Every other week, as regular readers know, Terroirist poses 16 questions to a wine shop owner. This week, we’re featuring Catie McIntyre Walker, owner of Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman.

The town of Walla Walla, Washington is quite similar to its name — unique.

The vast spaces on the plains of Eastern Washington indicate what a great area it is for cultivating crops. Miles and miles of wheat and corn fields show why the area supplies such a large amount of agricultural goods to the region. Yet amidst the immenseness of this breadbasket sits the town of Walla Walla, filled with art studios and tasting rooms as well as a few institutions of higher learning. Mix in the feel of the Wild West — evidenced by weekend rodeos and ten gallon hats — and you get the feeling that there is no place quite like Walla Walla.

Check out our interview with Catie below the fold…

How did you end up owning a wine shop?

Can you believe it all started with a wine blog? In 2005 I started a wine blog, mostly about the wines of the Walla Walla Valley, as a way to keep track of my wine notes. I was a student at the time at the Institute of Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla. I had no idea that people were actually reading the blog. From there the wine blog grew and readers started requesting if they could buy the wines from me. So, as a hobby I opened up a small online wine shop featuring about 65-70 Walla Walla produced wines. All this time, I was also working for a local law firm, and in the meantime, the little online store was growing into more than a hobby. The law firm was “reformatting” and I was given an opportunity to leave, so with that exit I knew what I needed to do — open a wine shop. Walla Walla did not have such a thing. Sure — Walla Walla has plenty of wineries (over 100), but no dedicated bottle shop. I opened the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman’s doors on November 1, 2010.

What makes your store unique?

The Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman (aka W5) is unique in many ways, but most important it is our customer base. First off, I calculated who our customers would be and their needs: First, visiting tourists. And second, people in the wine industry.

So far, I have calculated correctly. We have a large selection of Walla Walla wines for our visiting tourists. What that selection does is, not only gives the tourists another opportunity to purchase local wines they may have missed out on during their visit, but also gives the local wineries another venue and another opportunity to sell their wines. Many peeps from our local wine industry have told me how much they appreciate an opportunity to purchase from our large selection of import wines. They often purchase the imports, of course for their own enjoyment, but also as benchmarks for future winemaking and for their staff to enhance their wine education and of course, their palate.

What are the biggest challenges in owning a wine shop?

Not enough time in the day and when I do find that time, I am usually so pooped I can barely move. The wheels of the mind tend to spin during every waking moment. At this time there are just two of us on the floor and a couple of part-time techies in the background. However, the other day I was mopping the shop’s floor and I found it to be very satisfying. Thank goodness I have a great assistant manager who can read my mind.

Also, in many ways it seems as if I own two businesses. I still have the website and we are currently trying to add our almost complete inventory to the site. We are still trying to get the inventory online to jive with the physical inventory in the shop. But, we are beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

How do you stay up to date on wine news and trends?

I spend a lot of time on the internet “sleuthing” on what’s new in the wine world. I also read a lot, but most important, I listen. My customers, distributors and winery owners/winemakers often keep me in touch.

Catie McIntyre Walker.

What wine regions or varietals are you most excited about right now?

My excitement changes every month as there is always something new to learn. Last month I was excited about all of the beautiful new rosés arriving and all of the pretty different shades of “pink,” from domestic to imports. Right now I am just intrigued with some of the unique and rather obscure grapes that you don’t often see on the shelves, such as Centesimino, Godello and Plahvic Mali

Where do you look for new wines – and how do you decide which ones to sell?

Besides my sleuthing, on whether it is print or internet, I rely on about seven different distributors, large and small, for my imports. I think I have them “trained” on what I am looking for and of course, we do several tastings with them. We taste many wines, but not all wines make it into the store and some that do, may not even be my personal style. However, I understand, that although they may not all be my personal style, I have customers I know who will like the wines.

Tell us about some of the best perks you’ve taken advantage of as a retailer when traveling to wine regions.

At this time, I haven’t done much extensive traveling due to the responsibility of the shop and the shop isn’t quite a year old, but so far I have been fortunate enough to do some traveling around the Northwest — Washington, Oregon, and Idaho — as a guest of some of the wineries and regions. The perk is, of course their generous hospitality, but also I enjoy listening to the host’s passion for their wines and of course, the passion for what they do. Their passion gets me excited and then I bring their stories and passions to my customer.

Do you stock old and/or rare wines? Which currently stocked bottle excites you the most?

Since I have only been open not quite a year, I have not gotten that deep into the old and rare, but we do have some local “cult” wines that are hard to find at their wineries due to futures and waiting lists. I think the stocked bottle that excites me the most is the bottle that a customer gets all excited about – like a treasure hunt.

Are you a collector? Tell us about the wines you bring home.

I was a collector. Now I am just thankful to have a distributor or a winery give me a bottle of wine to sample and hopefully find the time to enjoy it. And I don’t take those samples for granted either, in fact they are a treat because they force me to sit down and get all wine-geeky and wine-nerdy about an individual bottle of wine.

What’s the wine that got away? In other words, has anything ever passed through your store that you wish you had held onto for yourself?

Oh — I can think of a few bottles, but now they don’t seem that important anymore then they may have at the time. My attitude is there will always be those gems that I will have an opportunity first-hand to grab. In the mean time, it tickles me more that I gave a customer an opportunity to have the bottle of wine and hopefully, they will remember the experience of the wine from the first day they saw it on my shelves.

What was the last wine you opened for a special occasion?

Leonetti Cellar, Columbia Valley Merlot — 2001, produced in the Walla Walla Valley. The wine was given to me by a very prominent and distinguished elderly gentleman. I would often assist him by typing special projects such as his memoirs and large and significant non-profit projects he was involved in. He was a lover of wine, so we always found lots to talk about. He gave me other bottles of Leonetti, but for some reason I had hung onto this one, while often wondering when I should open it. One day I finally had my answer. It was a year ago last February. The eve of his memorial service, I invited some close wine-loving friends over to my home and shared the bottle of wine just like he had shared it with me.

How can a customer signal that he or she is knowledgeable about wine, so you steer them to something a wine geek would appreciate?

Every customer that walks into the shop is greeted. Speaking for myself, I tend to look at the body language and look at where they are headed in the store or what they are standing in front of. Sometimes I ask a few questions and go from there.

If a customer presents him or herself as not knowing that much about wine, do you steer them to interesting and unusual or recognizable? Why?

I love wine-newbies and especially when they are eager to learn. I will often steer them to a couple of wines that may be exciting for many reasons (new, history, value, great story), but still a bit on the basic side. I enjoy leaving them with a new “morsel” of wine knowledge. I will often lean them towards a wine that, of course tastes terrific but still a good value. Don’t want to “sticker shock” them just yet.

Any tips for finding a good bargain?

Ask! We are always excited to tell you about a new wine we just received that is a great value.

Do you advertise scores from publications like Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, or Wine Enthusiast when bottles you stock do well? What’s your take on the current push back against scores?

Once in a while if there is an outstanding wine that I may agree with the Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, or Wine Enthusiast, I will take the time to clip out the info and score and place it by the wine. But typically I do not pander to the scores. Some customers may overlook a fabulous wine that does not even have a score, while not understanding that the wine has to be sent to the magazines to even get looked at. I mean the “wine score fairy” just doesn’t magically appear to give out scores. Besides, just because Parker, Miller or Steiman may like a wine, doesn’t mean my palate will nor does it mean my palate is wrong.

Do you have any special events – like weekly tastings, winemaker dinners, or classes? How much do they benefit your business?

Yes, yes, and yes! We have Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman Wednesdays! Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman Tuesdays or Thursdays just wouldn’t be the same – heh. The W5 Wednesdays have been a great asset to the shop. We bring in local wineries and winemakers to pour their wines, as well as wine distributors who tend to focus on more education such as with varietals and regions. Once in awhile on a Friday afternoon, we will open a bottle of wine, rather spontaneously to share with our customers, especially if the wine is a great value. At this time, we are in the process of working with a couple of local chefs to get some winemaker dinners on the schedule. The reception I have received from our local wine community, as well as our tourists, has been overwhelming and exciting.