Our Guide to Planning a Wine Tour in Walla Walla
Last Updated on April 12, 2024 by Kelly
One of the best ways to experience Walla Walla is with a wine tour. There are two options for wine tours: planning your own or booking one through an agency. I’ve done both on separate occasions, and they both have their merits!
I’ve visited Walla Walla twice. For the first trip, I booked a wine tour through an agency. For the second trip, I planned my own wine tour. After having done both, I recommend booking a wine tour. It was so nice to have my own safe transportation and to help with making the wine tasting reservations. In this post, I’m sharing everything you need to know about booking a wine tour in Walla Walla. I also share the pros and cons of booking a wine tour vs. planning your own based on my own experience.
| See 10 of our favorite wineries in Walla Walla! |
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Why You Should Book a Wine Tour in Walla Walla
We recommend booking a wine tour of Walla Walla for the following reasons:
- Safety: The first reason is that it’s extremely important to drink responsibly. If you don’t have a designated driver, then it’s simply not safe to visit multiple wineries. When you book a wine tour, you’ll have a driver that can take you to all the wineries you want to visit. You’ll be able to enjoy the wine tastings without having to worry.
- Air Conditioned Vehicle: If you’re planning to visit Walla Walla during the warmer months, you’ll be extremely grateful that a cool vehicle can pick you up when you’re ready to go to the next winery.
- Cooler for Snacks: The cars have a cooler, so you can pack some of your own snacks and they can stay fresh.
- Knowledgeable Guide: The wine region in Walla Walla is pretty big, and each winery has their own story. It’s definitely helpful to travel around with a local!
- Customizable: This tour option allows you to customize your own trip. You can work with your driver to plan out which wineries you want to visit during your trip. (No forced schedule!)
- Hotel Pick-Up and Drop-Off: This tour will pick you up from select hotels. That means it’s super easy to head out for the day and enjoy everything the valley has to offer.
- Stress-Free: Finally, booking a wine tour in Walla Walla is a carefree way to explore the wineries. You won’t have to worry about navigation, maps, or ability to drive safely. All you have to do is show up and have fun!
How to Book a Wine Tour
It’s super easy to book a wine tour of Walla Walla wineries. There are different tours and companies to choose from, and below we’re sharing an example of a Walla Walla Wine Tour.
First, click on the choose a wine tour. Many of them are customizable!
Here’s a list of wine tour companies you can check out:
- Viator Wine Tour: This website offers lots of tour options. This one is customizable!
- Roads2 Day Experience: This tour includes more than just wine! You’ll also get to try ciders, cheeses, and chocolates.
- Walla Walla Wine Limo: Tour the wineries in style! There’s nothing like pulling up to a winery in a limousine. (My friend booked a limo for her wine tour and it was so much fun!)
- Dream Ride Charters and Wine Tours: This company has the most unique ride: a 1930 Deluxe Limo! They also offer large charter buses if you want to take a large group wine touring.
Choose a date and enter the number of people.
Depending on the size of the group, you might get the option of choosing which type of vehicle you prefer.
There are companies that offer full-sized vans, mini-vans, limousines, and cars.
After that, choose a pick-up location, and you’ll be all set!
Many of the tour guides can also help you to create an itinerary to minimize driving time between wineries. We spent a lot of time researching our last self-guided wine tour, so that’s a huge advantage! It definitely helps to visit the wineries that are clustered together!
Your tour guide may also be able to help you to make individual wine tasting reservations at each winery.
| See our article on 25 Things to Do in Walla Walla! (We’ll share lots of activities besides wine tasting!) |
The Best Walla Walla Wineries
I’ve been to Walla Walla to go wine tasting on two separate weekend trips, and I’ve gotten to visit almost a dozen different wineries.
Below are some of my favorite wineries and what I like about them:
(Listed in no particular order)
- L’Ecole No. 41: The first winery we visited was L’Ecole No. 41. This winery is located in an old schoolhouse that was built in 1915.
- Barons Winery: This winery is located in downtown Walla Walla. What we loved most about this winery (aside from the wine!) was the very personalized service we received. We learned so much about wine making!
- Plumb Cellars: This downtown winery is a favorite for their wine slushies and live music. (Perfect for a hot day!)
- Sleight of Hand Cellars: This is another one of our favorite wineries. The winery was rocking loud music and had a very unpretentious vibe. It was the perfect spot to just hang out!
- Castillo de Feliciana: This winery is truly beautiful. The pretty white building is surrounded by mature lavender bushes.
- Yellow Hawk Resort: This winery has a rustic lodge and you can walk through the vineyards. (Perfect for photos!)
- Va Piano Vineyards: This was one of our favorite wineries. When you visit Va Piano Vineyards, it’ll feel as if you’ve been transported to a villa in Tuscany.
- Valdemar Estates: This winery has an emphasis on all things Spanish. You can sip on Spanish wines while you eat tapas.
- Long Shadows: This was another one of our absolute favorite wineries. Sitting outside on the patio in Adirondack chairs and sipping white wines was perfection.
- Waterbrook Winery: We enjoyed sitting by the pond, drinking rosé , and playing bocce ball!
We hope this list helps you plan your own wine tasting tour!
During our last visit to Walla Walla, we stayed at the Marcus Whitman Hotel and Conference Center. We would recommend it to others!
Our Experience Taking a Wine Tour in Walla Walla
I’ve visited Walla Walla to go wine tasting on two separate occasions.
On my first trip to Walla Walla, I went wine tasting for my friend’s bachelorette party. We booked a wine tasting tour and it was a blast! We got to visit several wineries and we didn’t have to worry about driving. It was so convenient to not have to worry about driving, maps, or making reservations. If you’re looking for the most stress-free experience in Walla Walla, we’d recommend booking a tour! I think this is the best option as well if you’re traveling with a book. It’s much more affordable when you split the cost with lots of people. It’s also easier than having to coordinate multiple drivers and vehicles.
Another benefit of a wine tour is that many will be able to keep your wine bottles cool as you travel between wineries. Some even will deliver your wine purchases to your hotel! It’s definitely worth asking the tour operator. (Definitely do not leave your wine in the trunk of your car on a hot day!)
During my last trip, my husband and I planned our own wine tour and we drove ourselves between the wineries. That was a little bit more difficult to plan because we had to make sure we had a driver that didn’t drink. We also had to make our own wine tasting reservations. Since we visited several wineries a day, that was a lot of work! However, we really took our time and didn’t drink too much, so it worked out well for us.
Pros & Cons of Booking a Wine Tour
| Pros | Cons |
| Designated Driver | More Expensive |
| Spacious Vehicle | On a Schedule |
| Tour Guide Recommendations | May Be Less Customizable (Depending on the Agency) |
| Tour Guide Makes Tasting Reservations |
Pros & Cons of Planning Your Own Wine Tour
| Pros | Cons |
| Less Expensive | Need a Designated Driver |
| Fully Customizable | No Tour Guide |
| Stay at Each Winery as Long as You Want | Need to Make Tasting Reservations |
Disclaimer: We always strive for content accuracy. Since the time of publishing, travel-related information regarding pricing, schedules, and hours may have changed. Please look up such information directly from each vendor or institution for the most current information.
