William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Last month I left one of my favorite jobs in the Washington wine industry. After 35 months working at Col Solare Winery on the Red Mountain AVA, I have decided to take a break from wine sales and wine education. It was my choice. I remain a huge fan of Col Solare and their talented winemaker and cellar crew. Miss them too.  Twenty years ago I began working in the Washington wine industry. My first wine job was in 2005 working for Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Washington. What an amazing time. I learned I loved selling wine and telling stories about wine. This is when I began taking wine far more seriously, and learned more about winemaking, grape varieties, and customer interactions. Also, during this phase I was inspired to create this blog. I was discovering my writing "voice" and the beginning of my teaching voice. Thank you Rob, Deborah, Micky, Miah, Meagan, Kim, and all those I worked with. Thank you.  Writing about wine, from a wine sales and production winery v...

“There is something special going on at Col Solare." In mid-June 2022, I began working for Col Solare winery on the Red Mountain AVA in Washington state. The Red Mountain AVA and Col Solare are famous for stunning Cabernet Sauvignon. That I knew going in.  We are not here to make more wine... We are here to showcase place. At the end of June 2022, Col Solare winemaker Darel Allwine retired. Darel had been winemaker since 2013. Prior, he had been Col Solare assistant winemaker for Marcus Notaro. Marcus had been Col Solare winemaker when the Red Mountain facility opened and was winemaker before we had our Red Mountain facility.  On July 1, 2022, Col Solare assistant winemaker, Stephanie Cohen, was promoted to Col Solare winemaker. I was present for this change. It was the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. Col Solare is the third winery I have worked for. I chose well.  Often, I am asked by Col Solare guests, as I was last week, “Tell me about Col Solare. Wh...

During the pandemic I followed the procedure of isolating and masking. Once the vaccine was available, I got it. Then I boosted, boosted, boosted. Keeping my immunization records current. While my wife and son did get COVID during the pandemic, I managed to avoid getting COVID. Until it got me in June 2023. How did it affect me? Am I still affected by long-term COVID? It has been on my mind. Let's look at how this started and where I am at today.  "I was a bit shaken. Was this my new life?" June 2023 I Got Sick My son works as an engineer on the western side of the state. My wife is on another international job assignment. I was looking forward to having them home for Fathers Day. Once I tested positive for COVID, I told them not to come over. Neither of them can afford to get sick. For much of June I wallowed in my misery, alone. My recovery was in time for the 4th of July.  July 2023 Negative Test + Lingering Effects Using the at home COVID test kit, I finally tested ne...

Today is the 5th Annual #CabernetDay.  This is the day wine aficionados around the world buy, drink and tweet about that most famous of red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon.  Today I visited two wineries on Red Mountain, Fidelitas and Col Solare . Last night I was tweeting after #winechat and saw tweets from @FidelitasWines about a special Cabernet Sauvignon tasting at their Red Mountain tasting room. All that was required to receive a taste of a "special" bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, was to tweet about @FidelitasWines and #CabernetDay and be retweeted. Which I did and was, so today I zipped over to the winery to enjoy some world class Cabernet Sauvignon. Yes I am truly lucky. Fidelitas Winery - view from Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. Plenty of clouds and gentle breezes took the edge off the heat today. Welcoming the beautiful day on Red Mountain was a treat. I asked for permission to wander their Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard to take photos. Always ask friends. Of course ...

Revelry on Red Mountain - one of my favorite local events! Saturday, May 25, 2013, 6:00pm - 9:00pm Join us for one of our most popular events back for the 5th year - Revelry on Red Mountain ! Tickets on sale April 1st by calling 206.326.5770.

Guests arriving for Revelry on Red Mountain. My wife and I were at Col Solare Winery last Saturday for our first  Revelry on Red Mountain , a fund raising event for Seattle Children’s Hospital . In 2010, Seattle Children's provided a record $102 million to service nearly 100,000 patients in uncompensated care alone. The Auction of Washington Wines is responsible for organizing this fundraising event and several more later this year.  Wendi Warner - Col Solare Guest Services Manager. Wendi Warner of Col Solare Winery was the perfect hostess and choreographer. There was a stunning array of Washington wines and a procession of food from Chef Magaña’s kitchen . We were also blessed with perfect outdoor weather; this year has been much cooler and wetter than normal, sunny days have been few. A beautiful afternoon became a beautiful evening.

(re-posted) ATTEND A BEAUTIFUL EVENING ON RED MOUNTAIN OVER MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND! Revelry on Red Mountain – Saturday, May 28, 2011 AT 6:00 PM   Tickets are still available at the official website , but Wild 4 Washington Wine has one pair of tickets to give away to a lucky reader. This unique event will be on the terrace of the lovely Col Solare Winery. All Red Mountain wines will be featured, with winemakers housed on Red Mountain or leveraging Red Mountain fruit. Enjoy exceptional cuisine and bid on exciting wine items offered in the silent auction. Make this your holiday weekend destination! Tickets are $95 per person but if you act today, you could win free tickets! Wild 4 Washington Wine will be giving away two tickets to one lucky person! The winner will be randomly drawn from the Wild 4 Washington Wine Facebook page and from @wild4wawine Twitter Followers. You can enter by: Follow Wild 4 Washington Wine on Twitter and tweet, “@wild4wawine I want to go to Revelry o...

This April weekend had the perfect weather for wine tasting in the Columbia Valley. A gentle wind, with equally gentle clouds, allowed for just enough warmth to create the perfect spring afternoon. Today’s afternoon was perfect for visiting Col Solare winery on Red Mountain. Col Solare vineyard view. My wife took me out to Col Solare this afternoon. I went willingly. Our last visit to Col Solare was  October 2010 for their 2007 release . The warm, partially cloudy day had me in the mood for a short drive and some world-class wine. The word is not out yet that Col Solare is open on the weekend*. So there were only four people at the winery when we arrived. Our hostess was fantastic, friendly, informative and directed us to a perfect paring of wine and food. We enjoyed marvelous Col Solare wines, food from their Chicchetti menu and great conversation with our hostess and two wine lovers from Redmond and Issaquah. * Col Solare used to be closed to the public, last yea...

An Evening at Col Solare Evening View of Col Solare What a lovely time we had last Saturday. My wife and I were at Col Solare for the release of their 2007 Col Solare red wine. We ran into friends and ended up staying longer than planned. A strong crowd attended the event, happy to sample the newly released 2007 vintage and to barrel sample the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Klipsun Vineyards. Indeed, there were many cheerful faces. I found the facility quite striking; along with the live music and plentiful finger food, everyone was kept entertained. Afternoon View of Col Solare from the Vineyards Col Solare Vineyards in Front of the Winery Since Col Solare is typically not open to the general public, this was one of the few opportunities to visit the facility and sample their wine. Interestingly, Col Solare is a collaboration between Tuscany’s Marchesi Antinori and Washington State’s Chateau Ste. Michelle. The winery is located on Red Mount...