French Values

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French Countryside

Congratulations, we’ve made it through another Holiday Season and into 2014.  That calls for a little relaxation and recovery. To help with the recovery we’ve lined up some great French wines for Saturday that deliver a lot but are easy on the bankcards.  Saunter on in and have a sip.

2012 Magellan, le Fruit Defendu Blanc $13
60% Grenache Blanc, 40% Muscat Petit Grain
This Languedoc estate makes exciting fresh wines full of character.  ”We always start our harvest with our plots of Muscat Petit Grain. It is a real pleasure, the first rays of sunshine in the vineyard, the gold and ripe grapes, the cellar full of exotic aromas when we press –Pleasures like that should be forbidden! –at the end we blend with some Grenache to keep a good freshness!”

2011 Lafond Reuilly, Rose La Grande Piece $14 was $22
100% Pinot Gris
This Pinot Gris is left on its skins during its fermentation and the light pink of the grape transfers to the wine.  Light berry fruit and light apples notes with some herbal underpinnings

2012 Magellan, le Fruit Defendu Rouge $13
90% Cinsault, 10% Grenache
From 6 hectares of 40 year old vines of Cinsault located on our sandstone soils parcels. They let the grape stand on its own. “All the “professionals” tell us you can’t do anything with Cinsault! So we decided to think differently, persuaded that with a good terroir, a great care in the vineyard and small yield, we can produce interesting wines with Cinsault”.

2010 Lauribert, Visan Les Truffieres Rouge $14 was $16
80% Syrah, 20% Grenache
Domaine des Lauribert, in the Côte du Rhone Village of Visan, has been in the Sourdon family for the last five generations. The wine has a pleasing bouquet of mixed berries and white pepper. Its flavors are balanced between fruit, tannins and fresh acidity.

2009 Chateau Mayne-Vieil, Cuvee Alienor $23
Château Mayne-Vieil Cuvée Alienor is a selection of old Merlot vines planted on clay and gravel.  The vineyard is grassed without leaves on one side-and green-harvested. While decreasing yields, this method provides better ventilation for the grapes.  Maceration takes place in temperature controlled concrete vats for more than 4 weeks.  Maturing lasts for twelve months in new oak wood barrels one third new.  It is a full Bordeaux from a ripe year.  The wine has berry aromas, leathery mineral notes and solid tannins.

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.

Selective Sunday Sippers.

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Red Wine Pouring Into GlassCome visit us to see what this Sunday’s Sippers that we’ve Selected. We have two bottles open for you to sample throughout the day.

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.

New Years — Endings & Beginnings

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New Year’s marks the end for somethings and the beginning for others.  Saturday we’ll be tasting some close outs that are on their way out of the world along with some new things to ring in the year.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. — We are open every day between now and New Year’s Eve and we’ll be toasting the whole time so come and see what’s pouring.

NV Le Cris des Roches Blanc de Blanc Brut  $12
Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Chardonnay
This Cry of the Rocks in made from Ugni Blanc, Colombard, and a little Chardonnay from the southwest and Languedoc.  Secondary fermentation is done in closed vat.  This was created specifically for the local importer so it comes in at a good price.

2009 Chateau Jolys, Jurancon Sec, Cuvée Pauline  $15
Petit Manseng
An intense and complex white from the Southwest of France.  Flavors of honeysuckle, mango and Papaya, citrus and spice notes.  Try and name them all.  Great with crab. Was $25 now $15

2006 Travignoli Chianti Rufina Reserva  $13
Sangiovesse
A full ripe rustic Rufina. This reserva comes at the price of a normale. Was $20 now $13

2011 Clos d’Espinous Corbières  $11
40% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 30% Syrah
The Espinous is a rough and rugged Old vine Carignan from a small estate in the foothills of the Pyrenees.  The wine opens with a pronounced earthy barnyard aroma of old world funk followed by rich dark fruit.  Organic. Was $18 now $11

Bonoito 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil  $12 –750ml
Break out the baguettes! This olive oil sold out at our Classic Italian tasting in October.  Unfiltered. 3 liters $40

Alvear Pedro Ximenez Vinegar  $11
A very tasty vinegar made from a 10 year old solera of Pedro Ximenez.  It is lighter and fruitier than balsalmic , but just as complex.

new years

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.

Landmarks Preservation Board to consider nomination for Liberty Bank building

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The Landmarks Preservation Board is set to consider whether the Liberty Bank building at 2320 E. Union merits landmark status. The meeting will take place in February.

Now Key Bank, the application cites the building as the “first banking institution for African Americans in the Pacific Northwest region.”

The application lists other, related reasons why the building should receive the designation:

This building is a worthy historical landmark in Seattle for a number of reasons, notably:
1. It opened as the FIRST and ONLY African American bank in the Pacific Northwest region of the United Sates;
2. Its founders included a number of people of historic note, and it was designed by one of America’s few well known African American architects, Mel Streeter (1931– 2006);
3. Its design is reflective of the culture that characterized Seattle’s predominantly African American Central Area in the 1960s, and is one of the few remaining high quality examples of this type of utilitarian urban blue-collar architecture left in the neighborhood and
4. The changing demographics of Seattle’s Central District, without protection of the neighborhood’s historical landmarks, portends an erasure of a rich cultural past and heritage created by Seattle’s African American community.

The nomination will be considered at a public meeting on Wednesday, February 5 at 3:30 p.m. in the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Avenue, 17th Floor in Room 1756. The public is invited to attend the meeting and make comments. Written comments should be received by the Landmarks Preservation Board by 5:00 p.m. on February 4 at the following address: Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle WA, 98124-4649.

You can read the full text of the application here.

Central Seattle Preschool Fair 1/11/14

Over 30 Preschools will be at the Central Seattle Parent Resource (CSPR) Preschool Fair on Saturday, January 11, 2014, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Garfield Community Center. Thanks to the generosity of Garfield Community Center and the parents who volunteer to organize this event, the fair is FREE for families and participating schools which include:

Behnke Preschool, Boyer Children’s Clinic, Bright!, Capitol Hill Co-op, Cottage School at Montlake, Denise Louie Education Center, El Cuento, Epiphany Early Learning, Giddens, Harvard Avenue School, Illuminate, King Street Co-op, Lakewood Co-op, The Learning Express, Learning Tree Montessori, Les Enfants de Seattle, Los Ninos de Seattle, Madison Park Co-op, Madrona Place Two, Mount Baker Preschool, Nanny’s Preschool, s Annex Preschool, s Preschool, Preschool Adventures Learning Center, Rainier Valley Co-op, Saint Mark’s Preschool, St. Therese Catholic Academy, Seattle Amistad, Seattle Progressive Preschool, Secret Garden Preschool

Central Seattle Parent Resource promotes community among parents of children from birth to age five by encouraging social connections which build foundations for long term civic involvement. For more information, visit: centralseattleparentresource.com

Neighborhood Bits | Man attacks librarian; No transportation package yet

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Police say a man attacked a librarian at the Douglass-Truth Library last Monday. KOMO News has more:

SEATTLE — A Central District library employee was attacked by a ‘nice-looking young man’ who had rented out a conference room for a religious meeting and then refused to leave at closing time, according to the Seattle Police Department.

According to the police report for the incident, the man came into the Douglass-Truth Library and checked out a conference room for a religious meeting Monday.

When two library employees later went to tell him the library was closing, the man repeatedly refused to leave, according to the report. Instead, he walked toward one of the employees, who was standing in the doorway, and reportedly slammed the door on her, catching her between the door and the frame.

The employee later told officers she was shocked by the man’s unexpected violence because he did not appear intoxicated, was dressed well and appeared to be a “nice-looking young man.”

According to the report, the employees said they were going to call the police, and the man told them to go ahead.

Minutes later the man left the library. The employees later told officers he appeared to be smiling at them as he did so. A second man, who had been sitting in the conference room the entire time without doing or saying anything, left with him.

The employees said they would call 911 if they saw the man again.

 

When it comes to King County buses, it might be time for Plan B. In November, Exec Dow Constantine said King County would employ a “Plan B” if state leaders couldn’t pass a new transportation funding package. While the Olympians have promised to resume discussing the funding when regular sessions resume in January, no special session was called to nail down the needed multi-billion dollar package:

The Senate majority wants that slice of sales-tax revenue to be applied to transportation projects, estimating it could boost spending by $750 million over the next 12 years.

Democrats have said they want the money to remain in the general fund, noting the state will need billions of dollars in the coming years to meet a state Supreme Court mandate to increase funding for education.

Loud boom reported near Powell Barnett Park

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A loud boom heard across the city and possible smoke reported by a nearby resident brought out Seattle Fire emergency crews and police early early Sunday morning near Powell Barnett Park but the responding units could not immediately find the source of the mystery disturbance.

According to Seattle Fire dispatch logs, a “minor” explosion was first reported around 3:20 AM near 27th and E Alder. Arriving SFD units and police searched the area but could not find any fire, damage or electrical issues.

911 calls came in from across the city following the thunderous early morning bang. We’ll update if we find out more about the situation.

2013 Central District Real Estate Recap.

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This is my recap of home sales in the Central District and how it compares to the rest of Seattle.

Prices for pre-owned homes in the Central District of Seattle increased 12% in the past year. The number of sales increased 25%.  Over the past 10 years, the number of home sales in the Central District has averaged 242 sales per year whereas we had 228 in 2013 and 192 in 2012.  2012 was the lowest number of home sales since before 2003.  3 of the past 10 years experienced more than 300 sales.  In 2013 Seattle as a whole experienced a 16% increase in the number of sales and a 12.7% increase in prices.

Sales of new construction in the Central District (West of MLK)  increased from 14 sales in 2012 to  25 sales this year.  The median  price is $597k, unchanged from 2012.  I was curious to see how this compared to 2009 when the real estate market was really suffering.  My findings were suprising.   In 2009 there were 68 new home sales at a median price of $472k.   Since 2009 there has been a  63% drop in the number sales and a 26% increase in prices.  (Pre-owned prices are 14% higher than in 2009).  It feels that more new homes are under construction and the average prices are going to be much higher than last year.

What does 2014 have in store?  Home affordability will drop.  Zillow is predicting a 6.7% increase in home prices over the year 2014.  Regarding interest rates, Kiplinger is predicting 5%-5.5%,  Zillow is predicting 5%, Forbes is predicting 5.5%.  A house costing $500,000 today would require $2280 a month with 10% down. Next year, that house will cost $533k but the payments would be $2725 at a 5.5% interest rate.

I hope this has been useful, contact me with any questions.  I have a lot more information that I couldn’t squeeze into this article.  www.DanSanchezRealtor.com

Man found dead at Safeway yesterday

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An apparently homeless man was found dead in a wheelchair outside the Starbucks and Safeway at 22nd and E Madison Thursday morning.

The Seattle Police Department and the King County Medical Examiner are investigating the incident first reported to authorities around 8 AM Thursday. There were no signs of foul play but a cause of death is pending.