Once upon a time, there was a little town named Walla Walla. Tucked in the far eastern corner of Washington’s Columbia Valley, just a stone’s throw from the Oregon border; the region was founded by missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and explored extensively by Lewis and Clark. Spurred by the arrival of the Hudson Bay Company, the area became an agricultural haven, known for its wide fields of wheat and sweet onions that were tolerant to the cold frosty winters. And then, sometime around the 1850s, fur trappers planted the first vineyards in the valley. The rest is history. While nobody argues the deserved popularity of the plump and pleasant bulb that bears the city’s melodiously repetitive name (also known as Washington’s official vegetable), there’s a new kid in town: the region has developed a worldwide reputation for creating some of the finest wines in America. Despite prohibition nearly destroying the future of viticulture in the area, the roots of Walla Walla’s wine history go back to a small, family-owned winery named Leonetti Cellars, founded on just one acre of south-facing hillside in the mid-1970s. Before long, the winery developed a cult following and today, a waiting list of 1,500 souls eagerly wait each year to see if they will be lucky enough to snag a few bottles of the cherished reds. Their success, along with highly-rated wines by nearby Woodward Canyon, greatly increased Walla Walla’s visibility, and led to the area – located to the east of Horse Heaven Hills and crossing over into northeast Oregon – becoming an official American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 1984. During the last two decades, the Walla Walla Valley has been one of Washington’s fastest growing wine regions. In addition to the growers of the Walla Walla region forming a Wine Alliance and Sustainable Trust to ensure that the region stays pristine and productive, the Walla Walla Community College Enology and Viticulture Program provide an opportunity for future enologists to learn the ways of winemaking in this sacred land. Today, more than 150 wineries exist in the AVA with more than 1,200 acres of wine grapes planted on its gently sloping hills. Scroll down for a comprehensive list of Walla Walla wineries and tasting rooms and click “map view” to access the advanced winery search. Whether you would like to visit a winery that provides beautiful vineyard lodging, has food available to complement its wines, or hosts vineyard weddings, we make it easy to find the best Walla Walla wine tasting and touring destinations.