• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Contact us
  • Wine of the Week newsletter
  • Wine submission guidelines
Great Northwest Wine

Great Northwest Wine

News, reviews and info about the wines of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho

  • Home
  • Subscribe to GNWW The Magazine
  • Explore
    • Wine news
    • Grapes and viticulture
    • Washington wine
    • Oregon wine
    • Idaho wine
    • British Columbia wine
    • Product reviews
    • Recipes
    • Wine Adventures
    • Podcast
  • Reviews
    • Latest wine reviews
    • Wine of the Week
    • Best Buys
    • Washington wines
    • Oregon wines
    • Idaho wines
    • British Columbia wines
  • Events calendar
    • Submit an event
  • Competitions
    • Cascadia International Wine Competition
    • Idaho Wine & Cider Competition
    • “The Invite” – Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition
    • Platinum Awards
    • Walla Walla Valley Wine Competition
    • Washington State Wine Competition
  • About us
    • Awards and honors
    • Advertising on Great Northwest Wine
    • Wine submission guidelines
  • e-edition

Celebrate Walla Walla Valley Wine reports record sales, attendance

July 13, 2015 by Eric Degerman Leave a Comment

Celebrate Walla Walla focused on Merlot.
June’s record-setting Celebrate Walla Walla focused on Merlot. (Photo by Andy Perdue/Great Northwest Wine)

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Despite going up against the historic U.S. Open Golf Championship in the Puget Sound as well as Father’s Day weekend, Celebrate Walla Walla Valley Wine announced record ticket sales and attendance for its third annual event.

The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance said more than 540 people purchased tickets to the June 18-20 event, which celebrated Merlot. That figure reflects a sales increase of more than 10 percent from last year’s Syrah-themed Celebrate, and organizers said the number of guests was up 20 percent.

“Celebrate is becoming a ‘must attend’ event for wine lovers around the world,” Duane Wollmuth, executive director of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance, stated in a news release. “We will continue to raise the bar every year to keep attracting people to the valley.”

Celebrate Walla Walla Valley Wine began in 2013, and the inaugural event brought in more than 300 wine lovers who learned more about Cabernet Sauvignon and how it is produced in the Walla Walla Valley while meeting some of the region’s famous winemakers and chefs.

Next year, the spotlight variety for 2016 Celebrate Walla Walla Valley Wine will return to Cabernet Sauvignon. It will be staged June 16-18.

This year’s toasting of Merlot began at Dunham Cellars with the Vintage Pour, which featured library wines from some of the valley’s longtime winemakers, such as Waterbrook Winery 1987 Merlot, Walla Walla Vintners 1997 Spring Valley Vineyard Merlot, Leonetti Cellar 1999 Merlot and L’Ecole No. 41 1999 Merlot.

That was followed by seminars, tastings and winemaker dinners built around Merlot. Winemakers represented California, Italy and France, and Master Sommelier Fred Dame and wine critic Stephen Tanzer gave public presentations.

Wollmuth said 75 percent of the attendees for this year’s Celebrate Walla Walla Valley Wine — The World of Merlot traveled more than 50 miles to reach Walla Walla. About 25 percent came from outside Washington state or Canada.

“The Walla Walla Valley made an extremely positive impact on our visitors,” Wollmuth said. “One-hundred percent of survey respondents said they felt either very or extremely safe during the Celebrate weekend. We find this to be reflective of the quality of life and security we feel in the Walla Walla Valley every single day.”

Organizers surveyed patrons, and 90 percent of those respondents rated the event “very good” or “excellent,” adding they would recommend the event to a friend. Wineries, sponsors and the hospitality industry also applauded the event, and Wollmuth said everyone who returned the survey wanted Celebrate Walla Walla Valley Wine to continue.

Media attendance for Merlot was off this year. The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance played host to 18 representatives from around the United States and Canada, down from the 23 attendees in 2014.

The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance is a nonprofit membership organization focused on marketing the Walla Walla Valley American Viticultural Area. The alliance serves as a key resource of information for consumers, media and trade.

Filed Under: News, Washington wine Tagged With: featured, ticker

About Eric Degerman

Eric is the President and CEO of Great Northwest Wine. He is a journalist with more than 30 years of daily newspaper experience and has been writing about wine since 1998. He co-founded Wine Press Northwest magazine with Andy Perdue and served as its managing editor for a decade. He is a frequent wine judge at international wine competitions throughout North America and orchestrates 10 Northwest competitions each year.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Wine of the Week

Liquid Light Wines 2022 Chardonnay, Washington State $16

November 28, 2023

Latest Wine Reviews

Chehalem Wines 2019 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge $70

Mosquito Fleet Winery 2019 SS Fortuna Petit Verdot, Horse Heaven Hills $45

Love & Squalor 2016 Reserve Riesling, Willamette Valley $28

Yamhill Valley Vineyards 2022 Estate Pinot Blanc, McMinnville $30

Fortuity Cellars 2018 Heart of the Hill Vineyard Destined Cabernet Sauvignon, Yakima Valley $65

Spring Valley Vineyard 2019 Estate Uriah Red Wine, Walla Walla Valley, $60

Desert Wind Winery 2022 Estate Albariño, Royal Slope, $32

Wine Cruises & Safaris

National Geographic partners with Food & Wine magazine for 2024 wine cruise series on Columbia, Snake rivers

Cruising the Rhine and Moselle with Wit Cellars

Footer

Grapes

Airfield Estates Winery soars with Sauvignon Blanc from Yakima Valley

VineLines Dispatch gallery: ‘I go where they grow’ as 2023 harvest begins

My long, strange trip with Viognier

British Columbia wine industry prepares for widespread replanting

May’s heat pushes much of Northwest wine country ahead of hot 2015 vintage

Food

Match Maker: Caprio Cellars delectably achieves perfection in Walla Walla

Recipe: Prawn and Sausage Orecchiette

Recipe: Tomato Peach Gazpacho

Wine, wine cocktails, good spirit pour out at Iris Vineyards Wine Bar

Match Maker: King Estate Winery rising stars combine for elevated restaurant experience

History

Dennis Murphy of Caprio Cellars acquires Figgins shares in Seven Hills Vineyard

Washington wine leaders back HistoryLunch in Seattle

Love at first sip, thanks to Wente Vineyards

Merit, heritage surround helpful Meritage concept

L’Ecole N° 41 Winery develops lesson plan in history for Walla Walla

© 2023 Great NW Wine. All Rights Reserved.