This tasting room, tricked out with leather club chairs, picture windows, and Chihuly glass, is one of Walla Walla’s most luxe. There’s table service here, with a knowledgeable pourer recounting the story behind each wine. Its riesling can be a revelation, and it’s fascinating to compare Bordeaux blends done in Old and New World styles. Tastings are by appointment, and there’s an option to tour the facility, which is worth it. Long Shadows is the brainchild of one of Washington’s most influential wine moguls, former Chateau Ste. Michelle CEO Allen Shoup.

Tasting at Sleight of Hand is a little like visiting your cool uncle’s den. Walls are decorated with colorful, trippy posters — mainly blowups of Sleight of Hand labels — hanging above shelves filled with thousands of rock LPs. You can pick a record from the collection and make it the soundtrack of the tasting, which leads to the occasional spontaneous dance party. Grapes from some of Washington’s most coveted regions, including Red Mountain, Snipes Mountain, and the Rocks, go into a diverse range of wines, including several single-vineyard syrahs.

The hallmark of Pepper Bridge is elegance. Swiss-born winemaker Jean-Francois Pellet brings Old World refinement to his estate-grown Bordeaux-style wines — he prizes subtlety over boldness. The tasting room isn’t fancy or fussy, but there’s an understated classiness to it. The highlight is the back patio, where you can sample cabernet sauvignon while soaking in a gorgeous view of the valley and the Blue Mountains. If you like it here, also check out Amavi Cellars, under the same ownership and located a few minutes away.

This downtown tasting room is in an old auto repair warehouse with a stylized industrial feel and a classic-rock soundtrack, harkening back to Smith’s roots as a rock band manager. But don’t let the casual atmosphere fool you — the wines here are some of the state’s most highly acclaimed. The SIXTO label, which produces chardonnay exclusively, and K Vintners, which focuses on syrah, are both regular award winners.

East of town, Tranche’s sleek, handsome winery, set on a hill overlooking a sheep meadow, may be Walla Walla’s most idyllic location for tasting — it’s a pleasing combination of modern and pastoral. Here, you’ll taste some of Walla Walla’s best Rhône-style blends, made to emulate wines of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation (known for versatility). On most Friday evenings there’s live music, and when the weather’s appropriate, they light a bonfire.

At the far end of the Walla Walla airport is what’s known as the area’s wine “incubator,” five side-by-side facilities made available to start-up producers for four-year stints. The latest fledgling operation is SMAK, run by Fiona Mak, a rare female winemaker with an even rarer business model. She makes rosé exclusively, in three varieties: sangiovese, pinot gris, and a syrah-counoise-mourvedre blend. A visit here can be a palate cleanser after tasting robust reds elsewhere, and the tasting room is a refreshing change of pace, too: an airy, white-and-pastel setting that feels like a little piece of Southern California.