The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

While attending a champagne tasting last week in Manhattan, New York, I was blown away by the exceptional differences in tastes and styles of the all-French tasting.

After a visit and dinner with associates, I returned to my room with the nagging thought: What about bubbly here in Washington state?

As soon as I landed at the airport, I met with Chad Diltz, owner/winemaker at Tru Cellars, the only producer of sparkling wine in Walla Walla. I sampled his Blanc de Blanc Me'thode Champenoise NV, and I was stunned. No wine at the New York tasting could top this.

Diltz explained his theory about the...