William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Last week  I reviewed the 2009 Blacksmith Syrah by Forgeron Cellars.  Since then, I have searched all over town for more Blacksmith Syrah, without success. Craving more bottles of that lovely Syrah, I finally emailed Marie-Eve Gilla, winemaker and co-owner of Forgeron Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington, requesting a visit with her at the winery. Marie-Eve was very gracious and agreed to meet for a wine tasting Friday morning. While Walla Walla is only an hour drive from my home, it does seem difficult for me to schedule time to make the drive to Walla Walla wine country. Desire for more Syrah erased all obstacles. Also, my friend Ben Simons agreed to go with me. Ben is a wine blogger too, his blog is at, www.vinotology.com his twitter handle is @vinotology – a great guy to go wine tasting with. Leaving an overcast Tri-Cities for a misty Walla Walla, the Friday morning drive was laden with wine conversation. Never go wine tasting alone. Forgeron Cellars Winery on Bir...

Really Good Stuff. This week I enjoyed a bottle of Blacksmith Syrah, and the smile is still on my face. Blacksmith is made by winemaker Marie-Eve Gilla of Forgeron Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington. Blacksmith is a second label by Forgeron and priced at half the price of their 2008 Forgeron Syrah. Go find this wine. Now. I've seen a lot of discussion on wine blogs questioning which varietals become the best examples of Washington wine. Washington winemakers work with many different varietals and they make fantastic wine from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon, etc. But, if you were to ask me this week I'd answer, “Syrah” yes, yes, yes. Syrah is the varietal of Washington. 2009 Blacksmith Syrah - I'm accepting gifts of this wine. Everything good about Washington Syrah can be found in a bottle of 2009 Blacksmith Syrah.  Quote me on that. This wine was immediately enjoyable when I removed the cork. It had a captivating deep col...