The Wine Knows

Chuck Reininger is one of those mild-mannered winemakers down in Walla Walla, Wash. He started (adult) life as a mountain climber, then considered becoming a microbrewer before catching the wine bug while working harvest.

He launched his eponymous winery in 1997 at the Walla Walla Airport, then moved to a new facility west of town three or four years ago.

At an event a few years ago, he picked up the nickname "Thirty-Two Buck Chuck" because most of his wines sold for $32. I have called him this for years, but it looks like I won't be able to anymore. After many, many years, Chuck has finally raised his prices a couple of dollars.

I'm going to miss that.