The Thief Fine Art & Wine

Runway Market & Sparkling Wine Bar

· Walla Walla · Market/Wine Bar

The Wild Card

Runway is a one-trick pony that actually knows its trick cold. If you want still wine, go somewhere else — but if you want to work through four different expressions of sparkling wine in one sitting with a focused, purposeful list, this is a legitimately fun stop in Walla Walla. The prices run steep for the producers involved, but the concept earns some goodwill for sheer commitment.

West Coast Wines – L'atitude 47

· Walla Walla · Wine bar/tasting room

The Wild Card

L'atitude 47 is a single-producer tasting room, and the wine list reflects exactly that — eight labels, all in-house, all fairly priced for Walla Walla. If you're looking for a broad regional survey, look elsewhere. But if you want to get inside one producer's head at prices that won't require a conversation with your accountant, this is a genuinely low-stakes, high-curiosity stop. We'd send a wine-curious friend here without hesitation.

Heritage Wine Bar (L'Ecole No. 41)

Downtown Walla Walla · Walla Walla · Winery Wine Bar with Bites

The Wild Card

Heritage Wine Bar is the right answer if you're in Walla Walla and want to understand why Washington wine is having its moment — knowledgeable staff, a focused list from a producer with serious credentials, and a room that rewards slow drinking. We'd send a friend here without hesitation, especially someone who thinks Washington wine is just grocery-store Riesling. It will change their mind.

Tavern Ancestrale

· Walla Walla · Wine-focused tavern

The Wild Card

Tavern Ancestrale is the kind of spot Walla Walla needed — a relaxed, knowledgeable room where the wine is taken seriously without making you feel like you need a merit badge to order. We'd send any wine-curious friend here without hesitation, especially if they're willing to trust the staff and lean into whatever's local.

Brasserie Four

· Walla Walla · French bistro

The Wild Card

Brasserie Four is a French bistro in wine country that somehow resists the obvious move of leaning hard on local bottles, and the list is better for it. Fair pricing, smart French selections, and a sparkling section that embarrasses restaurants three times its size make this a genuine destination pour in Walla Walla. If you're in town for the Washington wine trail, this is the stop where you take a break from Cab and remember France exists.

Passatempo Taverna

· Walla Walla · Italian

The Wild Card

Passatempo is exactly the kind of place where Walla Walla's wine identity and Italian-American kitchen instincts should collide in interesting ways — and by all accounts, the room and concept deliver on that promise. We don't have the full list detail to call it a Rager, but the regional focus and cuisine alignment earn it a Wild Card: unexpected upside in a setting that could've played it much safer. Make a reservation, ask the staff what's local, and let the osso buco do the rest.