William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Big Fire = everyday drinking. Last summer I met winemaker Rob Stuart at his McMinnville, Oregon winery. It was a surprise to learn that I first enjoyed his wines more than 20 years ago when he was winemaker for a now defunct Washington winery - Staton Hills . When I first began to take wine seriously, Staton Hills was one of my favorite Washington wineries; and the winemaker too of course.

I won’t be surprised if you don’t know this label.  In 1999 the Staton Hills Winery was purchased by the Chalone Group (now Diageo Chateau & Estate Wine ), and the name was changed to Sagelands Winery . Staton Hills Winery originally opened in 1984. Located just south of Yakima, my wife and I used to visit Staton Hills on the way to and from Seattle. I recall tasting there on a Thanksgiving weekend, large Christmas tree, roaring fire, a lovely sparkling wine and Pinot. This bottle of Merlot has resided in our wine fridge for more than a decade. Christmas day, my wife decided it was time to open it. No, I was not consulted. We were in a hurry to visit friends for Christmas dinner, so lacking time to consider a glass, I had a quick taste and spit. At first I thought the wine had turned, it seemed quite sharp/acidic tasting and very thin. On day two, I changed my opinion of this older wine. The next day and for the following few days, I reconsidered this 1995 Washington Mer...