When it comes to running a tasting room, there are wineries that get what it means to provide a truly connected experience. And then there are those that clearly don't. The folks at Seven Hills Winery get it, for their tasting room is one that provides strong connections to the people and places behind their wines.

Seven Hills Winery is located in the historic Whitehouse-Crawford building in downtown Walla Walla. Their spacious tasting room offers a wide bar with views into the winery's barrel room. The restored wood plank floors, high ceilings, exposed beams, and brick walls provide a beautiful, inviting space to taste wine.

While approaching the tasting room bar, I was greeted with a warm smile and a friendly hello by Julie, who was one of two servers working on the Saturday afternoon I visited. Seven Hills was offering a broad selection of wines to taste at no charge, including several whites (riesling, viognier, pinot gris) and a half dozen reds (malbec, tempranillo, syrah, merlot, cab, red blend).

With each glass poured, Julie enthusiastically offered details on what was in the wine and where the grapes were sourced. She even provided insights on how some of the wines were made. Along the way, Julie pointed out places on the Washington state map or shared tasting notes from one of several books available at the bar.

About halfway through my visit, a large group arrived, whereupon Julie proceeded to give these folks the same treatment that I was receiving. She was soon joined by another staff member who came out of a nearby office to assist. The focus both of these employees had on serving each customer in a connected way demonstrated the emphasis Seven Hills places on staff training.

As a result of my visit, I ended up purchasing several bottles of the '07 Riesling, '07 Viognier, '07 Pinot Gris, and '05 Syrah. To go with my wine, I requested tasting notes, which Julie quickly retrieved for each bottle from the pre-printed stack in the office. She then asked if I needed help getting the wine out to my car. Now that's customer service.

Far too often, a visit to a winery involves merely a taste of wine, without any context offered as to what you are drinking. Seven Hills Winery goes beyond the bottle to offer its visitors a truly connected experience. At the same time, they provide a relaxed, informal, and fun environment to discover some truly special wines. I highly recommend a visit to this Walla Walla winery.

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