William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Crowd pleasing style, but not gimmicky. My go to white wine. The Washington Chardonnay I continue to return to is one I have enjoyed over many years. That is, the Chardonnay made by winemaker Rob Griffin of Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Washington. I've been a fan since, well, at least before they opened their tasting room in 1997. Rob Griffin was the original winemaker for Preston Cellars, 1979 - 1983, and I started drinking those wines in 1986. Then he was the winemaker and GM for Hogue Cellars 1984 - 1991, which I also started drinking in 1986. Rob and his wife Deborah Barnard created their Barnard Griffin label in 1983, which I started drinking in the early 1990's. For me, Barnard Griffin is synonymous with Washington Wine.  I even worked for Barnard Griffin Winery 2005 - 2007. We have a history. Rob Griffin with daughter Elise. Today Rob is still the winemaker, his older daughter Elise is now the tasting room manager for the winery. His youngest daughte...

A blissful bottle of Washington Tempranillo. It is a privilege to taste, sample, experience and review wine. Over the years I have built a mental image of what wine means to me. The more wine I experience, the more I want to experience. There is a world of wine waiting to be discovered. If you have followed along with the #winemuse podcast show I am co-hosting, then you know that each month we taste and review a wine from a different country. So far we have visited Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany and next month Austria. As the show has evolved, we have added conversations with the winemakers. We are expanding our knowledge and awareness of wine from around the world and hope that some of you are joining us. It is a lot of fun and worthwhile. My mental image of wine continues to evolve. How does this translate and how is it relevant to the 2011 Stottle Tempranillo ? Recognition of exceptional wine. I knew instantly this would be my "Wine of the Wee...

Okay fans of Washington Syrah, this one is for you. A notoriously difficult to find bottle of Syrah. I snagged the last bottle when I saw it at the local grocers. It's a little young today but drank well after an hour. I even made a couple of wallpaper images of the bottle for you to put on your desktop. "Good expression of varietal." -William Pollard, Wild 4 Washington Wine.

Gosh, a beautiful white table wine. Mark Wysling, owner/winemaker of Parejas Cellars sent me several bottles of his wines to review. I could not resist sharing with you how lovely the Band of Sisters 2012 Wysling drank. Thank you Mark! I will have a complete review of all the wines Mark sent me, but first, let's look at this white table wine.

An honest expression of Washington terroir. It's a pleasure to enjoy a bottle of red wine that tastes like you expect it to taste and compliments your meal. Is it odd to tell you that the McKinley Springs Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like and drinks like a Washington Cabernet Sauvignon? It does and I enjoyed it.

An almost elegant and very affordable Washington Viognier. McKinley Springs makes wine from their 2000 acre estate vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. They make wine in a style I appreciate and price their wines competitively. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I continue to be impressed by McKinley Springs wines. My first exposure to McKinley Springs was February 2012  after a  recommendation  by a gentleman I met at a local winery; it pays to visit with your fellow wine tasters. Thank you friend.

Guest post by Juli Crompe. W oodinville is home to almost 100 wineries, and one of the biggest weekends of the year to highlight them is Passport to Woodinville , happening this weekend (April 20-21st, 2013). This year, they started a new tradition, a kickoff event to Passport of sorts, called RESERVE. RESERVE  was held at Columbia Winery  and highlighted all 90+ point rated wines and limited bottlings. The list of wines available at this event was quite impressive, and I definitely found some new gems!

Taste Washington! 2012 Recommended Wines. DeLille Cellars currently produces five Bordeaux-styled wines: Grand Ciel, Chaleur Estate Red, D2, Harrison Hill, and Chaleur Estate Blanc. Also produced are the Doyenne wines, which include a classic northern Rhône-style Syrah - awarded as one of the great 15 Syrahs of the world; a Roussanne; Métier a Southern Rhône-styled red wine;  AIX, a Provençe-style red, and a Provençe/Bandol-style Rosé. Their goal is to make the very best handcrafted, old-world style red and white wine made in the State of Washington. Jason Gorski, DeLille Cellars Assistant Winemaker. Chris Upchurch , Executive Winemaker/Vineyard Manager, Owner/Partner. Jason Gorski , Assistant Winemaker. I had the pleasure of visiting with Jason this year. The Wines: 2009 AIX - Dark, Yakima Valley, heat, young, not bad. 58% Syrah, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Mourvedre, retail price $36. Recommended. 2008 Signature Syrah. * Favorite: 2008 Signature Syrah - Earth, ...

"Green are my grapes" - desktop wallpaper, one of many. I'm sharing some of my personal, mostly Washington, wine photos - click on the Wallpaper Tab above. I have cropped and re-sized the images to make them suitable for use as wallpaper  on most computers. Wallpaper image size is 1667 x 800. WARNING : These photos may cause hunger and thirst or an uncontrollable urge to visit Washington Wine Country. Cheers!

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...