering. Yet to a person, loyalty to this small yet formidable town runs deep. Those who have earned the right are extremely proud to call themselves natives, yet stop short of saying that they are long-timers unless their families have been in place for at least three generations.

With fur trading as a catalyst for its early growth and success, Walla Walla's economic mainstay has been as one of the country's most productive wheat growing regions. An article written for HistoryLink.org by Jim Kershner in January, 2018 cites an overview of Northwest farming history as saying that "The Palouse Hills [area], named for the Palouse River, provides the best soil and moisture conditions for wheat culture in the Pacific Northwest. It is characterized by rolling hills of wind-blown soil at an average elevation of 1,000 to 3,000 feet.” The area extends southward to the Blue Mountains. It includes parts of Spokane, Whitman, Garfield, Columbia, Walla Walla and Franklin counties. Originally a sparsely populated land covered with bunchgrass, pioneer farmers discovered the Palouse soils to be ideal for wheat. The soil is wind-laid in a deep mantle over basaltic rock, and is finely textured, fertile and highly retentive of moisture. Although generally sloping, the loess soil readily absorbs moisture. 

Then there's the Walla Walla Sweet. A coveted, short-season onion originating from Corsica, harvested by hand due to its high moisture content, and made sweet by the low sulfur content in the soil of the region. Today, the same earthen mix, made possible by the cataclysmic Missoula Floods occurring at the end of the last ice age, has provided the foundational character of many award-winning wines, luring a growing number of wine makers and wine lovers to town, expanding the region's economy and putting the appellation designated as the Walla Walla Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) squarely on the map.

I completely disagree with those who have described the area to me as plain and monochromatic. I’m completely enchanted with its elegant simplicity, and the abruptness of sharply defined seasons which bring dramatic variation to the light, texture, and color of the landscape. If that’s not enough, the people of the region are genuine, thoughtful, decent. And if THAT’S not enough, there’s always the wine, which is richly deserving of the accolades that have accelerated in recent years. Ah, yes, the wine.