William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Hedges Family Estate Chateau. A great way to enjoy the weekend in the Columbia Valley. What did I do today? Besides edging and mowing the lawn with my family, I managed to zip over to Red Mountain to revel in the glorious spring sunshine. I also sampled some wonderful wines in one of the most beautiful of settings, Hedges Family Estate winery. Hedges RMF - ABV 21.5% and delightful. A  grand tradition this time of year in the Columbia Valley, is sampling new wines straight from the barrel, as well as drinking award winning wines in the tasting room. This weekend is referred to as "Spring Barrel Tasting" weekend. Straight from the barrel, Kenan with wine thief. After the morning chores were completed, I stopped by Hedges Family Estate to visit with my friend Kenan, Vineyard Apprentice at Hedges. I enjoyed visiting with him in the full of barrels, barrel room. The two barrel samples were enticing, a good vintage. The fortified wine I sipped after was like l...

SOME UPCOMING - Not to Miss - EVENTS April 15, 2011 - There will be a lot going on this weekend. Thomas O'Neil Cellars Grand Opening in Richland, Washington. The big day is here! Thomas O’Neil Cellars is opening their doors to the public on April 15, 2011 and having fun the whole weekend with wine, friends and live music. www.thomasoneilcellars.com   Barnard Griffin Winery SPRING BARREL TASTING WEEKEND . They will be tasting wines from both their Tulip label as well as their Reserve line up all weekend. This event is not affiliated with the Yakima Valley event on the same weekend. Spring Barrel Tasting in the Yakima Valley . Locations: Yakima , Prosser , Naches , Sunnyside , Wapato , Outlook , Benton City , Zillah , Granger , Downtown Yakima , Grandview , Paterson Various. Read about the fantastic time I had at the 2010 Spring Barrel weekend in Prosser here . April 16, 2011 Col Solare Winery is hosting a  “Wild and Exotic” Winemaker’s Dinner on...

Wine Tasting From the Bus The Yakima Valley Spring Barrel weekend was a huge success this year. I’ve poured at past Spring Barrel weekends, so I truly enjoyed being on the other end this time. My past experience working this event, taught me to avoid the crowds on Saturday. So we went Sunday, avoided the crowds and craziness and just took our time tasting, talking and walking. Here’s the list of wineries we visited over six hours on Sunday, 25 April 2010. Red Mountain: Terra Blanca Winery Prosser Vintners Village: Airfield Estates, Willow Crest Wine Estates, Thurston Wolfe, Gamache Vintners, Milbrandt Vineyards On the other side of Interstate 82 : Alexandria Nicole Cellars, Cowan Vineyards My count indicates we visited eight wineries Saturday. Even so, we did not make it to all the wineries I wanted to see (sorry Hightower Cellars, Tasawik Vineyards, Olsen Estates, Mercer Estates and Kestrel Vintners, among others). As it was, eight wineries is ambitious for anyone – fortun...

Umm, it does rock! Drinking a Willow Crest 2009 "Rockin' Rose" tonight. Very, very good, bright, fruity with a gentle strawberry finish. Summer in the glass, very flexible and should pair with almost anything. Remember, this is a dry Washington rose, for adults - it's fruity, not sweet. Go buy some. This is one of "several" bottles purchased Sunday at the Yakima Valley Spring Barrel weekend. We hit Prosser and half a dozen wineries, or so, and had a blast. Always good to taste outside of the comfort zone. I  hope to gather my thoughts on the wineries we visited in Prosser and add notes and recommendations soon. Eleven of us rented a fancy bus for six hours to go tasting safely - worked out well - we all want to do it again next year. * I have to mention that Cabernet Franc seemed to be the varietal of the day. Syrah was not as visible, not sure why. Just as well, I'm off Syrah at present. Willow Crest Winery: http://www.willowcrestwinery.com/ ...

Columbia Valley Spring Barrel Tasting April 25 -27, 2008 This is Spring Barrel Tasting weekend in the Yakima Valley. Winemakers and cellar staff who are on hand will share insights and answer questions on the winemaking process. This is the first year in the last couple of years that I'm not pouring on Spring Barrel weekend. FYI - Saturday is just CRAZY busy. If you want smaller crowds, and would rather talk about wine, more than drink wine, then Sunday is the day for you. The serious wine enthusiasts are out on Sunday. I've met some sharp people Spring Barrel weekend. Hope you can make it over this way. The following weekend should be Walla Walla barrel tasting weekend. Many of the 50 participating wineries make special efforts to enhance the wine tasting experience by adding delicious cheese, sauces, salsas, and even desserts to the mix along with special tastings and education. For more information visit http://www.wineyakimavalley.org/ or call 800-258-7272. Cheers! William