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 ...

Jeffrey Hill painting of Eric Dunham racking wine at L'Ecole No 41 from a 1998 Polaroid photo. “Eric wanted it, Michael made it happen, I supported it.”  Joanne Dunham Last week I visited Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington as they prepare to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They have earned many deserved accolades over the years, they have acted and remained true to their ideals and realized successful growth. In recent years the Dunham family has also experienced heart rending loss. What makes for a great bottle of wine and successful winery? While it is easy to see what is close and accessible, as in the obvious wine in bottle and glass, for they are of unmistakable quality at Dunham Cellars, what is not always apparent are the people who took the risk to found the winery, those who are present, those who are missed, those who now labor in the vineyards and tonight in the cellar. All of these people are part of the details and perspective essential to...

The February Virtual Tasting Featured this month was the Saviah Cellars 2012 The Jack Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley. This wine retails for $18 and is widely available. The tasting took place on twitter, Thursday, February 26th, from 7-8 pm Pacific. What you needed to participate in this virtual tasting: 1. Buy this month’s wine from the winery or a local retailer 2. Tweet your comments about the wine on Twitter between 7 and 8 pm Pacific on the specified date using the hashtag #saviah. For those on Twitter, follow @wawinereport. Check Washington Wine Report for future virtual tastings. We discussed aromas, flavors, label design, price, availability and general thoughts. Most participants rated this wine a "BUY" after an hour of tasting and tweeting, especially at the price. Tasting Notes 2012 Saviah Cellars THE JACK Color : Ruby purple. Nose : Cherry, sharpened pencil. Palate : Fruit, dark plum, cherry, brambly, coffee, smooooth, only a little tin...

"Drink me." Alice never had it so good. This is a wine we often serve at home parties. We drink it, so I never have a chance to review a bottle. This week I took time for tasting notes and reflection. Glad I did, and I discovered it is popular with many friends. I'll have to buy more for the next party. “The Mad Hatter: "Would you like some wine?" Alice: "Yes..." The Mad Hatter: "We haven't any and you're too young.”  ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Tasting Notes Dunham Cellars 2011 Trutina : Color : Plum red/purple. Nose : Earthy cherry, nice spike of violets, pencil, white pepper, rose petal. Palate : Lovely at first taste, fluid cherry cordial, root beer hard candy, orange zest in background, lifted finish, graceful. Big Like. After 15 minutes : Black cherry, brown sugar, pepper mill, ginger bread, root beer, orange cordial aromas. Cherry cordial, delicate tannin on the tongue and gums, vanilla, brown sugar/ca...

You had me at first sip... Sometimes I forget to take advantage of living in wine country. Life and responsibility take center stage. Then I remember how close I live to the wealth of Washington wine country. Minutes and not many miles from home, I have access to some of the best wines made in the world. It's all right here in Southeastern Washington. Accessing the delightful wonders of Walla Walla wine country is a mere one hour drive. I recently visited with Ashley Bruton at her family owned Skylite Cellars  in Walla Walla, Washington. Ashley was a wonderful host and shared many delicious Skylite Cellars red wines. It was a comfortable, fun, engaging visit. The wine which captivated me this time was her 2009 Syrah. View of the tasting room from the loft. Skylite Cellars is on the outskirts of Walla Walla on the old highway. The new highway bypasses their winery along with several others. You will have to make the effort to find this winery. It's wort...

Summary of this week of wine -   I'm short on time to adequately write about everything going on this week. A quick post outlining my week of wine seems to be the optimal option today. Where to start? How about reverse order? Saturday August 23, 2014 - Tossed my Frampton CD. Later dude. Friday August 22, 2014 - Doors Closing Doors closing today! Sadly, today marks the closing of the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman Wine Shoppe . Owner Catie McIntyre is closing out all wine inventory by end of business today. Everything is on sale, beer, wine and furniture. The good news is that Catie is returning to writing and will have a book published this year! I wish Catie luck and look forward to sharing a glass of wine, or two, soon. All the best Catie! Thursday August 21, 2014 - #winemuse Podcast Austrian Gruner Veltliner. #winemuse World Tour podcast show - Thursday we recorded the wine podcast show on Austria, featuring the 2012 Biohof Pratsch Grüner Veltliner Rotenpul...

Great things develop with time.  The Mackey brothers, Philip and Roger launched Mackey Vineyards in 2010. Expect great things from this winery. Tasting Notes : Color : Garnet Nose : Opened with a caress of cherry, rose petal, pencil shavings, and vanilla, joined by chocolate wrapper, caramel taffy, crushed conifer needles and tobacco leaf. Palate : Medium bright, currant, tart edges, cherry tart, vanilla. Bright at opening. After 30 minutes bakers chocolate with orange notes on the finish - fresh. At 60 minutes the wine began to open up, drier and fuller on the palate. At two hours held steady. Magic window was three hours. Smooth, integrated, earthy read fruit, violets, cigar box, cumin, cherry, anise, very tasty accompaniment to dinner. Thoughts : At opening a subtle tart wine. Suitable for food, especially Beef Carpaccio, Beef Tartar or an extremely rare bloody steak. For more enjoyment I would decant for at least an hour...

Kookoo for Kerloo Cellars - Wowzer! Here is another promised rose' review. Bonus - review of a delicious GSM too! First, a big thank you to my wife for bringing these wines home. Second, this is my first exposure to Kerloo Cellars. Third, I have no idea what she paid for these wines. Fourth, both of these wines are sold-out on the Kerloo Cellars site. Fifth, these wines were purchased locally at the West Richland Yokes Grocer - thank you Rachel! Go find these wines for your home and enjoy. I need to schedule a visit with Kerloo Cellars and see for myself the lovelies they are crafting in Walla Walla. Bravo! Tasting Notes Kerloo Grenache Rose' 2013 Kerloo Cellars treated the Grenache grapes as a white wine and picked early. This maximized bright, pure flavors and higher acids while keeping alcohol content lower. Picked Grenache late in the evening to maximize freshness. The tasting notes I found don't indicate unfined and unfiltered, but I suspect so. This bottle...

A food friendly Washington Malbec Malbec is a red wine variety originally from the Bordeaux region of France, a variety which has become strongly associated with fine wines from Argentina. Last month I enjoyed some excellent Malbec from the southern hemisphere. This month I felt it was time to move back north to Washington state and try a local Malbec.

"Concordia" means "harmony" in Latin. "Luxurious and a little naughty." A Syrah dominant wine, Concordia delivered a "harmony" of flavors. I was duly impressed by this second vintage from the Mackey brothers. Philip and Roger Mackey launched their Walla Walla, Washington winery, Mackey Vineyards in 2010. The 2008 vintage was their first. This second exposure to Mackey Vineyards was provocative. Expect more great things from this winery.