William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Taste Washington! 2012 Recommended Wines. Corvus Cellars was my favorite winery at Taste Washington! this year.  Randall and Jennifer Hopkins at 2011 Revelry on Red Mountain. Corvus Cellars is a partnership between Winemaker  Steve Lessard and Winegrower Randall Hopkins. I met Randall last year at Revelry on Red Mountain . Corvus currently produces a limited 1200 cases of wine with emphasis on using fruit from the Red Mountain and Walla Walla AVA's. Winemaker Steve Lessard has produced award winning wines at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley, Hedges Family Estate on Red Mountain and Whitman Cellars in Walla Walla. The Corbel Sauvage is especially good with wild fermentation, and 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2009 Estate Petit Verdot rocked. All wines are in extremely limited production. Wine club members are very fortunate to have such attention lavished on the,  for wine club members only , Corvus wines. I need to visit this winery. My Fav...

Break out the Steak and Chateau Smith, it’s sunny in the Columbia Valley! It’s finally grilling season in SE Washington, sunshine and no wind. After experiencing the coldest April on record, I'm ready for the sun. Now that the Columbia Valley is warming up, we have the perfect weather for outdoor activities, including: wine tasting and grilling. Speaking of grilling, I fired up the grill to cook some nice rib-eyes. After a month without eating red meat, I was eager to break my meat fast. But which wine to pair with my grilled steak? My choice, a classic Walla Walla, Washington, made in the USA, 2008 Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon. That's right, a Chateau Smith! I choose the Chateau Smith because I wanted a food friendly, affordable, easy to enjoy wine. This wine came up aces. I’ve met winemaker Charles Smith a couple of times ( Seattle magazine 2010 winemaker of the year ), at last year’s Wine Blogger Conference in W...

SOME UPCOMING - Not to Miss - EVENTS April 15, 2011 - There will be a lot going on this weekend. Thomas O'Neil Cellars Grand Opening in Richland, Washington. The big day is here! Thomas O’Neil Cellars is opening their doors to the public on April 15, 2011 and having fun the whole weekend with wine, friends and live music. www.thomasoneilcellars.com   Barnard Griffin Winery SPRING BARREL TASTING WEEKEND . They will be tasting wines from both their Tulip label as well as their Reserve line up all weekend. This event is not affiliated with the Yakima Valley event on the same weekend. Spring Barrel Tasting in the Yakima Valley . Locations: Yakima , Prosser , Naches , Sunnyside , Wapato , Outlook , Benton City , Zillah , Granger , Downtown Yakima , Grandview , Paterson Various. Read about the fantastic time I had at the 2010 Spring Barrel weekend in Prosser here . April 16, 2011 Col Solare Winery is hosting a  “Wild and Exotic” Winemaker’s Dinner on...

A wicked wind is blowing in the Tri-Cities. Two days of breathing gunk from the desert is affecting my allergies. Joy. Although the back of my head is throbbing, I am sifting through my notes from Sunday's Taste Washington Seattle 2011. It should be no surprise that my bias, once again, is to the red wines. Looking at my notes, what surprised me is that many of my favorite wines were from Walla Walla and "Other". Here is the breakdown by region:  Walla Walla – 8 wineries (12 favorite wines posted). Woodinville – 3 wineries (6 favorite wines posted). Other – 4 wineries (11 favorite wines posted). So, out of all the wines I tasted at Taste Washington Seattle 2011, I was able to identify 29 wines I truly enjoyed. These are wines I would personally purchase for myself or for gifts. Over the next several days I will reveal these wines and any relevant comments. As soon as the wind dies down, my allergies should go away, then I’ll be able to enjoy wine again. Cheer...

Success Fostering Success Architect Ed Luebben was my companion last Saturday in Walla Walla. I've known Ed for almost 20 years. We worked for the same company for twelve years and still keep in touch. As an Architect, Ed has designed many Washington wineries. He even moved to Walla Walla to keep in better contact with his winery clients. Ed now lives in the Tri-Cities and continues to work on a variety of architectural projects - including wineries. Architect Ed Luebben.   Some of the facilities Ed designed include, Garrison Creek Cellars, Northstar Winery, the Enology and Viticulture facility at Walla Walla Community College and the Walla Walla Wine Incubator. Ed and I planned to make the trip to Walla Walla two years ago, we made good this year. Not only did Ed drive, he also introduced me to some of the best winemakers in the industry (more in my next couple of posts). Adamant Cellars. Wine Incubato...