William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

First, if you have no Washington wine to enjoy with friends and family, go buy some! We were out and about yesterday and brought more Washington wine home for tonight. Luckily, Kestrel Vintners was at the local Costco showcasing their newest releases. I happily took the Lady in Red, 8th edition, home with me. After shoveling snow this morning, for the third time this week, I'm now relaxing with a glass of Lady in Red and watching football in HD. ( review of 6th edition Lady in Red ). Our second stop yesterday was at the West Richland Yoke's grocery store . One of my favorite wine stewards, Chris, works at Yoke's. His recommendations for Turkey day included Washington Gewurztraminer, Sparklers and Rosé. Here's a cell phone photo of Chris at the store. What do I recommend? Washington Sparklers and Rosé of course! Both Washington sparkling wine and Rosé pair with almost everything. For the die-hard red wine drinkers, there are plenty of options to keep them ...

Harvest in the Columbia Valley is over. Winemakers are busy working with the juice of their labors. Thanksgiving in Washington Wine Country is only 9 days away. And my sense of taste is almost back to normal. The longer I live in SE Washington, the more I'm affected by seasonal allergies and changes in temperature and humidity. All of this environmental influence on my body, greatly affects my ability to enjoy wine; red wine loses most of its subtlety and flavor when my internal barometer is screwy. Fortunately, this time of year my body usually returns to normal, just in time for the holidays. I plan to post suggestions for holiday food pairings: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Hopefully, I'll have time to post some gift suggestions too - I always appreciate help in that department; this time of year always seems to get away from me. All the best, Cheers!