We have had such a busy winter here in Walla Walla we barely noticed the telltale signs that spring has finally sprung. 

Spring Release Weekend is just around the corner and the construction company has been making leaps and bounds towards finishing our tasting room and the first stage of our new winery. The vineyard workers are marking out the five blocks of grapes that will surround the winery; our plan is to have the vines in the ground by the end of April. We are practicing sustainable viticulture in our vineyard, thus we are working towards having a healthier soil environment in order to grow happier grape vines.

This has also been a busy month in the winery. All month I have been bottling and labeling the 2006 Viognier, 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Red Table Wines, with the help of some special friends. Each time we bottle, I feel as George Bailey must have at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Just when I think I won't have enough people to help me bottle, the many wonderful friends of Tertulia Cellars come to save the day.

To further help with bottling we invested in a new bottling line. This machine is simply amazing. To give you an idea of how well it works, we bottled 201 cases of our 2005 Viognier last year in about 8 hours. At the end of the long day, everyone was tired and sore. This year we bottled 267 cases of the 2006 Viognier in a mere two hours, with fewer  people, and the bottling was much gentler on the wines. Of course, everyone was still tired and sore; I guess you can’t have everything.

I would like to announce that we have released our first red wine, our 2005 Tertulia Cellars Columbia Valley Syrah. I am very excited about the warm reception the wine is receiving here in Walla Walla. I don’t expect it will be around for too long after Spring Release. If you like this Syrah, you will love the 2005 Les Collines Walla Walla Valley Syrah which will be released during our opening weekend in May. Our second vintage of Viognier will also be released along with our 2005 Red Table Wine.

For a sneak peak of some of our soon-to-be-released wines, stop by Vintage Cellars on April 25, at 5:00 p.m. We will be pouring two of our Spring Release wines for the evening. Vintage Cellars is on 2^nd street in Downtown Walla Walla. We hope to see you there!

And, of course, we warmly invite you all to come visit us Spring Release Weekend May 4-6, at our new home on the Corner of Whitely and Pranger, just behind North Star and up the road from Rulo and Isenhower. Our tasting room hours are 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.

See you all soon!

Ryan Raber

Tertulia Cellars

Winemaker