William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

30th Edition of #VAWinechat  On 25 June 2015 I participated in another fun #VAwinechat twitter wine tasting featuring Early Mountain Vineyards of Madison, Virginia. My friend Frank Morgan of Drink What You Like  is the host of #VAWinechat. He started Virginia Wine Chat  to bring wine bloggers and consumers together via a virtual gathering to discuss the wines, winemakers, wineries and regions of Virginia. I have been fortunate to participate in several Virginia Wine Chat wine tastings. Quality is strong in Virginia. Thank you Frank for the invitation and thank you Early Mountain Vineyards for sharing your lovely wines. A conversation with  Early Mountain Vineyards ​Twitter: @earlymountain Follow the twitter discussion #VAWineChat​ (L to R) Frank Morgan, Jonathan Hollerith, Ben Jordan.  Frank Morgan hosted the wine tasting with Early Mountain Vineyards' new Winemaker Ben Jordan and exiting Vineyard Manager and Winemaker Jonathan Holle...

trump [truhmp] noun \ˈtrəmp\ Trump a card of a suit any of whose cards will win over a card that is not of this suit - called also 'trump card' A decisive overriding factor or final resource - called also 'trump card' Trump a dependable and exemplary person As I prepare for another Virginia wine tasting courtesy of #VAWinechat, I want to address a previous Virginia wine tasting featuring Trump Winery of Monticello. Yes, that Trump, the Donald owns a Virginia winery. Today I will share with you the origin of Trump Winery as well as reviews of several Trump wines. We will not discuss politics on this post, only wine. Sparkling wines are thriving in Virginia. Of the 253 Wineries in Virginia, at least 21 are making sparkling wines. You may know that I am a big fan of sparkling wines. They are tasty, fun to drink and pair with almost any kind of food or occasion. The Trump Wines tasting was especially enticing because it started with two bottles of sparkling w...

Companion post to the podcast - " Successful Techies to Lake Chelan Wine Makers: Kevin & Holly Brown, Siren Song" Siren Song Grand Opening and Release Party July 2nd. We were fortunate to receive pre-lease bottles of the  Siren Song Wines 2013 The Muse Sparkling Brut Pinot Noir prior to this special #WineMuse podcast. We had to taste this wine since it shares the name of our Wine Muse podcast. My tasting notes are below. Listen to the podcast - Siren Song Wines . Husband and wife team, Holly and Kevin Brown, legends in High Tech circles for their founding of Visio, Symform, and Tableau Software, changed gears to pursue a creative, shared passion of food and wine. They started Siren Song Wines and the Foodie website, The Brown Lounge . Lake Chelan, Washington is one of the most scenic areas in the world, and the location of their new Mediterranean-inspired wine tasting room and event center. Part winery, restaurant, and event facility, this will be the perfect...

Companion post to June #winemuse podcast.  On the Third Thursday Wine Muse podcast hosts, Linda Rez and William Pollard explored the varieties which make spring and summer POP. Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir Blanc, Riesling, Rose', Sauvignon Blanc, and sparkling wines, are some of the wines you'll want to enjoy on a hot day.  Listen to the June Podcast "The Best Spring and Summer Wine Varieties . For this special podcast, guests included winemakers and growers from Oregon and California: Wayne Bailey from McMinville, Orgeon, Youngberg Hill Vineyards introduced his Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc,  Mike Bayliss from Oregon's Yamhill Carlton's AVA, Ghost Hill Cellars introduced his 2013 Pinot Noir Blanc,  and Chris Kajani from Carneros, California, Bouchaine Vineyards introduced the 2014 Bouchaine Riesling. Listen to the podcast and follow along with the included tasting notes below. 1. Wayne Bailey, Youngberg Hill  10660 SW Youngberg Hill R...

My regular readers know how fond I am of Spanish wines and the reasons for my Spanish wine fixation . I'm happy to share with you a recent wine tasting experience exploring the growing region of D.O. Cariñena in Aragon, Spain. Protocol Wine Studio hosted this special tasting of six wonderful Spanish wines. Map - Location of D.O.  Cariñena. About D.O. Cariñena Cariñena is the second Denomination of Origin (D.O.) of Spain. The regional capital, Zaragoza, is halfway between Madrid and Barcelona and just two hours from France. The climate is continental, Grenache, Tempranillo, and Macabeo are the predominant varieties grown, along with the indigenous Cariñena variety. Also grown are Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Bodegas San Valero v ines growing in rocks. Vineyards range in altitudes from 1,300 – 2,600 foot elevations. The terroir is what makes this region unique, with ancient stony soils. Larger stones help retain soil humidity, while the outer ...