The weekend forecast  is sunny outside  here in Madrona.  Here at the wine shop we’ll be tasting a few things to make you sunny inside.  Bundle up, stretch the legs and come see what we have open.

Saturday we tasting some great deals to start they year off right.
2015 Reinhold Haart Estate Riesling  Trocken  $12
Was $16 now $12
2013 Rocche Costamagna Dolcetto d’Alba  $10
Was $15 now $10
2015 Bergamota,  Dao Private Selection  $15
80% Touriga Nacional, 5% Tinta Roriz, 5% Jaen, 5% Alfrocheiro, 5% Other
2013 Wind Gap Old-Vine Grencahe  $20
Was $40 now $20
2013 My Essential California Cabernet  $15
Was $20 Now $15

Sunday, we’ll have a pair of French wines open to try.
2017 La Maroutine Bordeaux Blanc  $11
80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon
From vines on the slopes above the Garonne river, this herbal, fruity wine is dominated by Sauvignon Blanc. Its acidity is balanced by the yellow fruits as well as citrus.
2013 Domain de la Biscarelle Début d’une Histoire  $15
90% Cinsault, 10% Grenache
A Rhone Cinsault from 50-year-old vines just outside of Châteauneuf. Raspberry, plum, boysenberry, bay, thyme, lavender scents. Big, ripe chewy, purple fruit flavors with black pepper and stony tannins. Organic

Sunday is also the Artist Reception for our new show of drawings by Julian Birchman.  3 to 5 pm   Stop by and meet the artist.
Whenever I sit down to doodle, I always draw a man. I draw a variation of several different dudes that I have in my visual library. I don’t do this consciously; it’s just what comes out. As a result whenever I need to draw a female character or a non-masculine appearing person, I feel stumped. So I took this opportunity to draw 20 women as an exercise to break up a bad habit.  -Julian Birchman

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.