Reflections & Insights
The 2019 Valley Grove Cab is Here!
Posted on January 30, 2024 in Uncategorized
You may recognize the photo above. It was the day we harvested our first estate grapes and we’ve shared this moment quite a lot over the years. Those smiles were genuine. This is a tough business and we were thrilled to literally pick the fruits of our labor… from the vines surrounding our house at our small farm on the north side of Walla Walla.
The day started before dawn. The kids came out, helped to raise a few of the bird nets and made the ceremonial first picks before they had to leave for school.
The win was not just ours. We’d hired 2 college-age brothers to be our “manual herbacide” through the summer, hoeing and weeding through the heat and dust. We also had our tasting room leaders, Lisa and Carl, on hand to help… primarily pulling bird nets off of the vines ahead of the true heros of the day: the men and women of the vineyard crew we brought in to do the highly skilled work of picking the grapes… with precision, speed, and an eye for what to use and what to leave. Truly, with hand-picked grapes, the first sorting takes place in the vineyard!
It’s a very unique vineyard site. We often see the largest diurnal shift (the change from the day’s low temp to the high) in the Walla Walla Valley. Ideal in many respects… but challenging when extreme weather is at play. It makes for a gorgeous, Old World style wine with great acidity and flavor. Although, there have been some years when those temperature extremes have kept us from being able to havest the vintage.
Typically, this fruit will be used in our Sally Mac Cabernet Sauvignon, which is blended from grapes grown at this and our Wheat Ridge Estate Vineyard, as well as Les Collines and other Walla Walla Valley Partner Vineyards.
To mark this special event, though, we bottled a small amount of this fruit all by itself. It is a very unique and superbly delicious wine. Cellar worthy, food friendly, remarkably well balanced. We only have 37 cases of this wine and I’m already wishing we had more. Cheers everyone. Enjoy! – Jen
We’re Moving: Walla Walla Tasting Room
Posted on November 12, 2022 in Uncategorized
For the past 5 years, we have been proud to share our wines in the historic Main Street space in downtown Walla Walla. However, in 2023, we are thrilled to move our wine tasting to our farm about 12 minutes north of downtown. Since we moved our family and winemaking to Walla Walla in 2017, this has been our ultimate vision and we are excited to embark on this next phase of our business.
We invite you to join us on this journey by joining our Wine Club or mailing list. Next year is also our 10 year anniversary, so don’t miss out on a year of memories, celebrations, new beginnings—and fabulous wine!
If you’ve visited our Walla Walla tasting room, thank you for visiting us in this special space. We look forward to welcoming you up to the farm in 2023 and in the years ahead.
Cheers!
Members Get Benefits at 34 Walla Walla Wineries Aug 8-21
Posted on July 26, 2022 in Uncategorized
We love offering unique opportunities to our club members, so we are delighted to announce our second annual Heart of Walla Walla Club Experience. For the duration of this two-week Club Experience event, you are an honored member of the Heart of Walla Walla Wine Club. This event is available exclusively to club members of participating Heart of Walla Walla wineries.
Tell me more. What is this Club Experience event?
- The Heart of Walla Walla Wine Club Experience begins on August 8 and continues through August 21.
- During this time, at every participating winery, you will be treated to 15% off bottle purchases or 20% off case purchases (naturally, you still enjoy any of your usual additional benefits in our tasting room).
- There are 34 participating wineries (and one distillery), all downtown in the Heart of Walla Walla. You can see the current list below.
- Note that various wineries may also choose to offer special tasting fee benefits.
- We have also arranged discounts for you at local hotels. How great is that?
I’m in. How do I sign up?
- Many of the participating wineries require or strongly encourage reservations. Please reach out to each winery you wish to visit to make specific reservations. Many wineries also accept walk-ins, space permitting, but cannot guarantee seating without a reservation.
- Likewise, please note that different wineries often have different open days and times.
- It probably goes without saying, but you will need advance reservations for lodging needs as well.
What more do I need to know?
- When you arrive for your Club Experience, come to our tasting room first to receive a wristband and winery guide. These items will identify you as a Heart of Walla Walla club member entitled to all the special benefits.
- If you are a member of more than one participating winery club, please feel free to start at whichever of those locations you prefer.
We are so happy to offer you this opportunity to experience the Heart of Walla Walla with all the special benefits you deserve. We look forward to seeing you in August!
To receive the special club rate guests should click here to book their reservation.
To receive the special club rate, guests should click here to book their reservation.
To receive the special club rate, guest should click here to book their reservation and use promo code HEART10 to receive your discounted room rate.
For wine club members participating in the Club Experience, please enjoy this exclusive 10% off coupon code at check out “HeartWW@The Wesley” valid through August 21, 2022. Guests should click here to book their suite. *Please include the last name of the club member at booking.
Spring Release Weekend in Walla Walla
Posted on May 4, 2022 in Uncategorized
This weekend we celebrate Walla Walla Spring Release! Come visit us and enjoy our new wines, we’d love to see you.
If you’ll be in town, we have a few food and wine experiences for you to enjoy or stop by for a tasting. Reservations are recommended!
Wine, Cheese, & Jazz
Kick off Spring Release Weekend with a farm to table wine and food experience… set to live jazz. Enjoy local cows milk cheeses from Montallieu Fromagerie specially selected to pair with Armstrong’s hand-crafted wines. Learn about the wines, cheeses, and the local farms that produce them. It’s a delicious way to start the weekend!
Friday, May 6th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm
RESERVATIONS
Mother’s Day Wine and Chocolate Pairing
Wrap up the weekend by celebrating all the Mom’s out there with a delicious wine and chocolate pairing. Whether you’re with your Mom or celebrating in spirit, you’ll learn about the key factors in selecting chocolates to pair with dry red wines including aromatic factors that play a role. What better way to celebrate than with Moms, wine, and chocolate!
Sunday, May 8th from 11:00am – 3:00pm
RESERVATIONS
We hope to see you soon!
Upcoming Wine and Food Experience
Posted on March 20, 2022 in Uncategorized
Join us for our next Wine and Food Experience on Wednesday, March 30th at 6pm PDT on Zoom.
This time, we’ll be pairing appetizers with our 2018 Fronk, 2017 David’s Folly… and our 2021 Nana Jeanne Rose, which will be released on the 28th.
We’ll share and demonstrate some of our team’s personal favorites, and if you’re so inclined, we invite you to prepare your own and tell us about it on the call. Participants will get a list of recipes, and a great chance to come together for some fun!
We hope you can join us! RSVP
Join Us For Spring Release
Posted on March 4, 2022 in Uncategorized
We have some exciting new wines for you to try! We’ve been doing the *hard work* of checking in on these wines for you over the past months and years, and Tim has declared them ready to go! We think you’ll agree they are lovely.
Celebrate Spring Release with us! This weekend, March 4-6 in Walla Walla and next weekend, March 11-13 in Woodinville – stop by either tasting room to see what’s new. We have three brand new releases, with the Scotsman Syrah being a Club member exclusive. Club members will enjoy a paired food and wine experience to learn about these delicious new wines.
2017 David’s Folly: Get ready, David’s Folly fans. This one is a keeper! Deep, dark and aromatic, the 2017 vintage of this distinctive wine takes the Cabernet-Sauvignon – Petit Verdot combination to a new level with a 50/50 blend. The result is a supple and rewarding wine with rich fruit flavors, complimented by herbal notes and a long and lingering finish.
2018 Fronk: Not to be outdone, the next vintage of Fronk is one for the books, as well. 2018 was a near-ideal vintage and the fruit really speaks for itself. Once again sourced from Dineen Vineyard in the Yakima Valley, this wine of 100% Cabernet Franc showcases the beauty and complexity of this fascinating and oft underappreciated grape. Fronk fans will love the deep red fruit flavors interlaced with notes of incense, licorice, herbs and more. Jen’s love affair with Fronk continues!
2019 Scotsman Syrah: The Scotsman is back… and better than ever! Made from a choice block at the beautiful Discovery Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills, the grapes are ripened on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River and toughened by a near-constant breeze. The result is a wine offering deep fruit and mineral flavors and bold tannin. Tim ages the wine in American oak, making this the most hedonistic wine of our portfolio. As renowned wine reviewer Rand Sealey said, “this is an impressive Syrah.” We think you Scotsman fans will agree.
In addition to these lovely new releases and in true typical fashion, we’ll be releasing the 2021 Nana Jeanne Rose on March 28th. Nana Jeanne is Tim’s Mom and the Rose is released on her birthday every year. This wine won’t last long and will be available to Club members only until our May Release. This years Rose of Cabernet Franc is boasting a luscious, mildly softer, and slightly less acidic taste than the previous vintage and is perfect for a hot summer day!
If you plan to stop by this weekend, we recommend making a reservation. Walk-ins welcome as space allows.
MAKE A RESERVATION
We hope to see you soon. Cheers!
Red Wine and Chocolate for Valentine’s?
Posted on January 31, 2022 in Uncategorized
Red wine and chocolate. It’s more complicated to pair than you may think!
JOIN US for a delicious virtual wine & chocolate pairing event with Sommelier Reggie Daigneault. Learn the science of pairing chocolate and red wine, why it’s not always a good pairing, and what you can do about it to delight your sweet tooth!
Thursday, February 10th at 6pm PST. If you’re unable to join, a recording will be sent out after the event for you to enjoy at your leisure.
Our 2022 Wine & Chocolate Collection features:
2018 Four Birds
2017 Bogie’s Blend
2019 Zinfandel
and 4 hand made Bright’s Candies truffles selected by Reggie to pair with these wines
To participate in the Virtual Event, simply order one or more Collections and we will email you the Zoom link to join live – as well as a recording of the event in case you want to watch (or re-watch) later.
This makes a great gift for the Sweethearts in your life!
As always, thanks for your continued support. Cheers!
What’s In A Glass? A Virtual Wine Experience with Riedel
Posted on January 4, 2022 in Uncategorized
Join us on Thursday, January 13th at 6pm PT live or on Zoom to experience the difference your wine glass makes.
A representative of Riedel, our wine glass producer and a leader in wine glass innovation, will lead us through a tasting of 3 Armstrong wines – using 3 differently shaped, crystal Riedel wine glasses. You’ll be amazed at what you learn about aromatics, your palate, and the value of using the right glass.
This class will be virtual, on Zoom. However, we invite those in the Woodinville and Walla Walla areas to participate from the tasting rooms if you wish.
To participate, simply purchase the 3-glass Veritas set of Riedel glasses for each participant using the link below. For this event, purchase the set for $69 or $120 for two sets (Member pricing: $60/$105 for 2). This set normally retails for $104 and you’ll enjoy the glasses for years!
If you’ll join from home, make sure you have Armstrong 2016 Cab, 2019 Syrah, and 2017 Merlot (aka The Fireside Collection) on hand. These 3 bottles can be shared among the participants at your location. If you have one or more of the bottles already, you are welcome to use those – and to purchase only the one(s) you need. To get the most out of the experience, it’s best to be able to try all three of the different wines. You can purchase individual wines or the collection, using the link below.
If you’ll join from the tasting rooms, purchase an event reservation for each participant for your chosen tasting room and we will provide pours of the event wines, along with some snacks.
Everything you need can be ordered using the link below. Questions? Email Jen. Cheers!
Holiday Gift Guide
Posted on December 5, 2021 in Uncategorized
Need a gift for that wine lover in your life? Or maybe a friend who’s starting to dabble in wine? Either way, we have you covered this holiday season with special curated gift sets no matter who you’re shopping for.
The Cornerstone Collection 2021
These two festive reds will add cheer to any table – and under any tree. This collection of two hand-crafted wines are the perfect gift for a holiday party, where they can be enjoyed with friends and family.
2018 Four Birds Bordeaux-Style Blend | 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $72 | Club: $60
The Fireside Collection 2021
Enjoy this trio of varietal wines grown and produced in the Walla Walla Valley. These wines pair well with a wide variety of holiday favorites, and is the perfect gift for the wine lovers on your list…including you!
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon | 2017 Merlot | 2019 Syrah (New Release)
Price: $139 | Club: $110
Etched Magnum – 2015 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
An iconic gift for a wine collector or a really fun party favor! When Tim picked the grapes for this wine, he knew it would be special. This Reserve is a blend of some of our best 2015 barrels. Signed bottles are available by request!
Price: $185 | Club: $150
Armstrong Wine Club Membership
The gift that keeps on giving! Spread the holiday cheer and beyond by gifting an Armstrong Wine Club Membership. Whether it’s the 6 Bottle Club or the Fan Favorite Subscription, you can select the Club and length of the membership. There will be an option to select ‘Gift Membership’ when going through the membership process.
Price: Varies depending on the Club selected
From our family to yours, we wish everyone a happy holiday season!
The 2021 Thanksgiving Charcuterie Collection is Now Available
Posted on November 15, 2021 in Uncategorized
Savor thanksgiving all weekend long with this festive collection perfect as a host gift, or to enjoy with football, board games, or on a cozy evening in front of the fire.
The Charcuterie Collection includes:
Custom Summer Sausage – delicious beef summer sausage custom made by Walla Walla’s Butcher Butcher using our 2017 Armstrong Cab. Keep refrigerated and enjoy or freeze by 12/5/21
Prairie Breeze Cheddar Cheese – this sharp cheddar, made at Milton Creamery in Iowa, is a favorite among guests in our tasting room and the perfect pairing for Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 – 90 pts, Jeb Dunnuck | 90 pts, The Wine Panel – This delicious, approachable Cabernet Sauvignon is made of 75% Cab, 10% Cab Franc, 10% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot and features notes of raspberry, cherry, chocolate and tobacco. “Keenly priced to over deliver on the quality/price ratio,” according to Wine Advocate, this Cab exhibits ripe tannins and excellent balance. Pairing ideas: Steaks, cheddar cheeseburgers, ribs
David’s Folly 2016 – 91 pts, James Suckling | Double Gold/97 pts, Seattle Wine Awards | Double Gold Bellingham Wine Competition – This distinctive Cab-focused blend delivers age-worthy structure, and yet, with 3 years of bottle aging before release, is drinking beautifully today. Comprised of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Petit Verdot, David’s Folly is layered and complex, featuring round tannins, and notes of plum, baking spices and violets. Pairing ideas: prime rib, brisket, duck, turkey
IMPORTANT NOTES: Available for pickup in tasting rooms beginning Saturday, November 13 through 28. The sausage is perishable and must be shipped to arrive the next day. If you are shipping within Washington State, please select Ground Service. Outside Washington State, please select Overnight service.
Price: $109 | Club: $95