William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Local farm fresh eggs, cooking with friends - capturing the moment. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's the holiday about family, friends and sharing time and good food together. Of course wine is involved.  This is the time of year I remember fondly when our family went driving through the woods, over Snoqualmie pass across the Cascade mountains, down I5 to Aberdeen, Washington and my grandmothers historic 1906 home. Fireplace roaring, full table setting with delicious turkey and all the fixings. Pumpkin pie with ice cream for dessert. Thanksgiving was family time. Being together was important. My grandmother wanted us to have wonderful experiences; perhaps she was thinking that these would be memories to cherish. They are. I think of my grandmother Claudia as the archetypal grandmother, for me she is the very definition of "grandmother." On our Second Annual Thanksgiving #WineMuse wine podcast on Minstrel and Muse Audio Art Magazine, we ...

A soul satisfying casserole perfect for holiday potlucks and family dinners, paired with a not too sweet port-style wine. Yum! This is the 6th Wine Pairing Weekend #winePW   These events are held on the second Saturday of the month at 8 am Pacific. Do you enjoy the interplay of good food and wine? Do you relish the challenge of finding a great wine pairing for your weekend meals? Then join us for the real pleasure of wine when it accompanies food. If you have similar inclinations, you are invited to join us. Another goal for Wine Pairing Weekend is to serve as a resource for people searching the web for wine pairing ideas. The theme for this month is about the details of Thanksgiving dinner. The holiday that I love. Our goal, find a wine that makes our favorite part of the meal shine. Is it the deep herbal notes in the stuffing, or the buttery, garlic mashed potatoes? The brown-sugar sweet potato casserole, or the bright and tart cranberry sauce? Maybe even the big s...

Celebrate the Holidays at Minstrel and Muse, Audio Art Magazine. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Naturally, I was happy to be invited back to Minstrel and Muse to talk about my favorite Washington beverages for Thanksgiving. As Linda mentioned during the interview, the beverages we choose to pair with our Thanksgiving meals are part of a tradition involving family and friends. Our conversation began with a discussion on hard cider options. Yes, hard cider. Cider is a good choice for those wanting a change from other traditional refreshments. I'd suggest pairing cherry and dry ciders with turkey - both recommended cideries have options for you. If you don't do turkey, apricot or pear cider would be good options for ham. We also discussed appetizer wine options - I recommended dry sparkling wine and dry white still wines. Of course we talked Thanksgiving dinner. We may have gone off track a time or two. At least I know I did. Here's the link to this podcas...

More than a memorable Red Mountain wine. Terra Blanca 2006 Onyx. Recently I had a significant wine moment with a bottle of wine from Terra Blanca, the 2006 ONYX, Terra Blanca Estate Vineyard. This wine was a gift from a friend. A gift I greatly appreciate. There was no special occasion for opening this wine, it just happened to be the bottle I selected. Perhaps it is best that I was not anticipating anything out of this bottle, consequently, my experience was all the more noteworthy. On pulling the cork, the room was instantly enveloped in the aroma of black berries, fresh wild berries, ripe ready to eat berries, berry pie and berry cobbler. The moment hung suspended as I was transported back in time, memories of childhood, my grandmother and summers spent in Aberdeen, Washington cascaded over me. As I poured from the bottle into my glass, I recalled my grandmothers white 1971 Monte Carlo, with blue vinyl top. You could tell she enjoyed driving that car; we drove all over Aber...

First, if you have no Washington wine to enjoy with friends and family, go buy some! We were out and about yesterday and brought more Washington wine home for tonight. Luckily, Kestrel Vintners was at the local Costco showcasing their newest releases. I happily took the Lady in Red, 8th edition, home with me. After shoveling snow this morning, for the third time this week, I'm now relaxing with a glass of Lady in Red and watching football in HD. ( review of 6th edition Lady in Red ). Our second stop yesterday was at the West Richland Yoke's grocery store . One of my favorite wine stewards, Chris, works at Yoke's. His recommendations for Turkey day included Washington Gewurztraminer, Sparklers and Rosé. Here's a cell phone photo of Chris at the store. What do I recommend? Washington Sparklers and Rosé of course! Both Washington sparkling wine and Rosé pair with almost everything. For the die-hard red wine drinkers, there are plenty of options to keep them ...

Harvest in the Columbia Valley is over. Winemakers are busy working with the juice of their labors. Thanksgiving in Washington Wine Country is only 9 days away. And my sense of taste is almost back to normal. The longer I live in SE Washington, the more I'm affected by seasonal allergies and changes in temperature and humidity. All of this environmental influence on my body, greatly affects my ability to enjoy wine; red wine loses most of its subtlety and flavor when my internal barometer is screwy. Fortunately, this time of year my body usually returns to normal, just in time for the holidays. I plan to post suggestions for holiday food pairings: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Hopefully, I'll have time to post some gift suggestions too - I always appreciate help in that department; this time of year always seems to get away from me. All the best, Cheers!