Breaking Down Walls with Wine

Be glad you are free and able to drink this wine. 

It's Concrete Mama, a Grenache from a Washington state winery called The Walls. 

Both Concrete Mama and The Walls are nicknames for Washington State Penitentiary, a men's prison located in Walla Walla.

The Walls winery isn't making a joke of this sad place. It's concerned also with the walls people place around themselves, walls that sharing good wine and food can help to break down.

There were no walls of any kind when The Walls head winemaker Ali Mayfield (above, right) poured wines at a dinner for visiting media. Mayfield even shared the limelight with another Washington winery, Force Majeure, represented by Carrie Alexander (partly shown at the left).

The dinner took place outdoors at Passatempo Taverna in Walla Walla, which is owned by  Mike Martin, owner of The Walls.

Dinner started with the 2018 Cruel Summer, a Grenache Rosé so named because a summer without Rosé would be a cruel thing.

Then came the 2016 La Lutte (the fight), a Chardonnay from The Walls, perhaps named for the energy that went into making it. 

From Force Majeure came Parvata, a Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache blend. Parvata is Sanskrit for mountain, Alexander said. The grapes came mainly from the winery's vineyard in Washington's Red Mountain AVA, which is known for high quality grapes.

Then came tastings of Force Majeure Syrahs from Red Mountain and the SJR Vineyard in The Rocks District (above), which sells grapes to premium wineries and produces Delmas wines that sell out by allocation--there's even a wait to get on the allocation list. These were followed by a side by side tasting of 2016 Cabernet Sauvignons from both wineries.

Meanwhile, smoke rose from grilling in the patio.

Lamb chops fresh off the grill were perfect with the red wines. 

Before the lamb came plates of cured meats and bread.

Asparagus grown by Walla Walla area farmers was in prime condition. It was delicious pickled and served with the salumi.

Radicchio salad with gorgonzola really woke up the taste buds.

A roasted beet salad included goat milk ricotta, citrus and pistachios.  

These are Passatempo's polpette--meatballs in tomato sauce.

There was more, including handmade pasta, which is a Passatempo specialty, but night had covered the table with blackness, and my camera couldn't cope with it.


However, wine in the dark tasted as good as with light. 

And then we left with a look back at the restaurant, a great place to try Washington state wines thanks to the large selection on the wine list.  

Passatempo Taverna, 215 W. Main St., Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 876-8822.