William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Taste Washington! Recommended Wines. In the summer of 2008, Joel Waite left his assistant winemaker position at Maryhill Winery to return to Walla Walla where he had studied winemaking. He joined his parents to make a family owned winery into a reality. In 2008 CAVU Cellars was born. With a location near the airport, and Joel's father Jim being a former Army pilot, the idea of an aviation theme seemed a natural. CAVU is an old aviation weather acronym that means ‘Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited’.  Pilots always like seeing that acronym on their weather forecast as it means a good flying day. I liked all of the CAVU Cellars wines poured at Taste Washington, although their 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon was my favorite. 2009 CAVU Horizon Red, Columbia Valley Horizon – Red wine, great flavor, like, some heat ABV 14.5% 123 cases produced, $26 retail price. Recommended. 2010 CAVU Barbera. Barbera - Good nose, mid palate smooth, spice, dark fruit heat. ABV 14.3%. Alder Ridge ...

Last month, I met with Stacie Hamilton of Hamilton Cellars winery ( read post ), the newest winery in town. Friday, I met again with Stacie, but this time Stacie and I sat down and tasted Hamilton Cellars marvelous wines. Stacie Hamilton and me. Photo courtesy of vinotology.com original image at http://ow.ly/i/7QDC Hamilton Cellars has a complete lineup of wine: 2008 White blend, 2009 Rosé of Malbec, 2006/2007/2008 Bona Vita Red blend, 2007 Merlot, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2007 Malbec. There is a $5 tasting fee per person, which is refunded with bottle purchase. We began with the 2008 White Wine This wine is 83% Semillon, my favorite white wine varietal, backed up with 17% Viognier. This is a very successful wine. It’s very rich, with a great floral and baked bread nose, full in the mouth and quite satisfying. I’m thinking seafood, crab, lobster, mussels and prawns. Next, 2009 Rosé of Malbec Ha! This one will surprise you, it surprised me. The Rosé instantly reminded me...

More About the Wine Bloggers Conference Pamela Nieto with the Sherry Council of America This type of conference always has surprising discoveries. One of the first “surprises” for me was the Sherry/Jerez, being poured from Spain. Pamela Nieto, representing the Sherry Council of America , was pouring half a dozen Sherries Friday afternoon. She even had a chilled white Jerez. My mother-in-law and I used to sit together after dinner and enjoy drinking Sherry downstairs, while everyone was sleeping upstairs. It’s been ten years since my mother-in-law passed, so that’s how long it’s been since I last enjoyed Sherry. Ah, I found the Solera 1847 Oloroso Dulce , to be my speed, coffee colored, nutty nose, smooth, honeyed, pleasantly sweet finish and unexpectedly good. Sherry is back on my menu, and I enjoyed some last night. Thank you. I’ll be sampling more Sherry in future and posting my thoughts here. Sunday wrapped-up with a fabulous wine and food pairing lunch. Anyone who has attem...