William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

More than a memorable Red Mountain wine. Terra Blanca 2006 Onyx. Recently I had a significant wine moment with a bottle of wine from Terra Blanca, the 2006 ONYX, Terra Blanca Estate Vineyard. This wine was a gift from a friend. A gift I greatly appreciate. There was no special occasion for opening this wine, it just happened to be the bottle I selected. Perhaps it is best that I was not anticipating anything out of this bottle, consequently, my experience was all the more noteworthy. On pulling the cork, the room was instantly enveloped in the aroma of black berries, fresh wild berries, ripe ready to eat berries, berry pie and berry cobbler. The moment hung suspended as I was transported back in time, memories of childhood, my grandmother and summers spent in Aberdeen, Washington cascaded over me. As I poured from the bottle into my glass, I recalled my grandmothers white 1971 Monte Carlo, with blue vinyl top. You could tell she enjoyed driving that car; we drove all over Aber...

Two wines from South West France. Last week I had the pleasure to participate in a virtual wine tasting of wines from the South West region of France. This was a live tasting with Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer . He broadcasted video from a kitchen in Brooklyn, New York while I tweeted from Washington State. The twitter hashtag used for this virtual tasting was #SWFrance. Many who participated in this tasting received samples of wine. Wines were tasted and commented on via twitter, food pairings, information about the region and grape varietals were also discussed for each wine. My tasting was truly “virtual” because my samples did not arrive in time for the tasting. Now that my samples of wine have arrived, I will be reviewing them as time permits. 2010 Colombelle Blanc Sec. Colombelle Blanc Sec 2010 This wine is a blend of 80% Colombard and 20% Sauvignon et Ugni Blanc at 11.5% alcohol. This is the first time I recall tasting these varietals. The wine was easy to access with...

A joyful white wine. Market Vineyards 2010 Liquidity. On November 1st, Market Vineyards opened their first tasting room in Queensgate Village in South Richland. My wife and I were surprised to encounter the new tasting room while on a weekend walk. What an excellent discovery. A well appointed tasting room. The tasting room is roomy and well furnished for comfortable wine tasting events. It’s conveniently located for us, and we liked the wines, so we’re planning several functions with friends at this new facility. We went through their entire lineup and enjoyed many of their wines. But the bottles we took home with us were bottles of the 2010 Liquidity. Liquidity is a blend of 50% Viognier and 50% Roussanne, sourced from Gamache Vineyards. I’ve been on a white wine kick since summer and I thoroughly enjoyed the Liquidity. Liquidity is wonderfully focused, beautifully made, a lively wine with stunning acidity. What a pleasure to taste. This wine woke me up and put a smile on m...

William Pollard Jr - writes for the Wild 4 Washington Wine blog. This month marks the 5th anniversary of my wine blog. In 2006, after much reflection, I decided to start blogging about wine . My decision was predicated on the experiences I had gleaned from my first year of working at Barnard Griffin winery . While I no longer work for a winery, I have made many friends within the Washington wine industry. What’s changed in the last five years?  My position on screw caps has changed ; I now like screw caps and find it satisfying to crack open a bottle with a screw cap. It’s so easy to open and gain access to the wine in the bottle. And most importantly, I know the wine will taste as intended. Every time I pull a real cork out of a bottle, I worry about the wine being corked. It may not happen often, but it happens often enough that I worry that cork is going to ruin my bottle of wine. It happened last night, the bottle was corked. My nose is just too demanding. Last year ...