William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Kirkland 2007 Napa Valley Meritage Here's the photo of the wine I enjoyed last night and tonight. While I'm mainly a Washington wine drinker, I did enjoy this Kirkland 2007 Napa Valley Meritage. On impulse I bought it at Costco for $11. It's a medium firm wine with flavors of cherry and vanilla with a bit of oak, but not too much oak. Tanins were just right to go with the grilled steak last night. Yes, I admit I liked it and found it a great value for the money. Call it, "broadening my palate." While I'm not a Napa wine drinker, it's good to sample and try wines from other regions you're not familiar with. I enjoyed this wine. And for $11 it's worth the money to evaluate and consider that Costco is selling some great wine under that Kirkland label. Maybe I'll visit Napa one of these years. But not too soon. Cheers!

Quick post. Grilled a most awesome steak tonight. Enjoyed the steak with hot peppers from my garden - they bit back - so good. And...I...enjoyed dinner with a...2007 Napa Meritage. That's right - Napa Meritage (it's a place in California). I know, this is a Washington wine blog. Well, my last five posts were about some fantastic Washington wines/wineries. Go read if you have not. Blame the local big box store (yes, Costco) for the great steak tonight, and that wine from California. Hey, I could not pass it up for $11. And I'm not a Napa wine drinker, so what the heck. Am I wrong to let you know I liked it? It was good...I'll consider adding more details and photo tomorrow. I have to sleep on it. Cheers!

A Rhone Style Red by Hightower Cellars While I was out visiting Red Mountain today, I stopped by Hightower Cellars for a tasting. My last visit to Hightower Cellars was two years ago. I was there as a volunteer helping bottle several hundred cases of wine. That was also the day I had too much heat and was put to rest on the tasting room floor ( read about my embarrassment here ). Today Tim and Kelly Hightower were not around, but the friendly tasting room manager was. She was a great hostess and very knowledgeable about the current releases. The current tasting line-up, they are all good. All of the Hightower wines I sampled today were very good. While these are all red wines, I'm told there is an upcoming white wine release, soon, soon. Okay, enough already, what I came home with was a bottle of their 2008 Murray Syrah. That's Murray on the bottle. This wine is named after Tim and Kelly's first winery dog, Murray - his picture is on the bottle. What's especi...

You're Invited Made a run to Red Mountain today; I timed my driving and it took 13 minutes from home to Red Mountain. Isn't that convenient? Owner/Winemaker Neil "Coop" Cooper and his dog DB The reason today for my drive, is that there’s a new winery on Red Mountain – Cooper “A Red Mountain Winery”. The owner/winemaker is Neil “Coop” Cooper. His winery is to open very soon. While Coop did not have time to review his wines today, he did take time for an amiable chat. Thanks Coop. Cooper Winery is now the first winery you see when you turn onto Red Mountain’s Sunset Road. Traces of the previous winery have been carefully removed. Coop has worked hard on getting his winery ready for visitors – the exterior of his facility is due to be painted soon. Soon enough for his Grand Opening on September 11th. You’re Invited While we were visiting today, Coop invited me and all my wine friends (that’s you too) to join him on Saturday 11 September, 3pm until 9pm for his...

  Looking Northeast from Badger Mountain on Sunday Three new posts below. Friday I hope to have time to visit a new winery in the area. Bumbershoot is Labor day weekend in Seattle. As the summer winds down, the weather in the Columbia Valley is just perfection. Sunny, comfortable warm, just perfect for going wine tasting. No more excuses, come visit us, either after visiting the Yakima Valley, or on your way to/from Walla Walla. We have great wineries on Red Mountain and in the Tri-Cities region. And there are actual grapes on the vines - so bring your cameras. You won't be disappointed. Cheers!

New to Me Too Last week I opened a bottle of Cowan Vineyards 2005 Estate Cabernet Franc – and it was even better than I remembered. If you don’t know Cowan Vineyards, then it’s time you did. If you’ve never enjoyed Cabernet Franc, then it’s time you did that too. I like this wine. I found aromas of mixed berries and spice with gentle oak, following through in the mouth with a great finish – a well balanced wine. Kudos. Cowan Vineyards This is a 100% estate grown and bottled wine. While Cabernet Franc is traditionally a blending varietal, here it stands on its own. The reason is obvious, Washington climate, a talented grower and winemaker. My first visit to Cowan Vineyards in Prosser and my first experience tasting their wines, was during the Yakima Spring Barrel weekend  this May. Their tasting room is open 7 days a week 10 am - 5 pm. Definitely worth your time to stop by and taste. I found the staff very helpful and friendly when I last visited. This is a P...

Thank Me Later August is Washington wine month in Washington State. So the Washington State Liquor stores sell Washington wines at lower than normal prices. I took advantage of the reduced prices and purchased a ‎2008 Barnard Griffin Cabernet Sauvignon for only $13. I've mentioned before that I've been a fan of Barnard Griffin wines since 1997. So, I was not surprised that I enjoyed this wine. But, don’t expect a monster Cabernet out of this bottle, it’s more dignified than brutish. I found the 2008 Cabernet to be quite smooth and bright, with cherry, vanilla, pepper and some smokiness, very tasty for a medium bodied wine. Drink it with or without food. It's plenty bright, so pairing with grilled meats is suggested. It's very drinkable today and should hold up in the cellar for the next handful of years (go buy a case now while prices are reduced). The 2008 Cabernet has had good reviews and it won Best in Show at the Washington Wine Competition . Ro...

Back in the Saddle I’m back in the saddle again, the Syrah saddle that is. Wait, that just sounds inappropriate, I apologize. What I am doing appropriately is enjoying Syrah again. Specifically, I’m enjoying Gordon Brothers 2006 Estate Syrah. I recommend you immediately go out and find this wine – it’s truly a gorgeous Syrah. Notes: The first thing I noticed was the wonderful dark purple color. Putting my nose in the glass I enjoyed a smoky, berry reduction aroma with a hint of tobacco. In the mouth there’s good weight, it’s bright with ripe, dark fruit pie and a touch of meatiness on the sides of my mouth. More please? I took the opportunity to pair this Syrah with grilled lamb at home. While some may find it cliché to pair Syrah with Lamb, this made for an absolutely incredible pairing. I did well. As, I’m typing, I realize that my only complaint is that my bottle is empty. If you'd like to read about my visit to the Gordon Brothers Winery, here's the link. FYI: I...

Not to Miss Event If you're in the greater Seattle area, then you'll want to check out the Release Party at Gordon Brothers tasting room in Woodinville, Washington on August 28th. They will be featuring: 2006 Syrah – 91 Points, Wine Enthusiast and 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon – 90 Points, Wine Enthusiast. I've enjoyed the 2006 Syrah which I highly recommend. There will be one-day-only specials on both these wines! This event is open to the public on August 28, 2010, Noon-7:00 PM. Contact Info: Gordon Brothers Tasting Room 19501 144th Ave. NE #A-800 Woodinville, WA 98072 http://www.gordonwines.com/ Cheers!

I'm over the summer cold and the summer allergies, for the moment. My taster is working again - hurray! There are three wine reviews I need to write - but I need to take care of errands and mow the yard - boo. For any frequent visitors, you the reader, I've switched to a simpler layout for this blog. I've also been working on a logo design - which is turning out to be harder than expected - so expect more layout changes. I like the lighter background, makes it easier to read. Also - I need to gripe about the new version of Zone Alarm. I've used Zone Alarm for many years as my essential firewall software. Unfortunately, the newest revision flags my blog as "potentially harmful". Not apprecaited. It seems that since I added a new domain name for the blog this summer, my site is "Too New" to be trusted. I've had this blog since 2006 as http://wild4washingtonwine.blogspot.com/ (which still works) but since I added http://www.wild4washingtonwine....