Wine with Kids and Dogs

Like every spring for the past several years we stuffed the car with the kids, and the dog, and bags of stuff and headed to Eastern Washington for Memorial Day weekend. Last year, I wrote an entire post about the wine industry in Washington State, how we are the second largest premium wine producer in the United States and how the industry is quite a player when in comes to employment or its economic impact. I will link that post here, if you would like to read or re-read it.  

So, we went wining again. Our kids have grown doing this, at our very favorite winery Cooper Wine Company, Neil Cooper himself still remembers Mia in her infant car seat. Mia turned 10 in April so they truly have been doing this since birth. Quite frequently someone asks me the question of what we do with the kids when we go; “who’s watching the kids? We would love to go too, but we don’t have anyone to take the kids!” There is an element of surprise when I tell them the big secret; - Kids are allowed! Take them with you! We take ours.

As the novelty of wine tasting is long gone, we do find ourselves being a bit boring, following the same patterns and trusting the old favorites. We pick wineries that are fun for kids, places where they can play outside with wine dogs or run around the lawns and vineyards. It is a vacation after all, for all of us. When they were in those infant car seats they didn’t care where we went but can’t say that anymore as they have become quite opinionated little individuals. This time Max told the owner of Fidelitas winery that he prefers Coops over them, because it’s fun for kids too. Can’t blame him. The wine at Fidelitas is great but it’s not much fun for an 8-year-old.

By no doubt Cooper is a family favorite. We love, love, love the wine – is 18 bottles enough to convince you that we love the wine? – Martha gets to roam around free with Bud and the kids play cornhole toss or other outdoor games. So, it’s fun for all of us. This year, as every single year before I posted a few pictures on Facebook. Nothing special, the usual photos like kids playing, a glass of chardonnay. However, I have a friend living in Pennsylvania that saw these photos, asked me a few questions and after I told her apologetically that Cooper wines can usually not be found in retail, she messaged me back that she had placed on online order for a case. It goes without saying, I’m passionate about my wine and evidently it seems to show. Cooper is part of our Benton City day. Benton City aka Red Mountain is known for brands like Hedges, Fidelitas, Col Solare but there are closer to twenty wineries in the area.

The second day includes a day trip to Walla Walla. It’s all about the scenic drive, strolling around the small shops in downtown, lunch at the fabulous Walla Walla Bread Company, and obviously wine. There are 120 wineries in Walla Walla and nearby areas, plenty to choose from. Our choices are driven by the kids, where can we go so that they won’t have to sit and wait quietly. Good choices amongst many others are Castillo De Feliciana and Basel Cellars. Both places offer games and a large yard for kids to roam around. During our visit to Castillo De Feliciana there were closer to a dozen kids running around and a handful of pups joining the fun.

At some point we usually stop at one of the several splash parks in the area to cool off. One of the nights we get to pick the restaurant, and most always end up at Lu Lu’s in Columbia Point. Awesome food, laid back atmosphere and the view over the marina. The kids state this restaurant serves the worlds best grilled cheese and chicken strips, dunno, I aim for the Ahi Tacos.

Eastern Washington is definitely worth a visit, and they have a long list of pet friendly hotels too!