William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Yes, a Washington Pinot Noir. We named it Roses and Ribbons in homage to the Bob Hunter- Grateful Dead's song, "It Must have Been the Roses." - Robert Anderson There is precious little Pinot Noir made in Washington. We lack the climate for this most delicate fruit. Naturally I was curious about how well it would show in this bottling. Tasting Notes This wine was timid and required patience, almost two hours, for it to open. Color: Ruby. Nose: Earthy raspberry, marmalade toast. Palate: Medium body, bright, good grip on the tongue and inner lip, cinnamon, raspberry, orange on the dry, medium-short finish. Day two: Bigger and drier, tannin more obvious and appreciated. Hint of strawberry on the nose and an herbal note, with blackberry fruit leather and black pepper on the tongue, a dry raspberry finish. This bad boy is just coming to speed. It's a young wine and should only improve in bottle. I'd hold for 3 months and start pulling corks...

An intriguing and sexy artisanal Washington Pinot Gris. ar·ti·san·al [ahr-tuh-zuh-nl, ahr-tiz-uh-] "pertaining to or noting a high-quality or distinctive product made in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods." The Lupin Vineyards Pinot Gris was called "Lyric" in Keeping with a theme of music (their Chardonnay is named - "A Cappella", the Viognier - "Madrigal").  Neglected Pinot Gris. This is an extremely small production wine. A great deal of TLC went into the making of this Pinot Gris. The Lake Chelan AVA vineyard these grapes were sourced had zero positive attention. No spray, no water, no mowing, no roundup- nothing for more than 5 years. Without pruning, the clusters had to be hand picked. Only clusters that were both ripe and free of problems were selected. Common thought is that these grapes would be sub-standard at best and probably un-useable. The location, the wind, the minimal ground water ...

Two white wines by winemaker Robert Anderson. I like the look of the Lupine Vineyards label. It's clean, easy to read, adorned with an image of the Lupine wild flower. Lupines are one of my favorite Eastern Washington wild flowers. In the Columbia Valley you can see them blooming in the desert, usually next to sagebrush and tumbleweed in the month of May. I need to get out and take some photos this year. About the winemaker: “Robert Anderson is a biologist and winemaker... As Operations Manager at the Seattle Aquarium, his experience in pumps and pipes, process control and chemistry serve him well...” Lupine Vineyards was established in 2010. It is located north of Lake Chelan, Washington. photo: Lupine Vineyards "Vibrant" Viognier. Lupine Vineyards “Vibrant” Viognier Straw yellow color. My first impression on the nose was dry tumbleweed, yielding to nectarine, lychee, white pepper with a floral flourish. On the palate it had good mouth feel, flavor of almo...