Chile is a long, narrow country dominated by the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its vineyards cover an 800-mile stretch of land with a range of varied and diverse micro climates from the hotter and drier regions in the north to the wetter and cooler regions in the south. Chile has a long viticulture history from the 16th century when the Spanish brought vinifera with them.  In the 19th century, French varieties were planted.  Stop by on Saturday as we tour the vineyards.

2012 Undurraga, U Chardonnay/Riesling  $10  (Central Valley)
85% Chardonnay, 15% Riesling
Don Francisco Undurraga, an enterprising man in the 19th century, was one of the pioneers of winemaking in Chile and founder of Viña Undurraga with plants he brought over personally from France and Germany.  Today Undruuaga has expanded its holding into most of Chile’s wine regions. For this wine the Riesling underwent twice weekly lees resuspension for 3 months, while 20% of the Chardonnay was aged with oak .The blend is a wine smooth rich bodied wine with a bit of spiciness.

2011 Leyda Pinot Noir  $14 (Lyeda Valley)
Viña Leyda is located at the west side of the Coastal Mountain Range of Chile, just 7 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean.  They pioneered viniculture in this valley, creating the new designation of origin, D.O. which is named after them. The Pinot Noir is made in a fruit driven style showing its cold climate influence. Aromas of blueberries and strawberries mingle with earthy mineral and herbaceous notes.

2011 Undurraga Aliwen Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere   $14 (Rapel Valley)
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Carménère
Carménère a almost forgotten Bordeaux varietal has thrived in Chile.  The Aliwen ages nine months in French and American oak. Notes of ripe fruit, spices and oak perfectly blend delivering a wonderful aroma. The wine has great body, sweet tannins and a long elegant finish.

2010 Cousiño-Macul, Finis Terrai $26  (Maipo Valley)
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah
Founded in 1856, Cousiño Macul is the only winery in Chile amongst those established in the 19th century that continues in the hands of the original founding family.   The Finis Terrai offers a complex nose, in which notes of wild berries, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry can be felt, as well as a subtle French oak aroma, in perfect balance with the fruit. In the mouth plum and strawberry, accompanied by a slight sweetness, principally from the merlot, can be found. It’s intense, balanced and round, with ripe tannins and a long finish.

2009 Undurraga, Terrior Hunter Syrah  $20  (Limarí)
The Terroir Hunter is Undurraga’s to make wines best suited to each region.  This savory, meaty Syrah is made in tiny quantities and hails from the remote region of Limarí near the Atacama desert in the north of Chile where the semi-arid, cool climate with alluvial terraces of calcareous soils makes bright and mineraled Syrah, This wine has key notes of black pepper, smoke, and tar that accent the wine’s plush and concentrated core of black fruit.

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.

 

 

 

Compost Days is Coming to Seattle!

Compost Days is back, and it’s bigger and better than ever! From March 15^th through April 15^th, cash in on the biggest discounts of the year on Cedar Grove compost, and deep discounts on kitchen food scrap containers and compostable bags.  Get more information at: www.CompostDays.com. Plus, this year, save big and give big at a special Seattle area event!

CEDAR GROVE TRUCKLOAD SALE AND THE BIG GARDEN GIVE

Save on all varieties of Cedar Grove compost; get your gardening questions answered by Master Composters and give back by donating a bag of compost to local gardens growing food to fight hunger. For every coupon redeemed, Cedar Grove will donate a bag to local gardens!

Saturday, March 29, Ballard Fred Meyer, 10am – 4pm  —  915 NW 45th St.

Other Area Events:

Encourage your friends and family to attend one of the events below and donate a bag of compost.

• Saturday, March 15, Lynnwood Fred Meyer, 4615 196th St. SW

Meet celebrity garden radio host Ciscoe Morris, broadcasting live from 10 a.m. to noon!

• Saturday, March 22, Maple Valley Fred Meyer, 26520 Maple Valley Black Diamond Rd. SE

Can’t make it to the event?  Get a compost coupon and donate online, visit: www.CompostDays.com.

 

Seattle jazz dynasty performs benefit concert to restore Washington Hall

Historic Seattle presents a Benefit Concert for the Campaign to Restore Washington Hall.  This evening affair features performances by four generations of the legendary Holden family, a dynasty of Seattle jazz and music, and special guests The Teaching featuring Evan Flory Barnes, Josh Rawlings, and Jeremy Jones. Proceeds from this concert will go to restoring this 106-year-old theater to its former glory.

 

About the performers

The Holden Family once lived across the street from the historic venue at 14th and Fir for more than 30 years, and four generations of Holden musicians will take the stage together for the first time in a public performance at Washington Hall, the site of the first jazz concert in Seattle. Patriarch Oscar Holden, who passed in 1969, was a pianist and played alongside Louis Armstrong and sat in with many of the touring musicians of the jazz era. Oscar Holden graces the cover of the Seattle jazz history, Jackson Street After Hours.

Current patriarch David Holden, Sr., son of Oscar Holden, Sr., and a professional musician for more than 75 years, leads an ensemble of Holdens that spans four generations and many genres of music.

The Teaching is made up of Seattle latest generation of jazz musicians, who blend tradition with hop hop, funk, and pop. As the unofficial studio band for Macklemore’s Grammy-winning album “The Heist,” Josh Rawlings (piano), Evan Flory Barnes (bass), and Jeremy Jones (drums) embody the musical legacy and future of Washington Hall.

 

About Washington Hall

Built in 1908 by the Danish Brotherhood, a fraternal organization of immigrants from Denmark, Washington Hall has been an anchor in the Central District for more than a century.  The building has served as a hub for social and cultural activities for a broad ethnic community, and has been in continuous use as a gathering place, social club and meeting hall for scores of Seattle’s immigrants and members of the local African American, Filipino, Korean, Jewish, Eritrean, Ethiopian and other communities.

Remarkable for its open and diverse use, regardless of race, religion, or artform, the Hall hosted many luminary artists including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Marian Anderson, Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, John Lee Hooker, Afrika Bambaata, Fugazi, Mark Morris, Spalding Gray, and Bill T. Jones.  In 1973, the Sons of Haiti, an African-American Masonic Lodge, purchased the building and continued the tradition of hosting performing arts. Washington Hall was the original home of On the Boards from 1978-1998. As the developer of “last resort,” Historic Seattle acquired Washington Hall in 2009, saving it from demolition.

The concert will benefit the capital campaign to fully restore Washington Hall. With a new roof, seismic stabilization of the south wall, and funds to build an elevator secured, the final phase of the campaign requires raising $2.2 million by June 2014 to continue the renovation of the former Danish boarding house at the back of the building. These spaces, once homes to immigrants from all backgrounds, will become offices for Hidmo, 206 Zulu, and Voices Rising and other community organizations, classrooms and meeting rooms, a recording studio, and cafe.

This Saturday we’ll be tasting some tasty wines gathered from the Spanish landscape.  We have a lovely Galacian white, a very old vine La Machian Bobal, a solid value Rioja, a heavy hitter from Zamora and a dry Amontillado from Jerez.  Join us.

2012 Vina Reboreda, Blanc  $12
65% Treixadura, 35% Torrontés
Viña Reboreda’s vineyards comprises 40 hectares on the Miño River Soils vary from alluvial  and stony near the river to outcroppings of slate, granite and chalk on the higher west-facing slopes.  The Blanc is a crisp, freshly aromatic and versatile dry white wine with impressive complexity and persistence. Treixadura provides savory consistency while Torrontés adds floral and spice notes.

2011 Vega Tolotas, 11 Pinos, Bobal Old Vine $11
Manchuela lies to the northeast of  La Mancha between the Júcar and Cabriel River valleys, and well above the coastal plains of Valencia and Alicante. It is the ancestral home of Bobal, one of Spain’s most interesting and underappreciated red varieties.  Vega Tolosa founded in 1905, has 150 hectares of organically farmed vines, of which 100 acres is head-pruned Bobal, all over 80 years old.  The wine is partially oak-aged, with varietal notes of wild mountain herbs, red fruit and minerals.

2010 Lorinon, Tempranillo, Tinto  $13
Lorinon’s tinto is aged 14 months in American oak, with partial malolactic in new French oak. The wine has spice and leather notes complementing the deep blackberry fruit and ferrous minerality of Rioja’s red soils. It is Mouth-filling yet fresh, with the structure for improving in bottle for a number of years.

2006 Alejandro Fernández , Dehezia La Granga $18
Alejandro Fernández and his wife Esperanza Rivera, having created Tinto Pesquera and Condado de Haza in their native Ribera del Duero, looked farther afield to Zamora and in 1998 started Dehezia La Granga, with planting 325 acres of old-clone Tempranillo from his vineyards in Ribera del Duero. The fully-extracted must undergoes malolactic fermentation in new oak, and a meticulous racking and aging program achieves natural clarification. The wines are bottled after two years in the barrel.  Purity of fruit accompanies concentrated texture and weight, with excellent balance and expression enhanced by two years in bottle prior to release.

Bodegas Hidalgo la Gitana,  Napoleon Amontillado  $20  500ml
Founded in 1792 by José Pantaleón Hidalgo, Bodegas Hidalgo is still owned by the sixth generation of the family, and is the last remaining family business to produce its own unblended, single-solera Sherries made from its own estate vineyards. True amontillados are naturally aged versions of the best finos, and are totally dry. The Napoleón is long, lean and elegant in style.

The aging cellar at Dehezia La Granga.

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.