Seattlest is a bit of a wino. We can't help it, we love the red stuff. Living in Seattle has only fed our addiction, considering Washington State is the second-biggest producer of wine in the country (after California, of course). So recently, we decided to head east to see where that wine comes from, besides a brown paper bag. Walla Walla ho!

We don't know what MapQuest and Google Maps were talking about, but we made the drive in well under five hours both ways, not counting our stop in Yakima at Mel's Diner, known far and wide for its $3 glasses of Carlo Rossi chablis and 40¢ tomato slices.

In planning which wineries to hit up, a valuable resource is the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance. The website's good for advanced planning purposes, and once in Walla Walla, you can easily find copies of their maps, which show all the wineries in the area. A few quibbles about said maps:
1. The first map we picked up turned out to be the "old" map, with only 49 wineries on it, compared to the most recent version of the map, which includes 59 area wineries (strangely enough, one winery we visited was included on the old map, but not the new one).
2. While the maps provide some information about the wineries---address, phone number, tasting hours, a brief description---there is no mention as to whether or not the winery charges for tasting, which, let's face it, is a major consideration.

Now, as to some of the wineries visited:

· Waterbrook Winery This upscale winery/boutique in downtown Walla Walla doubles as an art gallery, with photos of an abandoned hotel adorning the walls. They had nine (!) wines to sample, including one reserve. Our favorites were the 2004 Melange, a steal at $14, and the 2003 Merlot.

· Walla Walla Vintners East of town, Walla Walla Vintners has a non-descript entrance---at first, we were unsure if we had entered through the wrong door. But that only added to the winery's homey charms. There, amongst the barrels, we sampled their six wines, including a 2003 reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which the friendly pourer accurately predicted would be the best Cab we'd have all day.

· Russell Creek Winery When we got to Russell Creek, out by the airport, we were greeted by two big, poorly-trained dogs. The wine-girl failed to charge us the $5 tasting fee, but she also ate yogurt while waiting on us and allowed her dog to molest our friend. The seven wines tasted included two Cabernet Sauvignon (2002 and 2002 reserve) that had almost a vegetabley flavor to them. Odd, but still pleasant.

· Cougar Crest Winery This winery ended up being our favorite all around: impecabble service (no dogs) and seven great wines. Even their two whites, a 2005 Viognier and a 2005 Viognier/Chardonnay blend, were yummy and good on their own. And then there were the reds. The 2003 Merlot was smooth and jammy, the 2003 Syrah fruity but not overwhelming, and the 2003 Anniversary Cuvee had a very complex finish, with just a hint of burnt sugar. To top things off, Cougar Crest had a delightful port unlike any we've ever tried.

· Dunham Cellars Nice location and classy decor, but bad service and meh wines. This one also charges $5 for tasting, which we averted by leaving the premises before sampling all seven wines.

· Syzygy Say it with us: "sizz-uh-gee." It's when three celestial bodies are in line (for example, an eclipse). With a name like that, they're certainly poised to be Walla Walla's thinking man wine. They only had one wine available to taste, a very young Cab/Syrah/Merlot/Malbec blend bottled in January. However, their '04 Cabs and Syrahs will be available come fall. To tide you over until then, you can pick up a stylish Syzygy t-shirt or thong.

· L'Ecole No. 41 This was the last winery we hit on our way out of town. While the local wine community may constantly fall all over themselves when it comes to L'Ecole, we've never been too impressed with their wines. Yes, drinking in an old refurbished country school has its charms, but the wines are nothing special.