William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Barnard Griffin has a new look. One of my favorite jobs was working for the family owned Barnard Griffin Winery. Hand-selling wine, meeting and greeting visitors from around the world and sharing stories of Washington wine were some of my best experiences. Period. It also pushed me to learn more about wine. I'm still learning. You are encouraged to stop by their expanded tasting room when you visit SE Washington. New Griffin label and original Tulip label at the grocer. It is always with pleasure when I see a bottle from one of my favorite local wineries. As with all things familiar, there is eventually change. Barnard Griffin Winery dropped their familiar, friendly tulip label design last year. They have decided to embrace the Griffin logo on their label. My thoughts? It does look classier and it presents well. The new label seems to make the bottle look bigger too. I miss the friendly tulip label, but I am adapting to the change. I can only hope that in future they do...

Serious New Look - Same Great Value. I'm a fan of McKinley Springs wines. As I've expressed before, this small, family-owned and operated estate winery, produces wines true to the varietal. They taste like you expect, compliment your meals and are reasonably priced. The Bombing Range Red is a red wine blend which I first enjoyed a couple of years ago . Checking my blog I've reviewed or mentioned McKinley Springs nine times. Look for their wines. The Bombing Range Red label was introduced in 2005. The original label had a colorful graphic novel look which was easy to spot on the shelf. A casual wine with a playful look. However, I've learned from other wineries and their recent label changes, that our fond and friendly, playful looking designs, are not taken seriously outside of Washington state. If you want to sell more wine, sometimes you have to reconsider the look of the label. New label features 1943 photo of U.S. P-40 fighter plane at U.S. base in China....

This morning Dave Mathews song “So Much to Say” is on my mind. Feeling the need to press on and share this weeks wine chats. Time to finish some reviews too. #winechat: Santa Rita, Medalla Real, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, from the Maipo Valley. Last nights #winechat featured two wines from Chile. For me, it was an eye opening experience. Chile is producing some spectacular wines. In particular, the featured Santa Rita, Medalla Real, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, from the Maipo Valley, blew me away. The #winechat crowd was exuberant in their response too. It is an impressive Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, especially once you consider the retail price of US $18. Santa Rita, Medalla Real Gran Reserva, Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 D.O. Maipo Valley, Chile. Ripe and round, dark color, dark fruit, the concentrated palate grows into and expansive finish at the 2 hour mark. Gorgeous wine. You could drink this wine with food, but why bother? Decant this wine for an hour or two, then kick ba...