William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

"Small in size, big in wines." Living in wine country it is natural for me to encourage my customers to, "Taste the wine, before you buy the wine."  And on the subject of the context of wine and expanding ones palate, I recently wrote, "...I have come to realize over the years that it is also important to understand where the grapes came from and what the wines taste like from their country of origin." March 15, 2016. But how do you taste before buying if you don't live in wine country? Is there another way to taste wine before buying? And could you easily try wines from all over the world too? Yes. I was contacted by Wineist to evaluate their wine subscription service. Wineist is a European startup that presents a unique monthly subscription service which includes a set of six mini wine samples of various styles, regions and price ranges. Included in the package is information about each wine and winery. Wineist offers wine newbies and c...

You cannot judge a wine, a winery or a wine region if you have not visited or tasted the wines.  Today I will share with you the origin of Trump Winery located in Monticello, Virginia. I will also review four Trump wines. We should not discuss politics on this post, only wine. It seems irresponsible and inconsiderate to dump on a winery because of politics. When you insult a Virginia winery, you are insulting not only the owner, but also the grape growers, winemaker, winery staff, and the wine region. That crosses a line which reflects poorly. We are better than that. In 2011 I visited Virginia wine country ( Dreaming of Virginia Wine ). It was a magnificent time with many captivating wine tastings and wine related conversations. I’m excited about and for Virginia wineries and I discovered that there are some real gems. Wines easily recognizable as world class. Yes, I am a fan of Virginia wine. Virginia has realized Thomas Jefferson's dream of producing fine wines from ...

Experience Washington wine and food at Taste Washington March 31 - April 3. To all you wine lovers, I encourage you to make plans to attend Taste Washington 2016 .  Do your research before you walk through the doors and you will be rewarded with some truly remarkable wine experiences and an expanded palate for describing Washington wine. Prepare to be dazzled! Appellation Spotlight: Columbia Gorge AVA. Note : I strongly encourage you to sign up for one of the wine seminars on either Saturday or Sunday. These are world class tastings and discussions on my favorite subjects. Truly one of a kind, not to miss sessions. I attended the Columbia Gorge AVA seminar last year and learned a great deal. Today I am a huge fan of white wines made from Columbia Gorge AVA vineyards. I thank the seminar I attended as responsible for this as it brought this region to my attention. Join us March 31 – April 3 for the 19th Annual Taste Washington Indulge in the premier wine and fo...

The context of wine is important to understanding wine. My friends at Protocol Wine Studio continue to provide wine education on wine regions around the world. It was my sincere pleasure to participate in the Wine Studio program on wines of Alsace. These wines are now used by me as reference points for describing wines from Alsace. Contact Protocol Wine Studio if you would like to have your wines considered for an upcoming Wine Studio program. Florian Beck-Hartweg wines are imported by George Tita of Tanaro River Wine Imports . Beck-Hartweg in Dambach-la-Ville is one of the historic Domaines of Alsace, France that builds on a tradition of wine growing which goes all the way back to 1590. Today the responsibility for making wine is continued by Florian Beck-Hartweg. Florian has gained a solid reputation among lovers of Alsatian wines as a skilled, progressive and communicative representative of Alsac e. Earlier vintages featured Yvette and Michelle on the label, his par...

Time to take home a taste of Catalunya! Wine is truly about food, family and friends. This self-evident truth was presented clearly to me when I received two bottles of wine from DO Catalunya for review. Unexpectedly, the following week I received two gifts from my sister-in-law who lives in Spain; the first a book on the Catalan wine regions and the second a book on Catalan cuisine ! That is synchronicity. Thank you Crystal for the wonderful gifts.  DO Catalunya is one of twelve Denominació d’Origen in Catalonia. Catalonia/Catalan is the wine growing region in Northeastern Spain surrounding Barcelona. Catalan? Catalunya? The DO Catalunya is one of twelve Denominació d’Origen in Catalonia. Catalonia/Catalan is the wine growing region in Northeastern Spain surrounding Barcelona. Catalonia produces over 140 million bottles of wine and 240 million bottles of Cava. Wine has been produced in Catalonia for over 2,500 years. Rome was particularly fond of many wines from t...