William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Big bang for the buck here friends. Master winemaker Rob Griffin brought out the big guns for this wine;  Counoise, Cinsault, Durif,  Grenache, and Mourvedre. This is no ordinary Washington wine. One of my favorite jobs was working for the family owned Barnard Griffin Winery . Hand-selling wine, meeting and greeting visitors from around the world and sharing stories of Washington wine. These were some of my best experiences. Period. It also pushed me to learn more about wine. I strongly recommend seeking out the Barnard Griffin 2013 Cotes du Rob. Tasting Notes 2013 Cotes du Rob Red Wine Barnard Griffin Winery Color : Plum, cranberry highlights. Nose : Engaging, cranberry, pomegranate, breath of fresh earth, orange peel, graphite. Palate : Pleasant weight, bright, red berry flavors, dusted with light spice, electric on the tongue, modest spicy finish. Shy, friendly opening. 15 minutes : Soft berry and spice on the nose, a touch of armpit odeur. Très European....

There Was a Time... There was a time when I thought I would stop writing about wine. A time, between 2009 and 2010, when I thought my fascination with wine was at an end. Obviously, something happened to cause that thinking, and something happened to put me back on track. I'll address that further on. This post has become rather long. It is in my nature to want to share. Ten years on and there's a lot I want to mention and get out of my thoughts. My thoughts pester me. I hope you find something interesting in these self obsessed musings. There's a lot I left out. So the temptation to add and tweak is strong. Not sure I can resist. When I began this blog ten years ago, I was working for Barnard Griffin Winery . After Fourteen months of hand selling wine, many industry events and daily customer interactions, my head was full of new to me wine related information. I was not sleeping well with a jumble of wine experiences and knowledge swirling around my head at nigh...

Crowd pleasing style, but not gimmicky. My go to white wine. The Washington Chardonnay I continue to return to is one I have enjoyed over many years. That is, the Chardonnay made by winemaker Rob Griffin of Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Washington. I've been a fan since, well, at least before they opened their tasting room in 1997. Rob Griffin was the original winemaker for Preston Cellars, 1979 - 1983, and I started drinking those wines in 1986. Then he was the winemaker and GM for Hogue Cellars 1984 - 1991, which I also started drinking in 1986. Rob and his wife Deborah Barnard created their Barnard Griffin label in 1983, which I started drinking in the early 1990's. For me, Barnard Griffin is synonymous with Washington Wine.  I even worked for Barnard Griffin Winery 2005 - 2007. We have a history. Rob Griffin with daughter Elise. Today Rob is still the winemaker, his older daughter Elise is now the tasting room manager for the winery. His youngest daughte...

Barnard Griffin has a new look. One of my favorite jobs was working for the family owned Barnard Griffin Winery. Hand-selling wine, meeting and greeting visitors from around the world and sharing stories of Washington wine were some of my best experiences. Period. It also pushed me to learn more about wine. I'm still learning. You are encouraged to stop by their expanded tasting room when you visit SE Washington. New Griffin label and original Tulip label at the grocer. It is always with pleasure when I see a bottle from one of my favorite local wineries. As with all things familiar, there is eventually change. Barnard Griffin Winery dropped their familiar, friendly tulip label design last year. They have decided to embrace the Griffin logo on their label. My thoughts? It does look classier and it presents well. The new label seems to make the bottle look bigger too. I miss the friendly tulip label, but I am adapting to the change. I can only hope that in future they do...