If you love trying new varietals of wine (like we do) Saturday will be a Special Treat.  We’ll be pouring a new line up of indigenous grapes from the Cappadocia & Anatolia regions of Turkey and a big red blend from Macedonia.  Not only are they unique, they are quite tasty as well.  Come give them a try and watch us grapple with the pronunciation.

2013 Turasan, Emir (eh-MEER)   $15
The Emir grape only grows in one place in the world – Cappadocia, Turkey where it has been grown and made into wine since the Hittite era (1700 BC).   Emir thrives in Cappadocia’s volcanic soils and benefits from its unique micro climate: high altitude, hot days and cool nights. The wine has notes of citrus peel and white flowers along with pears and fennel pollen. It is bright and lively with refreshing floral and Meyer lemon flavors ending with a mineral note that is rounded out from the sur-lies aging.

2013 Turasan, Kalecik Karasi, (Kah-le-djic-car-ah-ser)  $15
Kalecik Karasi is a blue-black grape indigenous to Turkey that produces fruity wines with low to medium tannins and bright acidity. Red fruit, raspberry, red currant and cherry predominate with vanilla and cocoa undercurrents.. Cappadocia is located on high altitude with limited water supply  allowing the grapes to take longer in reaching maturity thereby making the aromas all the more intense and vibrant.

2012 Diren, Öküzgözü (Oh-cooz-goe-zue)  $14
85% Öküzgözü, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Diren Winery is located in the northern part of Turkey in Anatolia.  Their Oküzgözü highlights this native grape.  The wine is medium-bodied wines with ripe fruit and spice flavors and plenty of lively acidity.  In 2012, a hot summer was followed by a cool, dry harvest allowing for long hang-times producing excellent structure, and aromatics.

2011 Diren Karmena Red  $13
20% Öküzgözü, 20% Bogazkere, 20% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot
Karmena Red is a blend of 5 grapes (indigenous and international). Okuzgozu grape lays a framework of luscious red fruits in the wine, with Bogazkere providing tannin and backbone.   To these are added Cabernet Sauvignon for its body, Syrah for its spiciness and Merlot for its supple character.

2011 Tikves, Barovo  $20
50% Vranec, 50% Kratosija
We have loved Tikves 100% Vranac for quite some time, so we’re excited to pour this unique blend from the Macedonian winemaker.  The grapes were harvested from 40+ year old vines planted in volcanic soils at 600 meters elevation. The wine was aged for eight months in a mixture of new and used oak. It has rich flavors of black berry and cocoa, and cedar, as well as plenty of extract and a strong structure.

Madrona Wine Merchants offers free wine tastings featuring 4-5 selections on a theme every Saturday from 2 until the bottles run out and on Sunday we offer a mini-tasting of two wines all day from 11-5. No matter what day you stop by we always have something open to sample.