While this year’s American Express Shop Small Saturday (November 30th) isn’t as lucrative as last year’s promotion… it’s still free money in your pocket.
Here is how it works: register your eligible American Express® Card and get a $10 statement credit when you make a purchase of $10 or more at a qualifying small business location on Nov 30. Registration is limited.
While not Kosher wines, these two affordable Thanksgivukkah go equally as well with Latkes as Turkey. Come taste for yourselves.
2012 Saint Roch Les Vignes Rosé ($15) 50% Cinsault, 50% Grenache
A lovely dry Provence Rosé with lots of peach and necterine notes. 13% alcohol by volume
2012 Lorelle Pinot Noir ($15)
Willamette Valley From renowned Oregon winemaker J. Albin, this lighter Oregon Pinot has fresh clean fruit flavors. Priced to go with the salmon burgers, not just the line caught King. 12.9% alcohol by volume
France has always made great food wines, so it is natural when we come up to the holiday that is centered around food that some French wines leap to mind. This Saturday we’ll be tasting a few that match a wide range of Thanksgiving treats. Come try these great food wines and find something to put on the table come Turkey day.
2011 Clos de Nouys, Vouvray, demi-sec $14 Chenin Blanc Clos de Nouys is a 25 acre estate in Vouvray in the Loire Valley with 35 years old vines. The wine has aromas of white flowers and quince, with a full mouthfeel, crisp structure and an aromatic finish. Its balancing act between fresh acidity and rich flavor is lipsmacking.
2012 Marion Pral Beaujolais Rouge $13 Gamay Noir Pral is a 50 acre family run, organic estate, located in the heart of Beaujolais. The Rouge is loaded with sweetly-ripe blackberry and peach fruit, its tang and brightness of tart fruit skin and saline mineral notes give this insistency on the palate. Its vibrancy can wash down even the lumpiest gravy.
2011 Le Hospices, Sancerre Rouge $20 Pinot Noir Sancerre is known for its Sauvignon Blanc, but the region also grows some fine Pinot Noir as well. The Hospices is a light bodied, aromatic wine with cherry and berry flavors, fresh acidity and a round finish. It cuts through the stuffing without stuffing you.
2010 Clos Cristal $22 Cabernet Franc Clos Cristal is 10 hectares biodynamical farmed vineyards which contain 2 miles of walls along which, and through which, the Cab Franc vines grow. Close to the walls, the vine takes advantage of the heat accumulated by the stone, which enables a greater ripeness. The Cristal is a concentrated and expressive wine with dark, black fruit aromas held in a firmly tannic grip. It is big enough to slap any menu around, but elegant enough to complement the food while doing it.
2009 Antonine Moueix, Fleur Renaissance Sauternes $33 full bottle $16 half bottle 70% Semillon, 30% Sauvignon Blanc During harvest the fog from the Garonne River covers the fields causing the grapes to develop the noble rot, botrytis, which concentrates the sugars and gives the wine its distinct flavors. The grapes for the Renaissance are hand-picked in five passes selecting for optimal ripeness. The wine is full and complex fruit flavors of apricot, peach, pear and honey along with a signature botrytis note. The perfect finish for any meal.
Starting this week Madrona Wine Merchants will be open on Tuesdays from 12-7 in addition to our usual hours.
And for those last minute Thanksgivukkah wine emergencies, we will be open on Thanksgivukkah day from 11am to 3pm – then it’s off to the holiday feast table.
Today at 2pm we have Chuck Reininger up from Walla Walla to show his wines. Chuck is a class act in Washington winemaking if there ever was one.
And Sunday at 3 pm is the Artist’s reception for Suzanne Brookers show of New Landscape Paintings. The paintings are from Suzanne’s upcoming book on landscape oil painting due out in late 2014 from Watson Guptil.
Also on Sunday we’re pouring two interesting wines from South America — A Petit Verdot from 25 Lagunas and a Bonarda from Altos las Homigas — that’s all day so stop in and give them a try.
Reininger Winery started in the Walla Walla in 1997, crafting elegant and classically structured red wines from hand-harvested, select grapes. Sixteen years later, winemaker Chuck Reiniger will be here this Saturday pouring his wines and talking about their creation. He’ll be pouring some Helix wines which source fruit from the larger Columbia Valley, allowing for better price and availability, and the core Reinigner wines from Walla Walla which have a more limited production. Come meet him and try his great wines.
2011 Helix Chardonnay $15 From Stillwater Creek vineyard this unoaked Chardonnay has wonderful acid and a crisp, beautiful sparkle thanks to the stainless steel fermentation. It features Granny Smith apple sweet-tartness and a mellow draw on the finish with fresh pineapple and subtle orange flower.
2007 Helix Sangiovese $16 Also from Stillwater, this Sangiovese was aged in older neutral barrels giving it the benefits of barrel aging without the oaky flavors. Lively acidity is a hallmark of Sangiovese and this wine has it. Fruit expressions of concentrated sour cherry, plum and pomegranate become accentuated as the wine opens up. The palate finishes with lingering cherry notes and a hug from a medium tannin structure.
2009 Reininger Syrah $31 From Pepper Bridge & Seven Hills Vineyards, the Syrah is aged in older French barrels. The wine has aromas of soy sauce, sesame oil, plum sauce, blueberry pie and lavender! The palate is silky smooth, medium bodied, with flavors of blueberry, black pepper, cumin, orange peel.
2010 Reininger Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla $31 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot From Pepper Bridge & Seven Hills Vineyards the Cab is aged in 84% French & 16% Russian barrels, 52% of which are new. 2010 was a cooler vintage in the Walla Walla Valley providing elegant wines. There are beautiful aromas of black cherry, loam soils and cedar. A medium to full bodied palate accompanies playful acidity and gentle tannins that possess a very soft grip of bright dark cherry, followed with blackberry, sage, a hint of pencil and chocolate mousse.
2009 Reininger Carmenere Seven Hills Vineyard $33 Aged in French Oak, 76% of which is new, the Carmenere from Seven Hills is gaining elegance with every passing vintage. The nose presents a wonderful white pepper that transforms to peppercorn, or sometimes chili pepper, on the palate that beautifully contrasts with its very soft tannins. Almond aromatics evolve to an elegant flavor of candy cherry, pomegranate and plum swirled in a hint of mocha and wood spice.
It isn’t hard to find cheap Bordeaux, but finding inexpensive ones that taste like the real thing takes a bit of work. This Sunday we’ll have two new arrivals open for tasting that fit the bill.
2011 Camelot la Chapelle Bordeaux ($10) 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc A young and fresh Bordeaux with leather and mineral aromas and more cassis flavors than you expect for the money.
2007 Chateau Marsau Côtes de Francs ($11) Merlot The 2007 vintage of Marsau is not a ripe as the 2005, but the structure is still there and the fruit is tasty if not massive. Unbelievable at this price.
This Saturday we are pouring a flight of delicious wine from the north of Italy (ok, we’ll dip down to Tuscany, but let’s not get picky). These wines are good for drinking anytime, but it just so happens that they are all great pairings for the Thanksgiving meal. Forget what the pilgrims drank, match up some of these great wines with your good food.
2012 Cantina Sassarini, Cinque Terre $20 60%Bosco withAlbarola and Vermentino Cinque Terre (Five Lands) sits on the northwest coast of Italy with steep mountains covered by bands of vineyards that slope down towards the sea in the Province of La Spezia. To cultivate every 2.5 acres of vines on these dangerous slopes takes about 3,000 working days, but it is worth it. This distinctive white is dry, with notes of salt, a full fruity mid body and lingering aromatics. It will beat out the Chardonnay on T day.
2012 Tenuta Col Sandago, Wildbacher Brut Rose $20 Tenuta ColSandago, nestled among the hills of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, in Veneto, is the only vineyard in Italy to grow Wildbacher (wild stream), an Austrian grape that makes great rosé. The Brut Rosé is an elegant, pale pink sparkling wine with a delicate floral nose, notes of strawberry and raspberry, a fine creamy mousse and refreshing finish. Excellent with the big bird.
2012 Campodelsole, Durano, Sangiovese di Romagna $10 Campodelsole (field of sun) in Emilia Romagna sits on a hill with the mountains behind and the sea in front. The area has been farmed and inhabited since before the Roman times. Replanting in the vineyard requires workers to stop numerous times to pick Roman pottery and amphoras out of the field. The Durano is the winery’s young and fresh Sangiovese, full of fruit and a perfect quaffing wine for an Autumnal banquet.
2011 Terre di Gioia,Marzemino $15 Marzemino Gentile is an indigenous grape in Trentino in the Alto Adige. Mozart mentions the wine in Don Giovanni. The Marzemino has medium body, a dark ruby almost purple color but with a delicate and unmistakable nose of violets. The taste is fragrant of wild cherries and bilberries. The wine is a perfect referee for the cranberry/stuffing smackdown.
2009 Canneto, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano $23 Canneto’s estate vineyard is 20hectares of vines in the heart of Tuscany with 15 hectares enrolled for their Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, but only the best make the cut. The wine is aged in a mix of Slavonia oak casks and French oak tonneaux for two years before release. The Nobile is a delicious Sangiovese, combining structure and dry-extract with a fruit forward, and a hedonistic, finely balanced mouthfeel. Great with gravy.
To ensure that we can provide you with the specific wine that you are looking for, please call or email us with your request. It’s important to note that the vintage and availability of wines can vary from year to year.
