OK, so The World — the whole world! — is not really coming to Walla Walla, the lively wine town in Southeast Washington State, but the city and AVA are hosting two events that promise to draw participants from far and wide. Sue and I will be attending both, so we thought we’d fill you in.
The World of Syrah
2014 is the Walla Walla AVA’s 30th birthday and they are marking the occasion with a three-day program called Celebrate Walla Walla Valley Wine: The World of Syrah on June 19-21, 2014. Click on the link for details.
Walla Walla Syrah will be explored through a series of tastings, talks and dinners. The inclusion of winemakers from outside the region (including Gary Mills from Australia’s Jamsheed winery) gives the event a global flair, but it must be said that the Walla Walla industry is pretty globalized itself, with influences and investment from the world over.
The Long Shadows winery, for example, features famous partner/flying winemakers from around the world, each of whom makes one wine in a distinctive style from Washington grapes. Michel Rolland, John Duval and Armin Diel are among the international winemakers here.
Some of the best known resident names in Walla Walla wine are international, too, such as Giles Nicault, Jean-Françoise Pellet, Marie-Eve Gilla and Christophe Baron. Walla Walla in intensely local and extremely global at the same time — just what I like!
Sue and I are fortunate to be part of a media group that will go behind he scenes to visit the vineyards, meet the wine people and get to know both the region’s Syrahs and its other wines as well. We are looking forward to the experience.
Wine Economists in Walla Walla
The American Association of Wine Economists will be in town June 22-25 for their annual meetings and we are looking forward to a lot of interesting papers and presentations. I expect to greet fellow wine economists from every continent except Antarctica at the meetings!
Click here to download the conference program, which includes dozens of presentations, a lecture on the region’s terroirs by geologist Kevin Pogue, a panel discussion of U.S. wine market regulation and a festive dinner at the Long Shadows winery.
The World of Syrah and the wine economists back-to-back meetings looks like a great opportunity for me to catch up with the wine’s global-local dynamic and for the world to take a closer look at this dynamic region. Look for future columns about what I learn.