William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Still making changes to this blog. Just added links to Wine Blogs. I'm still sorting through business cards and blog links after the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla. Don't be surprised to see the layout of this blog change over the next month. A lot of great ideas and conversations from the weekend have me excited to put some of them into action. There's even the possibility of helping wineries meet some of their needs in future. I have work to do, emails to fire-off, video to edit and more posts to write. Cheers!

Winemaker Erik Dahle of Tasawik Vineyards , hosted a wine tasting at wonderful Monterosso's Italian Restaurant in Richland yesterday. During dinner, Erik poured 2005 Merlot, 2007 Sangiovese and 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. Erik and I have been Facebook friends for over a year and this was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to sample his wines. I loved his ’05 Cabernet Sauvignon and my wife really liked the Tasawik Sangiovese. Typically, she let's me drink from her glass too, last night, she would not let me touch her glass to steal a sip. Tasawik Vineyards is located in Prosser, Washington in the Vintners Village. At dinner, I enjoyed the Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, while my wife raved about the Shrimp Fettuccini. She said it was the best she’s had in many years. And she thanked me for a wonderful dinner. Wines of Italy Tasting If you missed yesterdays dinner, then don’t miss the “Wines of Italy Tasting with Appetizers” at Monterosso's on Sunday, July 11th with a 3...

More About the Wine Bloggers Conference Pamela Nieto with the Sherry Council of America This type of conference always has surprising discoveries. One of the first “surprises” for me was the Sherry/Jerez, being poured from Spain. Pamela Nieto, representing the Sherry Council of America , was pouring half a dozen Sherries Friday afternoon. She even had a chilled white Jerez. My mother-in-law and I used to sit together after dinner and enjoy drinking Sherry downstairs, while everyone was sleeping upstairs. It’s been ten years since my mother-in-law passed, so that’s how long it’s been since I last enjoyed Sherry. Ah, I found the Solera 1847 Oloroso Dulce , to be my speed, coffee colored, nutty nose, smooth, honeyed, pleasantly sweet finish and unexpectedly good. Sherry is back on my menu, and I enjoyed some last night. Thank you. I’ll be sampling more Sherry in future and posting my thoughts here. Sunday wrapped-up with a fabulous wine and food pairing lunch. Anyone who has attem...

Reflection Monday, today, a sunny 90 degree, kids in the park afternoon. I’m sitting comfortably with a broad view of the Columbia River. After a restless evening, I’m assembling my thoughts about the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla. I’ll remain restless until I’ve posted the words and images revolving in my head. In one of my recent posts, Garrison Creek Cellars , I mention how I lost my palate last year, and to my great pleasure, unexpectedly found it in Walla Walla. What was it doing there? No one was more surprised than I, that I found myself back in Walla Walla for the 2010 Wine Blogggers Conference last week. This event sold out two months ago, and I was not able to register. Because of a conflict of interest (my High School reunion in Seattle) I asked to be taken off of the waitlist. All packed for a weekend in Seattle, last Wednesday I received a call from Zephyr Adventures . They said they needed help with the event and could I please volunteer? I told them “N...

Tom Waliser of Beresan Cellars . We enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day in Walla Walla Saturday. While we tasted three Beresan reds, Tom discussed geology and climate and how it affects vineyards and their location. This vineyard is in Oregon, but since it is part of the Walla Walla AVA - it's still Walla Walla fruit, and the wine is still a Washington wine - that bit of information I did not know. Semillon Tasting at Buty Winery Caleb Foster and his lovely wife Nina Buty Foster of Buty Winery , hosted an enchaning and educational Semillon tasting at their winery. Along with, Marty Club of L'ecole No 41 winery and Jay Soloff of DeLille Cellars . For about an hour they discussed Washington Semillon, while we sampled their impressive vintages. I'm a big Semillon fan. We sampled 2005 and 2008 Semillon from each winery. There was even a surprise $200 bottle of Semillon from France we had a chance to compare them against. Jeez, can these guys make great wine. Ther...

Quick update - great venue and my first time attending the Wine Bloggers Conference . Last month I mentioned that I was going to miss-out on the sold-out conference in Walla Walla, Washington. Nope. Zephyr Adventures , the organizers of the Wine Bloggers conference, called me Wednesday and asked if I could volunteer and lend a hand. Lend a hand? You bet! Working as a volunteer is nothing new. Working as a wine event helper is one of the perks of keeping active in the Washington wine community. What an amazing time. I have videos and photos to transfer from phone and camera to computer. Maybe tomorrow. Great turnout, bloggers like me, bloggers for companies and wineries, sales reps, marketing types (Hi Matt). Did I mention the wines? It's been a gauntlet of wines from Washington, California, Spain, Portugal, France, Australia, Austria and Italy. Did I miss anyone? I'm not a good speed blogger, but I made my best efforts on Facebook. It'll take me a few days to gather ...

Party at Charles Smith winery. Am I getting old? Wow, great music. Large crowd.