William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

An end of the world wine destination. Some may consider SE Washington the ends of the earth. Miles of desert, few trees, rolling hills called mountains, wheat fields, apple orchards, hops and vineyards. I missed last weeks #winechat discussion on twitter because I was busy writing about the three hour lunch I enjoyed that day on Red Mountain with the marketing team of Hedges Family Estate winery . The #winechat topic was "End of the world wines." How appropriate a caption for the lunch I enjoyed and this post. FYI : The   Red Mountain AVA is the smallest in the state at only 4,040 acres. The AVA has 1,199 acres under cultivation. Primary grape varieties planted include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Sangiovese, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. The vineyards have produced grapes for some of the most sought after wines in Washington State. Only 15 minutes from my front door. Christophe Hedges, General Manager. Arriving at the Hedges winery ...

Hedges Family Estate Chateau. A great way to enjoy the weekend in the Columbia Valley. What did I do today? Besides edging and mowing the lawn with my family, I managed to zip over to Red Mountain to revel in the glorious spring sunshine. I also sampled some wonderful wines in one of the most beautiful of settings, Hedges Family Estate winery. Hedges RMF - ABV 21.5% and delightful. A  grand tradition this time of year in the Columbia Valley, is sampling new wines straight from the barrel, as well as drinking award winning wines in the tasting room. This weekend is referred to as "Spring Barrel Tasting" weekend. Straight from the barrel, Kenan with wine thief. After the morning chores were completed, I stopped by Hedges Family Estate to visit with my friend Kenan, Vineyard Apprentice at Hedges. I enjoyed visiting with him in the full of barrels, barrel room. The two barrel samples were enticing, a good vintage. The fortified wine I sipped after was like l...

Taste Washington! 2012 Recommended Wines. I'm quite familiar with Hedges Family Estate. I've visited the Hedges Family Estate Chateau many times on Red Mountain, only a 13 minute drive from my home. Hedges makes wonderful, expressive wines, I should know, I have benefited from my wife’s Hedges wine club membership; they treat their wine club members very well. Last year, I enjoyed Lunch and conversation with Christophe Hedges and his family at his Red Mountain home. Kenan, Hedges Assistant Vineyard Manager. This year, Assistant Vineyard Manager, Kenan, invited me via twitter to stop by and visit at Taste Washington. I'm glad I did. The Hedges 2008 Red Mountain Red Wine is drinking very well today, and their Cabernet Franc Rose was my favorite Rose at Taste Washington! The Wines: Screwcaps on Chardonnay - 100 Point No. 2010 House of Independent Producers Chardonnay – Dionysus vineyard, planted in 1975, 100 point NO on screwcap. Unoaked, clean crisp. Independ...

Hedges CMS with grilled peppers, steak and mushrooms. On this chilly November morning, I find myself thinking of summer. The too warm afternoons, fiery valley sunsets, wafting smoke from the grill and of course, all the delicious wines I enjoyed. Here's a picture from August which I "re-discovered" on my computer yesterday. Grilled steak with mushrooms and peppers and a bottle of 2009 Hedges CMS. This photo is at a much higher resolution than I typically share - click on it and enjoy a summer memory. Cheers! Links to Hedges CMS Red reviews Buy this wine direct from Hedges The Midwest Wine Guy Reviews Hedges CMS Nickel and Dime Wine reviews Hedges CMS Yelp reviews of Hedges Winery The Random Oenophile Blog Tasting Notes Hedges CMS The Puget Sound Blogs What Were Drinking Hedges CMS Red

Christophe Hedges. Part of a series on the Context of Wine,  Inspired by an afternoon conversation with Christophe Hedges. Last Friday I enjoyed lunch with Christophe Hedges and his lovely wife Maggie at their Red Mountain home. Christophe cooked while we talked about our favorite topic, wine. Christophe is responsible for Sales and Marketing for his family owned winery, Hedges Family Estate . A tall man, lean, with an introspective look, he struck me as friendly, focused, intelligent and a fervent individual, proud of his family heritage and his family winery.

Some overdue shout-outs and mentions. Last month I was at Taste Washington in Seattle, and it was a 7 hour rush. That is, I was rushing around on my “breaks” from greeting 3,000+ attendees. My breaks only allowed for a bit of time here and there to visit and taste. Today I’d like to say thank you to those I did not mention last month. Shout-Outs! Kitzke Cellars Before the event started, I did manage to visit briefly with Vickie Kitzke and her friends Linda and Bill. This was their first time at Taste Washington. I reviewed Kitzke Cellars here . Their tasting room in West Richland is open by appointment. Check them out at Taste Washington Portland on May 1st if you missed them in Seattle. Gordon Brothers Winery I had hoped to visit with Katie Nelson of Gordon Brothers Winery, but she was engaged with a crowd of tasters when I stopped by. My last visit to Gordon Brothers is reviewed here . They too will be at Taste Washington Portland on May 1st. Hedges Family Estate Winery...

We celebrated the new year with good friends and good wine. Washington wine of course. The evening began with a  bottle of   Pacific Rim White Flower Sparkling Riesling  ( reviewed here ). The next wine we enjoyed, was the  Heaven's Cave Cellars  2005 Cabernet Sauvignon .  Heaven's Cave Cellars is a for-benefit winery that chooses to donate a portion of its profits from wine sales to cover 100% of the operating expenses of the Make the DASH Count Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit dedicated to both developing the next generation of community leaders and benefiting at-risk youth.  The Foundation uses hands-on grantmaking to introduce high-school students to the joys and challenges of philanthropy.  By serving on community-based  youth boards, students learn about the fiscal literacy, community awareness and thoughtful decision-making necessary to act as stewards of the foundation's grantmaking process, annually awarding grant monies to prog...