William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

What's wrong with the title and the picture? Really? Premium wine in a can? What is the first thing you think of when you read that phrase? "Yeah right." and "Why bother?" Among others. Fair enough. I was asked by Winestar to review their new wine products, a selection of Premium AOC French wines in a single-serving package. Hey I'm game and curious too. It took me a few years to accept screw cap closures, I like cork. Last year I even came around to accepting Nomacorc synthetic closures . Box wine? That's a different discussion. But wine in a can? Really? Do we need that? Winestar markets their wines in a can as: Easy to carry, non-breakable, light and 100% recyclable. Enjoy premium wines in small quantity. Ideal for outdoors, snacking, hotels mini bars, catering, transports (trains, planes, yachts). Trendy and ecological packaging. "Drink less, but drink better." I will address those bullet points below. First, where are th...

photo: Les Deux Rives, Grenache 60%, Marsanne 20%, Roussanne 20%. The sample I received for tonight's #winechat: Les Deux Rives, Corbières Blanc 2010. Tonight we are tweeting with @WinesofFrance. Here's a link to the Winechat Schedule for April and May . Tasting Notes: Color: Gold, clean and clear. Nose:  Floral, mineral, melon, citrus, almost tangerine, touch toasty, cinnamon. Palate: Pleasantly crisp, almost gentle, the tangerine is more pronounced on the finish, after some air the cinnamon spice follows, pleasant mild acidity on my cheeks, gets creamier after an hour, and coconut on the finish. This would be an excellent aperitif wine, a very good wine to compliment seafood, oysters on the half shell, not heavy seafood, gently sauteed scallops and prawns, and some nice chips. It would also be a good wine for taking in a sunset with your partner. Recommended! Wine Info: The vineyard of Corbières stretches along the Mediterranean coast of France, from Na...

Two wines from South West France. Last week I had the pleasure to participate in a virtual wine tasting of wines from the South West region of France. This was a live tasting with Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer . He broadcasted video from a kitchen in Brooklyn, New York while I tweeted from Washington State. The twitter hashtag used for this virtual tasting was #SWFrance. Many who participated in this tasting received samples of wine. Wines were tasted and commented on via twitter, food pairings, information about the region and grape varietals were also discussed for each wine. My tasting was truly “virtual” because my samples did not arrive in time for the tasting. Now that my samples of wine have arrived, I will be reviewing them as time permits. 2010 Colombelle Blanc Sec. Colombelle Blanc Sec 2010 This wine is a blend of 80% Colombard and 20% Sauvignon et Ugni Blanc at 11.5% alcohol. This is the first time I recall tasting these varietals. The wine was easy to access with...