William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

#MerlotMe all month long. I'm starting #MerlotMe month with three stunners from Walla Walla, Washington. In 2012 the month of October was declared International Merlot Month . This year, more than 100 Merlot producers from all over the world are joining together to celebrate this lovely wine grape variety. We're using the hashtag #MerlotMe to make it easy to find wine reviews. Since I'm just back from the 2018 Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, I'm starting my Merlot tastings and reviews with three lovely Walla Walla wines. Blind tastings every month at the Clore Center. Personally, my passion for Merlot was reignited this January. I hosted a Merlot blind tasting at the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center , which made me fall in deep like all over again. There's something about Merlot and it's varied styles which pleases and purples. Merlot Statistics Merlot sales are up! (Nielsen) Merlot is one of the top four most purchased red ...

A hearty stew and wine, perfect for this months cold weather. I was pleased with the results from this recipe. The lamb was tender and did not have a strong taste. At first I thought the butcher had made a mistake and that it was beef. Nope, it had a subtle lamb taste and subtle bacon taste. The H3 Merlot paired beautifully. There is room to tweak this recipe, as I did. I cut down the lamb to only 1 Lb. and it was enough for me. And I added a slice of bacon, celery and peas for more flavor and more vegetables. I also bumped up the chicken stock, because I wanted more liquid in my stew. It still thickened up a lot by day two and three. Wine and Food Pairing with the H3 Merlot Thoroughly enjoyed the H3 Merlot by itself. It also matched beautifully with the lamb. Both wine and stew are robust. Flavors were complimentary and contrasty. The wine, as my notes indicate on day one, was a bit savory, which paired well with the savory stew. On day two the wine had more fruit, which r...

“ ...nature’s quintessential beverage is the fruit of the vine”  Rabbi Tzvi Rossen, The Art of Kosher Winemaking I never planned on becoming enamored of wines of Israel. It just happened.  Many thanks to Benhaim Family Winery for opening my eyes to their tradition of excellence. Benhaim is a boutique winery dedicated to the family’s tradition of making high-quality hand-crafted wines going back six generations to 1932. All estate vineyards are situated in the Upper Galilee. Production is at 35,000 bottles. Founders: Ruth and Elie Benhaim In 1970 Ruth and Elie Benhaim founded their eponymous family winery, making and selling wine at their house in Ramat Gan, and after 27 harvests opened a boutique winery in Kfar Azar. A decade later the winery moved to a large, new building in Ramat Hasharon – where it continues to operate today. Chief Winemaker: Itay Benhaim Itay Ben-Haim is Benhaim’s chief winemaker and a sixth generation vintner who draws inspirat...

Reminded and Renewed by Guests Where does inspiration come from? For me, it has been driven by a passion for wine and my many wine industry and customer interactions. This month, I have been reminded by my guests at the Walter Clore Center, the reason why I originally began working for and writing about the wine industry. “This is the definition of Merlot.” Regular readers and Instagram followers, @wild4wawine , know that for the last two years I have worked at the Walter Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser, Washington. Last year, 2017, we expanded our wine education programming. We went from hosting one blind tasting a month in 2016, to weekly wine education tastings every Saturday, plus a “Bubbles and Bites” sparkling wine and food pairing session one Sunday a month. We have retained our first Thursday evening blind tasting, hosted on the first Thursday of each month. Please note that we changed the start time this year, it now begins one hour later at 7 pm instead of 6 pm...

Barnard Griffin has a new look. One of my favorite jobs was working for the family owned Barnard Griffin Winery. Hand-selling wine, meeting and greeting visitors from around the world and sharing stories of Washington wine were some of my best experiences. Period. It also pushed me to learn more about wine. I'm still learning. You are encouraged to stop by their expanded tasting room when you visit SE Washington. New Griffin label and original Tulip label at the grocer. It is always with pleasure when I see a bottle from one of my favorite local wineries. As with all things familiar, there is eventually change. Barnard Griffin Winery dropped their familiar, friendly tulip label design last year. They have decided to embrace the Griffin logo on their label. My thoughts? It does look classier and it presents well. The new label seems to make the bottle look bigger too. I miss the friendly tulip label, but I am adapting to the change. I can only hope that in future they do...

Can you fall in love with a wine? A wine worth pondering. Gordon Estate is located in the heart of the Columbia Valley in Washington State. They are the oldest estate winery in Washington State and use only estate-grown grapes in making their hand-crafted Washington wines. In 1980, Jeff Gordon, along with his wife, Vicki and brother Bill decided to plant wine grapes on a sagebrush-covered slope overlooking the Snake River in southeastern Washington’s Columbia Valley. In 1985, he released his first small lot of Chardonnay wine produced from their estate vines. Gordon Estate, previously known as "Gordon Brothers," has been served at my table for over 25 years. I encourage you to discover the wines of Gordon Estate. A true Washington original. Tasting Notes : Color : Dark garnet to plum. Nose : Spicy with cumin, black currant, licorice, gingerbread, cherry cordial, complex with a lot going on, background with hints of savory vegetal and dark chocolate. Layered...

Disco is Not Dead - Drink Me! One of the perks of living near so many wineries, is the pleasure of dropping in and tasting wine before buying. Sunday I popped by Barnard Griffin winery and enjoyed their $5 Tulip wine tasting. At the end of the tasting, my tasting fee was discounted from the price of my purchase. Where else can you try wine before you buy? Tulip Tasting The Barnard Griffin Tulip tasting lineup consists primarily of their traditional consumer label. The list will change with availability. Following is the list I sampled at this tasting. I was torn among three wines and decided on the 2010 Merlot because it said "drink me" the loudest. Go find this wine before it is sold out! 2012 Pinot Gris - Floral, fresh, with a tropical flourish. Almost bought this one. 2013 Fume' Blanc - Very tropical, gentle, relaxed, easy sipper. 2012 Chardonnay - Ginger, friendly, chill, "drink me." 2013 Riesling - Pretty, restrained, orange on the finish. 2...

This year I have had little to do with Washington Merlot. I'm not sure why. Merlot is one of the varieties I have always associated with premium Washington wine. Curious. Last night, early this morning, I was thinking about this unpublished post and this bottle of wine. Somewhere in town last week, I saw a bottle of the 2010 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot on a store shelf. It got me thinking that it would be fun to compare a bottle of the 2010 with 2011. There are not many bottles of the 2010 still on the shelf, so if you are like minded then this is the time to hunt one down. 2011 was a cooler year than 2010 and this bottle of 2011 took a couple of hours to open up - so I'm thinking that the 2010 should be drinking well. Just thought I'd share that. Following are my tasting notes for the 2011 Merlot.

Guest Post by Juli Crompe. Another year has come and gone at Taste Washington Seattle (Taste). I feel so lucky and grateful for the opportunity to attend for the third year in a row. On top of the wonderful event itself, Taste now offers seminars before the event, four on Saturday and three on Sunday, on a variety of extremely interesting and educational topics (check them out  here ). On Saturday, I chose to attend "Intro to the World of Wine", with moderator Sean Sullivan of Washington Wine Report , and panelists Dr. Kevin Pogue of Whitman College, Thomas Henick-Kling of Washington State University, Thomas Price MS of the Metropolitan Grill and Linda Murphy, author of " American Wine, an Honest Drink ." Quite the caliber of experts for a 90 minute synopsis on the world  of wine. Luckily, they chose to focus mainly on Washington and a few basics. I thought this would be the perfect seminar to share with you; regardless of if you're new to wine or knowl...

Red-Mountain-Merlot.  Three words with deep meaning for those of us who know. Last month I was in Portland, Oregon for the fifth annual Wine Bloggers Conference . There's a lot of wine poured and consumed at these events. A lot. So, why did I bring along a bottle of Fidelitas Red Mountain Merlot? It was my hope to find an opportunity to share this wonderful wine. A few quiet moments, and  a couple of fellow wine compatriots was all I needed to open this lovely bottle of Washington wine. Photo: Empty bottle of Fidelitas 2009 Red Mountain Merlot. Winemaker Charlie Hoppes has spent the past 20 + years as a leading winemaker for several noted Washington wineries. He was Assistant Winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, then Head Red Winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle's facility at Paterson, where he helped create the premium label for Col Solare's first two vintages. In 1999 Charlie worked to help start Three Rivers Winery in Walla Walla. He created his own ...

A gratifying change of pace. Photo: Maryhill Winery Winemaker's Red, Columbia Valley. Summer 2012 at my home has favored crisp, well chilled, white wine. After doing a favor for a friend, I was not sure what to think when he handed me a bottle of Maryhill 2010 Winemaker's Red. I said “thank you” of course and stashed the bottle in the kitchen for a week. The other type of wine I've favored this summer is New Zealand Pinot Noir , which is unlike Washington red wine. My palate has not been Washington wine focused this season. Very unusual for me. I'm happy to share with you that the Maryhill 2010 Winemaker's Red put an ample smile on my face. It was very good and an unexpected treat. Washington State wineries can truly deliver when it comes to quality, price and most importantly, enjoyability. This bottle did not linger. I also like that on the label, they chose to add, "Washington State Red Wine" I believe it is important to have Washington  on t...

Today a musical pairing. Vin du Lac 2007 Merlot "Barrel Select" Last night I was watching music videos while enjoying a bottle of  Vin du Lac 2007 “Barrel Select” Merlot. Vin du Lac is located in lovely Lake Chelan, Washington. My favorite musical pairing of the evening was with the music video by award-winning British artist, Estelle and her song "Thank You” . For me, a good match. At opening the wine was ruby colored, after 30 minutes it deepened to a dark garnet. The nose:  floral, slightly candied, whiff of sandal wood, cherry, vanilla, an herbal component appeared after 30 minutes along with some cola. After an hour spicy baked bell pepper appeared. I really grooved on the nose. Lip smacking flavors of cherry, vanilla, nutmeg, with soft to medium tannins. A medium finish on opening, it appreciably lengthened the longer it was open. The Vin du Lac 2007 Merlot "Barrel Select" is very approachable. Not everyone has the luxury to wait an hour befor...

Some of you prefer organic food, but have you tried organic wine? I had a great experience at a red wine tasting at Badger Mountain Organic Vineyard and Powers Winery. Mickey Dunne, winery Owner and Sales Director, was my host. I was delighted by the Badger Mountain Organic NSA wines. It all made perfect sense. Rejoice because these are top-notch wines, big on flavor and modest on price.

Time in a Bottle. This weekend my wife and I made the most of the beautiful summer weather. Saturday began with an early trip to the Pasco Farmers Market. We purchased fresh produce from local farmers; onions, celery, garlic, cabbage, Bing cherries and strawberries. We took the fruit and vegetables home and headed off to a picnic in Kennewick at Columbia Park. We enjoyed classic picnic fare next to the Columbia River; potato salad, baked beans, chicken, beef brisket and fruit salad. After an afternoon siesta, we wrapped up our day in Richland, with live music and wine at Thomas O’Neil Cellars . Romagossa Blu playing at Thomas O'Neil Cellars (phone photo).

Found it on sale @ $5.59 buy it while you can. This week I found the 2009 Covey Run Merlot on sale at the local Richland Safeway for the low, low price of $5.59. The price is low, the quality of the wine is not. There’s a lot of 2005, 2006 and 2007 Covey Run Merlot in town, this was the first 2009 Covey Run red wine I have found locally. On the neck of the screw cap are the words, “Best Value”, which it is. At $5.59 I’d call it a terrific value. My advice is to pass on the older vintages of Covey Run Merlot, but don’t pass on the 2009 Covey Run Merlot . Covey Run was a Zillah, Washington winery, founded in 1982. I recall visiting the Covey Run Winery when it was called Quail Ridge. But that was over 20 years ago and times have changed. On the back of the bottle, it says the wine was cellared and bottled in Richland, Washington. But, according to their web site, their contact address is in Woodinville, Washington (that's across the lake from Seattle). The winery has changed h...

Wine Wednesday, a Perfect Afternoon for Wine Tasting Barnard Griffin Winery off of Tulip Lane. Winter has returned to the Columbia Valley, today was sunny, but a very cold day. Since today is Wine Wednesday, #WW, I thought it was time to stop in and visit my friends at Barnard Griffin winery. It's been more than a year since I last visited the Barnard Griffin winery, far too long. Rob Griffin and his wife Deborah were in the tasting room when I arrived and warmly greeted me. I then visited with tasting room manager Kim Gravenslund, who showed me the current lineup. You may already be familiar with the Barnard Griffin “tulip” label wines. These delicious wines are widely available around the country - I purchase them on a regular basis myself. So those wines I did not taste today. Today I sampled the Reserve Barnard Griffin wines – all 10 of them!  Elise checks the wine before pouring. I was happy to have Rob and Deborah’s daughter, Elise, pour for me. Elise now works a...