William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Christophe Hedges. Part of a series on the Context of Wine,  Inspired by an afternoon conversation with Christophe Hedges. Last Friday I enjoyed lunch with Christophe Hedges and his lovely wife Maggie at their Red Mountain home. Christophe cooked while we talked about our favorite topic, wine. Christophe is responsible for Sales and Marketing for his family owned winery, Hedges Family Estate . A tall man, lean, with an introspective look, he struck me as friendly, focused, intelligent and a fervent individual, proud of his family heritage and his family winery.

It's time to share my impressions of Virginia Wine with you. Plaque of Thomas Jefferson at Barboursville Vineyard. Last night I dreamed about Virginia winemaker Kirsty Harmon. Before bed, I was editing a short video of Kirsty I recorded last month at Monticello; her words and others were tumbling in my mind. When I start dreaming about a subject, I know it's time to start writing about that subject. Kirsty is the winemaker at Blenheim Vineyards; she was among 30+ Virginia wineries sharing their wines last month in Virginia at the fourth annual Wine Bloggers Conference . I had a magnificent time in Virginia, very little sleep, but many captivating conversations.  My palate has been expanded. I've finally experienced Virginia wines. I’m excited about and for Virginia wineries and I discovered that there are some real gems, wines easily recognizable as world class.

Charmed by Les Charmes. It’s another hot day in the desert, which explains why I’m raiding my supply of white wines. Today I opened a bottle of 2009 Les Charmes single vineyard Chardonnay from Macon-Lugny, Lugny, France (Vine de Bourgogne) Estate grown and bottled.

A refreshing white wine to combat your summer fatigue. It’s finally hot this summer, and the heat has me craving chilled white wines. Last week I was at the fourth annual Wine Bloggers Conference and one of the distributors kindly gifted me a bottle of 2010 La Côte Blanche Chardonnay Macon-Villages, which is from the South of Burgundy (Bourgogne) France. The wine has a consumer friendly varietal name of “Chardonnay” printed on the label. And yes, it tastes to me of un-oaked Chardonnay. The La Côte Blanche is bright, tart, with citrus, lemon, and some toast on the nose; I found this wine easy to drink and very refreshing, particularly on a sizzling summer afternoon. It was a pleasure to enjoy this wine with chicken fried rice and just picked garden peas. At first taste this wine appears quite light, it is that well balanced, you’d not guess it has 13% alcohol. The luminance of this white Burgundy complimented my meal wonderfully. This is a very enjoyable summer wine which will fla...

Todd Godbout of Virginia Wine TV @vawinetv Opening Day of WBC11. The 4th Annual Wine Blogger Conference (#WBC11) is proving to be an exceptional event. Nothing has disappointed and some new boundaries have been crossed. That's a good thing. It's 30 minutes past midnight in Virginia, I have not slept, since 4 AM PST on Thursday! But I'm still trucking along with a few grabbed winks. Monticello was a true treat, even with the heat and humidity and all the sweating (I have some great video I'll share sometime soon). I'm feeling stretched and challenged. Always good in my book. Love meeting passionate winemakers - and Virginia has them. It's such a rush embracing so many wines, and personalities. Everyone has an interesting story to tell. Photos, videos and text to follow when I can. FYI: the OMNI Charlottesville Hotel has been a fantastic host! I love my room and the service - they are spoiling me. More soon? Maybe, so much going on in 9 hours. Follow ...

L'Ecole 2006 Syrah a Lovely Treat. A lovely, lovely Washington Syrah. Last week I was camping in the mountains with my son and his Boy Scout troop. It may be summer in the Columbia Valley, but in the Cascades it's still spring - as in cold and wet. After a week of sleeping in a small tent, in the same warm, but increasingly aromatic sleeping bag, lacking the pleasure of wine, it was a joy to return home. My dear wife had a bottle of L'Ecole No. 41 Syrah waiting for me. She knows me so well. This is an elegant Syrah with blueberry and black cherry, it has an inviting dark purple color, medium body and a lucious finish with pleasant spice. Well balanced tannin and acid.This wine is drinking extremely well now. I enjoyed this wine so much, I did not want to share it with food. Perfect for a special occasion or just because you love Syrah. Recommended. Alcohol: 14.8% Blend: Syrah 95% and Grenache 5% Since I did not buy this wine, I do not know what my wife paid for ...

Can’t you smell that smell, Ooooh that smell? Runners’ preparing for a marathon must train, train, train; they must stay fit, a proper diet is important, appropriate equipment essential and an athlete must be focused on winning. I’m preparing for the Wine Blogger’s Conference in Charlottesville, Virginia. Do I have a preparation routine?