The morning fog is burning off and turning into sunshine here in Madrona.  It’s a perfect afternoon for a walk through the forest.

Saturday at 2pm, we’ll be walking through the wines of Ginkgo Forest Winery, a Washington estate on Waluke Slope.  The wines are full of varietal character and reasonably priced.  You can imagine the breeze through the trees while you taste the vines.  We’ll be trying their:

Botanical White Blend (33% Viognier, 33% Riesling, 33% Gewuztraminer)
Sangiovese
Malbec
Coalesce Red (34% Grenache, 33% Mourvèdre, 33% Syrah)
Melange de la Forêt  (42% Carmenere, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc)

Sunday it’s MALBEC MANIA – a smackdown tasting with two Malbecs, one from the feisty French, the other from the cunning Chileans.  It is the perfect sport for after the Seahawks.

2012 Les Fiefs d’Anglars Malbec $10
Vin de Pays du Lot
A great value Malbec from Cahors with good full fruit and scents of red and black fruit, pepper and spices.

2013 Echeverria Gran Reserva  $12
Malbec
A Chilean Malbec that sets itself off from its Argentinian neighbors.  Full and soft plummy fruit, with violet aromas and a smooth round finish.

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.