It’s that time again – the annual American Express Shop Small Saturday.

What’s Shop Small Saturday? Spend $10 or more in a single, in-store transaction at a qualifying small business appearing on the Shop Small Map using your American Express Card. If your transaction qualifies, you will receive a $10 statement credit within 90 days. You can take advantage of this offer up to three times, for a total of up to $30 in statement credits. Online transactions do not qualify.

Register your American Express Card here.

Visit the Shop Small Map to find qualifying small businesses near you.

Saturday we’re looking ahead to the upcoming holidays and pouring some new French quaffers that suit an array of banquets and feasting.  Besides being festive and delicious, these wines are also all organically or sustainably farmed and made by small independent producers making them even better.  Come have a taste and find something to toast with this coming season.
 
2011 Domaine Chapelle & Fils, Aligoté  $17
Domaine Chapelle dates back to 1893, when the Chapelle family purchased land in Santenay and Chassagne-Montrachet. Today Jean-Francois Chapelle and his wife Yvette run the 20 hectare, organically farmed estate. Aligoté is the other white grape of Burgundy.  It is crisp and citrusy with good body, mineral notes and a long finish.
 
2012 Domiane du Coudray, Quincey  $20
Sauvignon Blanc
Coudray has 6 hectares of organic vineyards with sand-clay-gravel soils that are perfect for the Sauvignon vine.  The Quincey has grassy and floral aromas, good mineral notes and a dry herbal fruitiness. 
 
2012 Domaine Roque Sestière, A L’Orée des Pins Corbieres  $13
60% Syrah, 40% Carignan
Domaine Roque Sestière is a fourth generation, organically farmed, family estate.  The L’Orée has broad shoulders with lots of dark fruit and smooth but deep tannins.
 
2011 Maison Lou Dumont Savigney lès Beaune  $36
Pinot Noir
Driven by a passion for Burgundy and the dream of making wine, Japanese Sommelier Koji Nakada left his native Tokyo in 1996 and moved to Beaune to study oenology at the prestigious CFPPA. The first thing he had to do was learn French. He enrolled in language class at Dijon where his teacher was the lovely Jae Hwa Park, an expatriated Korean. During Koji’s studies, and his subsequent internships in Bordeaux, Champagne and Alsace, the two dated, married and formed Maison Lou Dumont with the intent to produce pure, honest, regionally correct Burgundy of minimal manipulation from organically farmed grapes.   Their Savigney lès Beaune is a full, rich, aromatic Pinot.

2010 Domaine Abltia, Irouleguy Rouge  $27
Tannat, with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc
Abotia’s sustainably farmed vineyards are located in the heart of the Basque Country and surrounded by the Pyrenees.  In this robust red, the Tannat variety, indigenous to the southwest of France, lends its distinctive local character. To this tannic grape Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc bring the finesse and charm of red fruits and minerals. An age-worthy wine, Irouleguy is a great accompaniment for rich meats, such as duck confit, or local cheeses such as Ossau-Iraty.

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.

Sunday, Mark will be pouring some lovely fresh French wines that have just arrived in the shop — all day from 11 to 5. Stop on in.

2011 Ravier, Chignin Bereron $12

This full bodied Roussanne from the Savoie, is rich with a bit of herbaceousness.

2011 Château Bellegrave, Medoc $13

35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 60% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot
A new vintage of an old favorite, the Bellegrave has aromas of licorice, coffee, and strawberry and cherry fruit. Medium bodied with smooth tannins and tasty fruit.

Sunday, Mark will be pouring some lovely fresh French wines all day from 11 to 5. Stop on in.

2012 Domaine de Mougin VDP L’ Aude    ($10)
30% Syrah, 30% Merlot, 20% Carrignan, 10% Grenache,
10% Cabernet Sauvignon
A easy everyday drinking wine with enough going on in it so your tongue never gets bored. What Vin de Pays should always be.

2012 Domaine Roque Sestière
A L’Orée des Pins    ($13)
60% Syrah, 40% Carrignan
Corbieres
A good daily drinker to accompany your meal , especially with grilled meats and roasts, Italian specialties and all cheeses. Organic

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.

Sunday, Mark will be pouring some more common but no less delicious wines all day from 11 to 5.

2012 Kalem’s Downs, Cabernet Sauvignon  $10
The new incarnation of the popular Lorelle Cabernet.  New label but still a great deal.  Full dark fruit with green pepper and Jalapeno notes.  Medium tannins and a smooth finish.
Was $15 now $10

And we’ll be comparing it to a Cab blend from the Lanquedoc.

2010 Aubai Mema Laverna  $12
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Grenache, 10% Merlot

September is a transitions month.  And Sunday we’ll have 3 wines that reflect that. From white, pink to red we’ll be pouring all day:

2012 Vestini Pecorino    ($9)
Classico
Terre di Chieti
Pecorino is a favorite local wine all along the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo. The Vestini has bright citrus flavors and crisp acidity make it the perfect accompaniment for all seafood dishes or just a refreshing glass by itself.

11.5 % alcohol by volume

2013 Broadbent Vinho Verde Rosé    ($9)
A lightly fizzy, fruity and fresh rosé from Portugal. Don’t say goodbye to summer, you can pour it in a glass. If you were a fan of the Grangia Rosé you should try this.
10% alcohol by volume

2012 Camene Sicilia Rosso    ($9)
Nero d’Avola & Perricone

A very friendly Sicilian blend with spicy aromas and bitter chocolate tannins.

It is a beautiful weekend here in Madrona and we’ll be sipping some sunny Spanish wines all weekend.

Saturday we’ve got a great line up of new wines from Rueda, Tierra de Leon and Rioja, including a very unique Albarin.

Sunday Mark will be pulling the corks on a couple more wines from Spain.

All of them are good for tapas or a last of the season barbeque.

And with the change of the season we’ll be trimming back our Rosé selection.  Tell us your favorites and we’ll try and keep them on.

Come meet the artist and have a nibble or three.

Pixelated Portraits  
There is an element of serendipity and luck involved in the deconstructive /reconstructive process of cutting and perforating the images. The patterns created are meant to reflect our pixilated digital visual world.  I’m interested in the rearrangement of the image; how the negative spaces and missing parts are completed by the layer of patterned paper underneath.

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.

There is the 2.9 mile hopscotch contest through the CD that hopes to break the world record for the most people hopscotching (is that a word?) at the same time.  See www.hopscotchcd.com.
 
There is an all weekend Garage Sale at the corner of 34^th and Cherry that needs to be perused.
 
But most importantly there are two days of wine tasting at Madrona Wine.
 
Saturday we are pouring some excellent deals from the Sunny State of California.  That starts at 2 and goes until the bottles are gone.
 
Sunday we’re showcasing the two sides of Spanish Garnacha.  We’ll be pouring the La Maranda Grenache Blanc and the Evodia Grenache Noir.  That’s all day, 11 to 5.
 
Enjoy the sun and saunter on in.

Today Madrona Wine Merchants we are celebrating the end of Seafair with the Madrona Wine Tour de France. White or Rosé either are great paired with our sunny weather. .

2013 Domaine du Tariquet Classic    ($10)
45% Ugni Blanc, 35% Colombard, 10% Sauvignon Blanc,
10% Gros Manseng
Côtes de Gascogne
A good versitile Gascogne white with intense dry fruit, floral and citrus aromas and nice touches of tropical fruit. Light and well-balanced, this wine is a thirst-quenching pleasure.
10.5% alcohol by volume

2013 Domaine Couron Ardèche Rosé    ($10)
Grenache
A dry crisp rosé with light and delicate fruit.