There is a lot of poultry this time a year so we are popping the corks the next two days to help wash down four calling birds and three French hens.  Even if you are a vegetarian, you should swing by the shop and have a sip.

Open late ’til 8.
The Madrona Neighborhood association is promoting a holiday shopping event this evening in the hood with cookies and raffle tickets and a lot of the local businesses staying open until 8pm.  Take a halftime break from the Seahawks game and come get a cookie and a bottle of wine.

Thursday

2016 Il Nespoli, Romagua Sangiovese Superiore Reserva  $28
100% Sangiovese
A wine of great complexity combining typical marasca cherry, blackberry and plum notes of the Sangiovese variety together with notes of licorice and roasted coffee beans which come from the aging in French barrique, following by stainless steel tanks. A touch of vanilla is coming from the wise but modest use of American oak. Soft and warm, with well-balanced tannins, it has an excellent potential for ageing.

Friday

2016 Château Moncets, Lalande de Pomerol  $21
86% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc
A good Bordeaux from a good vintage.  This wine, hugely rich and packed with tannins, has equally powerful black fruits . . . rich texture and blackberry and licorice flavors

Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6PM

Wondering what to drink with the two turtle doves that showed up unannounced for dinner?  Pull out a bottle of Chateau Daviaud.  We’ll be sampling it today at the shop. 

2019 Chateau Daviaud / Maison Sichel Bordeaux Rouge  $14
45% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec
This Bordeaux blend is quite charming with expressive notes  of fruit and lots of spice; it reveals ripeness and is very fresh. On the palate, this wine is charming, with surprising fullness, smoothness and also a lot of depth.

Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6PM

A glass of Refosco!

We are trying to keep Santa happy right up to Christmas by popping corks for the next 12 days.  Today we start out with a Refosco from Friuli.  A perfect match for Partridge cooked with Pear.

2015 Giorgio Colutta, Refosco  $20
From Friuli, this Refosco is intensely favored and wonderfully aromatic, yet not heavy or overwrought, it has dark berry and woodland flavors and aromas of cinnamon and herbs. Bold and powerful it has structured and defined tannins and invigorating acidity. Not fruity and sweet, like far too many New World reds, its bone dry and lengthy.

Store Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6

We are popping the corks on a Rhone and a Rioja this weekend to ward off the wet weather.

2021 Germán Blanco, La Bicicleta Voladora Rioja $18
100% Tempranillo
The Tempranillo shines through in this Rioja. Made with certified organic grapes, aged in concrete, amphoras and flexitank eggs, the Bicicleta has bright fruit character and freshness, with a smooth body and silky tannins.
Organic

2019 Mas des VolQue, Esus, Duché D’Uzès  $15
40% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 15% Carignan, 15% Cinsault
From a lesser known Village in the Rhone, The Esus has peppery herbs, plums, blackberries and earthy/loamy notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, beautifully textured Rhone red that’s packed with charm.

Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6PM

Yesterday’s Dolcetto dissapeared so quickly that we decided today to open a Sardinian Cannonau for the brave souls who wander into the shop to sample.

2018 Gabbas, LilLove Cannonau  $20
Gabbas LilLove’ Cannonau is a fresh, juicy red showing spicy red berry fruit and soft earthy notes which is typical of what the Cannonau variety can give when grown in small concentrated yields.

Coming up next week:

LATE NIGHT OF SHOPPING IN MADRONA!
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15^th
5pm-8pm
34th AVENUE WILL BE ALIVE WITH
CAROLERS, FREE COOKIES
OPEN SHOPS
AND A RAFFLE!
RETAIL SHOPS & RESTAURANTS HAVE DONATED MORE THAN $2,000 WORTH OF ITEMS AND DINNERS TO
 RAFFLE AWAY

ON THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT RAFFLE TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED AT THE MADRONA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION EVENT TABLE USING CASH OR VENMO, OR FROM THE  FOLLOWING SHOPS USING CASH
JUNIPER
NIDO
KATYBIRD

THIS EVENT IS HAPPILY BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE
MADRONA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6PM

What shall we open tonight?  Hard to decide, but this afternoon we are going to open a little Dolcetto at we watch the sunset reflected in the windows of the Madrona Refuge Building across the street.  Stop in and join us.

2018 Paolo Scavino, Dolcetto D’Alba  $18
50-year-old Dolcetto vines ensure a beautiful complexity in this wine.  A juicy, black cherry infused red. Vibrant and firm, with hints of chocolate and earth adding depth. Shows fine length and purity.

Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6PM

Things will be just ducky this Saturday at the wine shop as we  pour two wines from the Duckhorn folks out of Napa.  These bold red wines should ward off the chill of our weekend weather Duck in, give them a try and see what all the flap is about.
 
2020 Weinhorn Estates, Et Cetera  $15
Cabernet Sauvignon
From the people who make Duckhorn, comes this juicy California Cab from mainly Napa and Sonoma fruit.  The aroma has bright notes of blackcurrant, grapefruit, lime, freshly cut grass and green pepper. The taste is rich and dense, with a light balanced acidity.

2019 Duckhorn, Paraduxx Red Blend  $35
53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Zinfandel, 11% Petit Verdot, 12% Petite Sirah, 7% Syrah, 5% Malbec
Deep, dark and luxurious, this wine offers alluring aromas of blackberry, black cherry, blueberry, currant and cocoa powder, with underlying hints of saddle leather, cinnamon and clove. The voluptuous dark berry notes are echoed on the palate where they are framed by supple tannins and sophisticated layers of anise, vanilla, sweet tobacco leaf and fresh-cracked black pepper, all of which carry the wine to a juicy dark berry finish.
Was $50, Now $35

And stop back in on Sunday When Patrick will be pouring a new Bordeaux we just got in.
 
2020 Chateau Le Roc Bordaux Rouge  $12
60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon,
It displays a great aromatic complexity ranging from notes of red fruit to vanilla. Well-balanced with silky tannins, this is a mouth-watering drink-now Bordeaux that punches well above its weight.

Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6PM

Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday there needs to be a little down time for a glass of wine.  Stop by the shop and have a taste of a Northern Rhone Syrah that just snuck in the door before Thanksgiving.

2016 Domaine Chambeyron, Cuvée Clara  $15
Syrah
Northern Rhone
Mathieu Chambeyron treats this little country wine as if it were his top-of-the-line Cote-Rotie. “Cuvee Clara,” hails from two old-vine vineyard plots. This 100% Syrah bursts with bright berry notes, leather and roasted earth.
Was $25 Now $15

We are turning off our computers for Cyber Monday, but we will be back open on Tuesday with something fun to taste.

Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6PM

Science has proven that a prudent dose of Wine makes friends and family much more acceptable.  There are two days left until Thanksgiving when you will most likely be exposed to a large ration of one or both.

Madrona Wine will be Open Tuesday and Wednesday from Noon to 6pm in order to guarantee that you have enough wine available to make it through Thursday.

Science has also proved that shopping for wine is much more pleasant if there something to taste.  We have a couple of things in mind.  Both go with Turkey.

Tuesday we’ll be pouring:
2020 Soie d’Ivoire La Lisse  $13
Chenin Blanc
This ripe yet crunchy fruit gives this wine it’s freshness, vigor and spine, at the same time it’s luscious texture which is further complemented and enriched from one third vinified and matured for nine months in seasoned French oak barrels.

Wednesday we’ll pop the cork on:
2016 Domaine Blachon Saint-Joseph Blanc  $25
95% Marsanne, 5% Roussanne
From one of the Northern Rhône’s premier white wine vineyards, “Les Oliviers,”  Notes of croissants, honey, dried apricot, and apples fill the glass. It’s wonderfully dry, has a full rich texture and plays well with exotic spices.

Wishing you a Happy Holiday.

Shop Hours
Tuesday to Sunday, 12-6PM
Closed Thanksgiving Day

Tuesday:  Starting next Tuesday, November 22 we will be open Noon to 6pm.  Our new schedule will be Tuesday to Sunday Noon to 6pm Through December.  We go back to our normal lazy schedule with the New Year.

Two: We’ll have Two wines open for tasting this Saturday.  Stop in to see what we have opened.  They might just go well with Turkey, which brings us to .  .

Turkey:  Thanksgiving is next Thursday.  We have lots of ideas for wines that will go well with your dinner.

Thanksgiving:  We will be closed Thanksgiving Day, so plan ahead.  We will be open again on Friday and the rest of the weekend.

In Non T news, the opening reception for the new art show “La Vita Del Vino” from 3 to 5 pm. 16 artists take on the “Wine Life”.  From drinking, to making, to using it as a medium for their work.   With 16 artists the shop should be very cozy.

Shop Hours
Tuesday-Friday, 12-6PM