William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Planning a trip to Walla Walla? Eternal Wines must be on your itinerary.  Over the last year, I have come to know winemaker Brad Binko of Eternal Wines and Drink Washington State. He is talented, friendly and supremely dedicated to Washington wine. You can taste the passion in every bottle of wine Brad makes. Last month I visited with Brad in his downtown Walla Walla tasting room. Located on 1st Avenue, half a block from Main Street, and two doors down from a tasty cupcake bakery. Easy to find, and full of delicious wines and light. You can't miss visiting this cool space. Brad Binko, Eternal Wines, pouring rose' for guests. Mr. Binko has a full set of wines available to taste and purchase at his tasting room. I'll get into more detail about Brad and some of his other wines in a future post. When you drop by his tasting room, tell him Wild 4 Washington Wine sent you. Check out their  website  as they host special tastings and sometimes have live music. ...

Baby it's hot outside! We are well on track for a warmer than usual growing season. Yes, it is hot. Thankfully, every business I visit in the Columbia Valley has AC. At home too. Earlier this week I was in Seattle for a couple of days. Surprising how many businesses do not have AC in the Emerald city. If you are seeking respite from the summer heat, I recommend the  Stottle Winery Viognier . Serve with or without AC. Thank me later for recommending this wine. Enjoy and keep cool. Tasting Notes Stottle Winery 2012 Viognier Eldering Vineyard Color : Straw/pale gold. Nose : Pear, fresh baled hay. Palate : Medium-full body, creamy, pear skin, almost tart, hint of heat. Tingle on the lips. Medium pear skin finish. After 10 minutes : Pear, Honeydew melon, river rock, nutty on nose. Creamy mouth feel, mild pear, mild tartness back palate, river rock on the long pear finish. Modest wine at open, finish dominant and enjoyable, lingered and lingered. 30 minutes : Spicy, melon-pe...

Have you discovered Virginia wine country? When I think Virginia wine, the first wine which comes to mind is Virginia Viognier. Viognier is synonymous with good, quality Viginia wine. My first exposure to Virginia Viognier was in 2011. My expectations were high when I was asked to taste and compare three different Virginia Viogniers by Keswick Vineyards. The original colonies were mandated by England to grow vinifera and to make wine. They failed miserably. Thomas Jefferson struggled for 30 years to grow vinifera, without success. Today Jefferson’s vision has been realized by the achievements of 250 Virginia wineries. Virginia is the fifth largest wine producing state in the United States and a world class wine country destination. I encourage you to go visit. "Inspiration comes from family to be a good winemaker and a good person and wines reflect personality"  -  Stephen Barnard, Keswick Vineyards Winemaker Keswick Vineyards winemaker is Steven Barnard, w...

This May I met Ciel du Cheval winemaker Richard Holmes at the 2013 Revelry on Red Mountain . He kindly sent me two of his wines to sample and review if I liked them. Today I'm including my impressions of his 2012 Ciel du Cheval Viognier.

Guest Post by Juli Crompe. It has been a while since a great, not-to-miss Washington wine event has crossed my path, but the Exotic Wine Festival is not only a unique wine experience, but an amazing experience in general. And the best part? It hasn't happened yet, so you can join us! Celebrate Washington wine month in a big way...tasting rare varietals from our fine state. The 4th Annual Exotic Wine Festival is a collaboration between Wine World and Seattle Uncorked that benefits Teatro ZinZanni, a Seattle non-profit circus, dinner theater, described as the "hottest ticket in town". Why am I so interested in this wine event? For a few reasons, but mainly because you're exposed to varietals AND wineries which you wouldn't often get to experience without a lot of effort, all in one of the most unique settings. At this event, you'll have the opportunity to try many varietals you may have never heard of, or never tasted such as Mourvedre, Cinsault, Malbec, ...

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...

Looks like a Pepi party! Put some Pepi in  your glass! My first exposure to Pepi wines was at the 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference . The 2011 Pepi Sauvignon Blanc was one of the wines featured at the speed tasting session. The wine was quite lively. Since then, I have had the pleasure of enjoying the other three Pepi white wines: Pepi Pinot Grigio, Pepi Chenin Blanc-Viognier and Pepi Chardonnay. Pepi wines are sourced from grapes grown in cool-climate vineyard regions of California. Cheers to the 2011 Pepi Pinot Grigio. 2011 Pepi Pinot Grigio Tasting Notes Color of pale straw, with mineral, slate, fresh pear nose, light pear flavor and wonderful minerality through the finish. Clean, crisp, dry white wine. This would be a good seafood wine. I'd pair with steamed clams, oysters on the half shell, Dungeness crab, halibut, sashimi, cheese fondue and pasta alfredo. I liked this wine. Big value at this price. Recommended. Blend: 90% Pinot Grigio, 10% Chenin B...

Let's get the party started! I'm happy they used screwcaps on these wines, to lock in the flavor and aromatics of the fruit, and for easy access too. Screwcap closures no longer worry me. I've had too many bottles of wine ruined by natural cork. Bottles of wine sealed with screwcaps also indicate that the wine is a buy me drink me wine. Should't they all be ready to drink? Theses wines were a pleasure to open and I enjoyed them both. What a great way to end this fun tasting from the California Wine Club - details below. Treat your friends to some Tangent Viognier. 1st Review: Tangent Viognier 2010 I like the clean look of this label. It hints at the wine inside the bottle. The Tangent Viognier had a clean nose, with peach and pear, a whiff of honey and orange blossom, very pleasing, quite feminine. The enticing aromas led to flavors of peach and pear, with gentle toast. Creamy mouth feel.  I liked the finish, it had lingering stone fruit, a touch of minerality....

A joyful white wine. Market Vineyards 2010 Liquidity. On November 1st, Market Vineyards opened their first tasting room in Queensgate Village in South Richland. My wife and I were surprised to encounter the new tasting room while on a weekend walk. What an excellent discovery. A well appointed tasting room. The tasting room is roomy and well furnished for comfortable wine tasting events. It’s conveniently located for us, and we liked the wines, so we’re planning several functions with friends at this new facility. We went through their entire lineup and enjoyed many of their wines. But the bottles we took home with us were bottles of the 2010 Liquidity. Liquidity is a blend of 50% Viognier and 50% Roussanne, sourced from Gamache Vineyards. I’ve been on a white wine kick since summer and I thoroughly enjoyed the Liquidity. Liquidity is wonderfully focused, beautifully made, a lively wine with stunning acidity. What a pleasure to taste. This wine woke me up and put a smile on m...

Coyote Canyon 2009 Viognier with cheese and fruit. My wife had a meeting last night at a local wine and cheese shop. She brought home with her the Coyote Canyon 2009 Viognier, along with a savory selection of cheeses. We added some fresh strawberries and crackers and made an evening treat for ourselves.

A Red Mountain Winery There’s a winemaker with his own unique vision who’s moved to the Red Mountain AVA. His name is Bill Kimmerly, the winery is named Masquerade Wine Company. I had the pleasure of visiting with Bill last Friday afternoon. Some of you may remember Masquerade as a Prosser winery, but Masquerade Wine Company is now a Red Mountain winery. Bill and his wife Jennifer have had quite the adventure, moving from California to Washington State and from Prosser to Red Mountain. I found their story a fascinating read; Bill tells a good tale about their many adventures in the world of wine - it's on their website . Entry to Masquerade Wine Company. While Masquerade is not on the Red Mountain Sunset Road, they are just across the street and part of the Red Mountain AVA. You’ll pass them either entering or leaving the Red Mountain area. They have a newer, larger, better secured sign on their property – you can’t miss it. The road to the tasting room is framed by sagebru...