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.

Sunday July 20^th

Mark is touring Irish wine country, but in his absence we’ll be pairing two Sangiovese:

Il Volano, a Tucscan blend of 75% Sangiovese and 25% Merlot which is on special for $10.

and

Waving Tree’s Estate Sangiovese from the Columbia Gorge $15

Come see how the local boys stack up.

This Sunday it is Madrona vs. France as we try a lovely white and a red in the World Wine Cup competition.

Stop by this Sunday for our French Sippers from 11-5. These two guys just arrived in our shop and I’m excited to try them. Come join me.

2013 Le Chevalier de Novato Picpoul de Pinet    ($11)
A good crisp and full lip smacker for oysters or sunny afternoons.
12% alcohol by volume

2012 Terres d’Avignon Réserve des Armoiries    ($16)
Grenache and Syrah
Another big, lush Côtes du Rhône blended up by Kermit Lynch.

Welcome to sunny Portugal as we try a lovely red and white from the Land of Ports….

2009 Quinta do Infantado Douro Red    ($14)
30% Touriga Franca, 30% Touriga Nacional, 30% Tinta Roriz, 10% Other red varieties
A full rich estate red from a quality Port producer. Lots of ripe pie cherry, Kirsh, and smooth tannins.

2011 Quinta das Maias Vinho Branco    ($10)
Malvasina Fina, Encruzado, Sercial and Verdelho
A dry Portugese white with, full and rounded flavors of melon and apple.

This Saturday we have a great tasting of Rhône wines from Xavier Vignon featuring his 2007 Châeauneuf du Pape.  It is one you won’t want to miss.  That starts at 2pm.

Sunday Mark will be pouring two new Portuguese wines for all the dads on Father’s day.

Take a break from the World Cup and stop on by.

Xavier Vignon, an oenologist from the University of Montpellier, worked as a winemaker in Alsace, Champagne, Saint-Emilion, Burgundy and Languedoc-Roussillon before settling in the Rhône Valley 15 years ago. Xavier is the consultant oenologist for large number of Châteauneuf du Pape estates, including prominent estates like Raymond Usseglio, La Gardine, Jerome Quiot, Beaurenard, La Nerthe, Mont Redon, Marcoux, Grand Veneur.  In 2002 he decided to start making his own wine from purchased grapes from his many contacts.  This Saturday we’ll be trying a great line up of his wines.  Don’t miss it.
 
2012 Grimaud, Cuveé du Golfe de St. Tropez Rosé  $10
Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsault
Before we jump into the Xavier wines we’ll be pouring this lighter rosé with peach and strawberry notes is priced to move as the 2013 gets delivered on Monday.
Was $16 now $10
 
2013 Le Petit Xavier Blanc   $17
50% Sauvignon, 30% Picpoul, 20% Grenache Blanc
The Le Petit wines are blended from grapes from the Languedoc and the Rhone that Xavier epitomizes as “Fruit, flowers, spices & foremost fun”. The blanc offers notes of citrus, tropical fruit followed by floral white flowers.  On the palate the wine offers plenty of freshness.
 
2013 Le Petit Xavier Rouge $17
50% Syrah, 50% Grenache
The Le Petit rouge displays notes of pepper, red fruits, and floral notes including violet. The palate is rich, fresh with a mineral finish.
 
2010 Xavier, Cotes du Rhone  $17
60% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah
A very solid Rhone assembled from a large number of plots throughout the appellation combining the many soils types that can be found in the Rhone valley: limestone, clay, clay and limestone, or grave.  Parker: “the 2010 Cotes du Rhone was aged in wood barrels (one-third) and tank (two-thirds). It possesses copious notes of garrigue, loamy soil, balsam wood, underbrush, kirsch and blacker fruits. This medium-bodied 2010 is ideal for consuming over the next several years.”
 
2007 Xavier, Châteauneuf-du-Pape  $50
55% Grenache, 35% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah
This CNDP is a blend of the three soil types of Châteauneuf-du-Pape soils: galets roulés, sand and terres graveleuses.  The Grenache comes from 90-year-old vines, the Mourvedre from 75-year-old vines, and the rest from vines of at least 25 years of age. The Grenache is aged in tank and the Syrah and Mourvedre are kept in small oak casks.  Parker: “The 2007 . . . exhibits an extraordinary bouquet of garrigue, smoked meats, black cherries, blackberries, licorice and Asian soy. With stunning power, opulence, body, richness and purity, this brilliant Chateauneuf du Pape will age effortlessly for 15+ years.”