William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Taking my nose in for an alignment at Fidelitas. Last night, Enologist and wine instructor Hillary Sjolund was at Fidelitas Winery on Red Mountain. She was leading a sensory session focusing on identifying aromas in wine. I arrived just as the sun set behind the Horse Heaven Hills. A key part of describing wine is accurately describing what you smell. Taste and smell are inextricably intertwined. Accuracy of describing smells is important to the wine consumer, but critical to the wine professional. Ms. Sjolund lead us through a sensory exercise practiced by those studying wine. Hillary Sjolund guiding us through the sensory session. I've practiced similar exercises in different environments focusing on smell and taste. At this session we focused only on smells/aromas. As Hillary emphasized, it is important to agree on descriptors. A common vocabulary is essential to those growing grapes and making wine. For someone writing about and describing wine, it is a pract...

Summer Thinning Two Mountain Winery in Zillah, Washington, http://www.twomountainwinery.com/ is once again offering seminars on growing and managing grape vines. This Saturday I spent almost two hours thinning Riesling and Syrah vines with about 20 other students. Matt Rawn was our instructor. He discussed the importance of controlling vine vigor by thinning vines and leaves. Air flow is necessary to reduce the chance of mold/mildew, and excess vines and leaves need to be removed to focus the energy into the grapes. The vineyard we “worked” in is planted on rocky soil in Zillah, Washington, part of the Rattlesnake Hills appellation. The vineyard is in a scenic location, mountains are visible above the vineyards, birds sing in the background, and this weekend we were lucky to have a pleasant, slightly overcast morning to work in – we missed the 100 degree heat of the previous week, and the few rain drops which fell Saturday did not bother us. Matt seemed to like the work I did th...