As the weather begins to cool down and the smoke clears out, there’s no better place in Bend to relax and unwind than our own Va Piano Vineyards.

Open for a little more than a year, Va Piano’s Bend tasting room showcases the very best of what the award-winning Walla Walla winery produces in an intimate setting nestled along the Deschutes River.

Here’s five reasons why we love Va Piano and we think you will too:

1 – Awesome Outdoor Space: Va Piano features not one but two gorgeous outdoor patios. Sip a 2014 Black Label Les Collines Syrah on the front patio and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Old Mill District foot traffic. Better yet, share a bottle of the 2014 Black Label DuBrul Cabernet in the back and take in the river as the sun sets.

2 – High-Quality Shop Talk: Half the fun of drinking wine is talking about wine, and no one’s more fun to chat with than Va Piano managers Mauri Brown and Angie Moore. There’s also a good chance you’ll run into owner and wine maker Justin Wylie if he’s not up in Walla Walla or the winery’s other tasting room in Spokane. Yeah, it’s pretty sweet to get to banter back and forth with one of the most accomplished vintners in the Pacific Northwest.

3 – Black Label Goodness: Va Piano offers top-shelf wines for just about any palate and budget, but what we really love is the access to their Black Label lineup. Crafted to showcase specific vineyards Va Piano feels are worth the special treatment,  Black Label wines use only the best barrels and each vintage is limited to just 200 cases or less.

4 – Thursday Night Concerts: Starting in November, Va Piano will resume its highly entertaining weekly concert series on Thursday nights. The perfect way to jump start the weekend, Va Piano’s Thursday night music offerings add just the right amount of ambiance and entertainment to what we think is already the coolest place in town to enjoy a glass – or two – of wine.

5 – Wine Club Benefits: Va Piano offers two different memberships, both of which come with a variety of perks. Estate Club members have exclusive access to Estate Club wines, while Black Label members have first dibs on the small-batch Black Label wines. Wine club members also receive complimentary tastings, discounts on wine bought outside their membership agreement AND patio and lawn access to Les Schwab Amphitheater shows.