William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Last month I left one of my favorite jobs in the Washington wine industry. After 35 months working at Col Solare Winery on the Red Mountain AVA, I have decided to take a break from wine sales and wine education. It was my choice. I remain a huge fan of Col Solare and their talented winemaker and cellar crew. Miss them too.  Twenty years ago I began working in the Washington wine industry. My first wine job was in 2005 working for Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Washington. What an amazing time. I learned I loved selling wine and telling stories about wine. This is when I began taking wine far more seriously, and learned more about winemaking, grape varieties, and customer interactions. Also, during this phase I was inspired to create this blog. I was discovering my writing "voice" and the beginning of my teaching voice. Thank you Rob, Deborah, Micky, Miah, Meagan, Kim, and all those I worked with. Thank you.  Writing about wine, from a wine sales and production winery v...

"This is a milestone year."  It sure feels like a milestone to achieve 62 revolutions around our sun. Perhaps, it is my age and all the cumulative experiences and memories in my head. This year, I’ve been in a reflective mood. It feels like I finally have some perspective on life, on all my interactions with other human beings.  Col Solare Fall Colors 2023 I’ve also come to the realization that I adore Col Solare Cabernet Sauvignon.  Over the years I have cultivated a perspective on wine. Especially, Washington wine. I’ve been living in Washington wine country since 1986. My wine epiphany happened in 1991 with a bottle of L’Ecole No. 41 Merlot. Working for my first winery, Barnard Griffin 2005 – 2007, opened my mind to really learning about wine.  There is more to wine than just drinking. There’s sales, hospitality, service, storage, production, the people in the vineyards, the cellar crew, bottling line, label design, the many different varieties of Vitis Vinifer...

"Do I still work in the wine industry?" Like many of you, the Covid pandemic altered my life trajectory. Today, I am going to re-cap where I am in the wine industry. My story will bounce back and forth for context. Remember, I like to connect the dots. The Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser, Washington. First, everyone asks me, what happened to the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center (Clore Center)? Good question. The Clore Center, located in Prosser, Washington, birthplace of Washington wine, opened in 2014 as a not for profit. The primary mission of the Clore Center was to promote " Washington state wine ." I began working at the Clore Center in October 2015. My last title was, Wine Education Coordinator . We finally, sadly, closed our doors in November 2020.  It was my sincerest pleasure to work at the Clore Center for five years. I made many friends in the industry and in the community. I met many people from around the country and from around th...

Another premium Washington wine by Jessica Munnell. It was a pleasure to enjoy a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon made by Jessica Munnell from her Wautoma Wines label. This review follows another wine review about a Rose' also made by Ms. Munnell from the Mercer Estates label. She's a busy and talented winemaker. If you are not familiar with Wautoma Wines, it is a partnership between vineyard manager Tom Merkle and winemaker Jessica Munnell. Tom provides the premium Washington grapes and Jessica makes the wine. Tom  and Jessica met at Tom's Wautoma Springs vineyard in January 2000. Working together, they became friends. The friendship developed into a business partnership which became Wautoma Wines in 2008. Wautoma Wines are made of the best Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Wautoma Springs Vineyard  and of Malbec from Wahluke Slope’s Stone Tree Vineyard . This bottling is 100% Wautoma Springs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting Notes 2011 Wautoma Cabernet Sauvi...