William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Eternal Bliss seemed appropriate. It's easier with a little help from some friends. Greetings from Washington state. We've been told by our Governor, Jay Inslee, to shelter in place. You may be doing the same. I sincerely hope you and your loved ones are safe and secure during these unusually challenging times. Me? I'm well ensconced at home in SE Washington wine country - with a good supply of wine and food. And the dog. #shelterinplace #washyourhands For someone who sells (used to sell?) wine, enjoys sharing stories of wine, hosts wine tastings, and generally likes the social aspects of the wine industry, it's brutal, truly, remaining isolated at home. My only social contact is my dog - she's a good girl. As my dear friend Anne says, "Oof dah." #wineandmovies #exit96  Pairing Wine with Movies If you've been following along with my Instagram account @wild4wawine, you may have seen me using #wineandmovies and posting pictures of the win...

How good are the wines of Bodegas LAN?  So good, I’m watching Spanish TV shows and movies to improve my Castillano. A trip to Spain is in my future. I must visit. I must. I’m thrilled to share with you what I have learned about the wines of Bodegas LAN  from Rioja, Spain. These wines were a joy to drink and pair with food. Tasting notes follow. Wine with Food Please My preference for wine has been gently shifting towards food friendly wines. When I taste a wine from a producer I don't know, or a new release from a winery I do know, my first thought is, “ What would I pair with this wine? ” I've learned that the Bodegas LAN wines scream to me, “ Enjoy me with food! ” Boy howdy, do they deliver. While I’ve been drinking wine for decades, four if I’m honest, It’s only since 2005 that I’ve done so with true focus and attention. Working at a winery will tend to do that. My fascination with cooking also parallels my focus on wine. I’ve learned a lot about food and win...

The Ministry of Time/El Ministerio Del Tiempo History is under threat. Someone is attempting to alter the past. In response, a secret government organization is working to protect the sanctity of time. This group is the Ministry of Time. Agents of the ministry, are able to travel to different times and places via a deep well of stairs located in Madrid, Spain. From these stairs, innumerable doorways branch off to different periods of the past. Agents are recruited from other time periods, they work diligently to protect the history of Spain. And we get to go along for the thrilling ride. I’m changing up things today by recommending my favorite Spanish TV series. I found it accidentally, now I'm hooked. Improving my Spanish language comprehension Among my self-improvement efforts, there are many, one is to enhance my comprehension and speaking abilities of the Spanish language. With a neglected minor in Spanish, I’m embarrassed to have forgotten so much vocabulary and...

A ginger kick, fewer steps and finished on the grill.  Taste? Delicious! This summer I've been experimenting with my oven settings and began using a new Hibachi grill. It's been a lot of fun to use my favorite recipes in new ways. It also occurred to me, there must be a way to simplify some of these recipes. Today, I wanted to share with you an updated version of my go to ribs recipe (this recipe originally appeared on my March 14, 2015 post ). The recipe is based on an Eastern North Carolina ribs recipe, so it is vinegar based. *Note :   In 2013 I was in Raleigh, North Carolina for a media visit with Nomacorc . Of the many takeaways from that visit, I learned how seriously they regard barbecue in North Carolina, east vs. west, vinegar or ketchup, tradition vs. innovation. I went east, with a vinegar sauce based on tradition. Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of barbecue. It is also packed f...