William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

You are such a tease BC wine. Friendly, approachable, desirable and delicious. I was dazzled by your beauty, style, varieties and classiness. You won me over quickly. My heart still flutters just thinking about your tasty qualities on my lips Bench 1775 Chill . I miss swirling you in my mouth, sipping of your delectable charms. And charms aplenty you are conferred; you are a tease Hainle Vineyards Gewurztraminer Ice Wine .

More from the week of the Vancouver International Wine Festival . Wednesday morning I caught a taxi across the street from the Riviera hotel. There were almost always taxi's lined up across the street. Very convenient. With a full day ahead of me, my first destination was the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts . My appointment was for the 9:30 am Blind Tasting Challenge. photo: Bistro 101 and the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. The facility for the Blind Tasting Challenge was Bistro 101 at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA). Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts is located on the south shore of False Creek, near the heart of Downtown Vancouver, by the gateway to Granville Island.

Drive + Hotel + Wine Reception + Review: Blasted Church 2010 Cabernet Merlot Monday, 25 February, I rose early for the 360 mile drive to Canada. I had been invited to attend the 35th Vancouver International Wine Festival in the lovely city of Vancouver, British Columbia. I was out the door and driving by 7:15 am. This was not my first visit to Vancouver. My first visit was in 1973, I was eleven years old. We lived in Seattle, so that drive took only two hours. Over the years I've visited Vancouver many more times. Although I've seen the city transformed over four decades, it remains one of my favorite cities in the world. For me, it's up there with London and San Francisco. I was eager to return. The drive was mostly uneventful; I stopped in Ellensburg and Bellingham for gas. A bad snow storm on Snoqualmie Pass made me grateful for purchasing Winter tires in January. The border crossing at Blaine went smooth and took no more than ten minutes in the queue. * Tip 1: ...

photo: Blasted Church Cabernet Merlot. One of the coolest wine labels. "The plan called for a controlled blast of four dynamite sticks inside the church in order to "loosen the nails". Odd as it may seem, the explosion spared the wood from damage during dismantling. Save for losing the steeple, the plan succeeded. Now, the 120 year old wooden church stands proudly in its second home of Okanagan Falls." A few years ago in Vancouver, British Columbia, my waiter at dinner introduced me to Blasted Church wines. "Pour me something local and good." Is what I asked for, he delivered. "Show me the bottle." Was my next request. I've been a fan since. Love the design of their label too. It is nearly impossible to find wines from British Columbia/Okanagan Valley in Washington. I'm told trade tariffs make it prohibitively expensive. Shame. The next time you are visiting Canada, go on the hunt for Blasted Church wines. You will be rewarded by ...

Saturday, I was with my family in the beautiful city of Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, where I purchased this bottle of wine. We were on a three day Holland America cruise out of Seattle, our first stop was at Victoria.