The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

SEATTLE - Until last week, Joseph Linder had never heard of Waitsburg.

The Austrian-born som- melier from the Fairmount Olympic in downtown Se- attle had been to Walla Walla many times to taste and or- der wines for his diners at the upscale historic 450-room hotel. But it wasn't until he attended the launch of Paul Gregutt's new "Waitsburg Cellars" that the little town in the Touchet Valley got on his radar.

Now he's not only plan- ning a stay in Waitsburg dur- ing his next trip to the Walla Walla wine region, he'll be offering several of the new vintages to his many worldly patrons as part o...