CHEERS!  Looking for that perfect gift for a dear wine lover (or dare we say, a gift for yourself?)  How about a 3 month or 1 year subscription to the Ferdinand Bottle Society?  As a friend of Bar Ferd’nand, you know that our offerings are thoughtful and somewhat eclectic.  We work with small production, family owned estates, which lean toward a more natural, artisanal approach to their wine making. These families’ motivations are born of passion and a reverence for their craft.

The Ferdinand Bottle Society is a flexible and personalized wine subscription that Bar Ferdinand buyer and partner Marc Papineau selects, by season and by your choice of wine tier.  These seasonal offerings are tailored to meet your own needs and desires, with regards to price, length of subscription and benefits.  Marc will include extensive wine notes about each wine selected along with recommendations for accompanying food monthly for all FBS members.  Pick up will be the first Friday of the month, after 12 noon.

The Ferdinand Bottle Society offering is in three tiers:

Regional:  This is for the person looking for inexpensive, yet awesome, everyday drinking wines.  Imagine such scenarios as accompanying the family meal, watering it down for the little ones, or sitting with a glass on the stoop or deck while the weather is nice, or when the weathers turns, cozying up on the couch with that much needed glass after a hectic day of work.

$250/ 3-month subscription. 6 bottles a month, 18 bottles total. OR $1000 for the entire year, paid in full, with additional benefits (see below)

Village:  This level is perfect for someone who would usually be looking for everyday drinking wines, but is ready to venture into a slightly wider range of wines. You love your wine and want to expand your horizons.  Why are they more expensive?  I want more knowledge about wines, in general! Your combination of not quite inexpensive, a few very special wines, and perhaps a classic or two will all be AWESOME and you will walk away having delved a bit deeper into the world of the vine.

$500/3-month subscription, 6 bottles a month, 18 bottles total. OR $2000 for the entire year, paid in full, with additional benefits (see below)

Vineyard:  This top tier of our Bottle Society is for the person who knows their wine, but wants to expand their knowledge of smaller, family owned, artisanal wines from around the world.  Perhaps you already have a collection or are thinking about starting a cellar?  This collection will include some very unique and special wines.  Think accompanying the family or business meal on some special occasion, or something you might like to lie down for a few years to see how it grows up.

$1000/3-month subscription, 6 bottles a month, 18 bottles total. OR $4000 for the entire year, paid in full, with additional benefits (see below)

As we like to eat and drink seasonally, we have broken down each 3-month collection by season:

Winter 2013: January, February, and March

Spring 2013: April, May, and June

Summer 2013: July, August, and September

Autumn 2013: October, November, and December

Why buy for all four seasons up front?  What benefits are included?

If you choose to sign up for a full year of participation in the Ferdinand Bottle Society, not only will you experience the full range of wines to delight your palette as the year progresses, you will also have access to these benefits:

On the monthly pick up day, you will enjoy a bottle of wine, gratis, selected by Marc to drink at the bar that evening. Yes, all 12 months of the year!

Every Season you may have a one on one consultation with Marc Papineau to discuss anything you may want to discuss, question or discover about wine.  Marc is truly a wealth of knowledge and his love and passion for each bottle he purchases is evident.  Whether you have a wine cellar and want to debate the virtues of one region or another, or simply want to know more about the grapes, regions and the different varieties of wine out on the market, Marc will be at your service.  Yes, four times a year!

We hope you consider joining this very unique Ferdinand Bottle Society in our inaugural year.  There are many wine programs out there on the market, but we assure you that this will let you explore wines like never before.  To register please go to: http://www.ferdinandthebar.com/main/products-page/ to sign up now.  We only accept members on a quarterly basis, so if you do not sign up now for yourself (or that lucky person you give this to as a gift) your next chance will not be until the second season of the year starting April 2013!

Thank you! Gracias! Danke Schön! Merci! Grazie!

First, if you haven’t already, go flippin’ VOTE.  If you are over 18 and a US Citizen, you have no excuse.  Just do it.  People die for this right.  BTW, we love internationals here at the bar, so we understand you can’t vote (although sometimes we wish you could!)

Next: Come on over to Bar Ferd’nand to eat, drink and (hopefully) be merry!  We will have the TV on covering all the results as they come in, and we want you to show up early and stay late to CELEBRATE or mourn.  It’s a free country, so no matter how you choose to vote, come on down for celebratory drinks, and/or to drown in your sorrows.

VOTE and see you soon!

It’s oyster season again!  Bar Ferd’nand is kicking  it off by participating in Seattle Muscadet & Local Oyster Month. We’re  pouring 2 Muscadets by the glass and shucking buck-and-a-half oysters from 3pm-10pm, Tuesday thru Saturday, along with our lovely food menu. D’habitude!

Bar Ferdinand wants you to be one of the first to hear our latest step towards aligning with these wineries’ values.  The Ferdinand Bottle Society is a flexible and personalized wine subscription that Bar Ferdinand buyer and partner Marc Papineau selects, by season and by your choice of wine tier.  These seasonal offerings are tailored to meet your own needs and desires, with regards to price, length of subscription and benefits.  Marc will include extensive wine notes about each wine selected along with recommendations for accompanying food monthly for all FWS members.  Pick up will be the first Friday of the month, after 12noon.

The Ferdinand Bottle Society offering is in three tiers:

Regional:  This is for the person looking for inexpensive, yet awesome, everyday drinking wines.  Imagine such scenarios as accompanying the family meal, watering it down for the little ones, or sitting with a glass on the stoop or deck while the weather is nice, or when the weathers turns, cozying up on the couch with that much needed glass after a hectic day of work.

$250/ 3-month subscription. 6 bottles a month, 18 bottles total. OR $1000 for the entire year, paid in full, with additional benefits (see below)

Village:  This level is perfect for someone who would usually be looking for everyday drinking wines, but is ready to venture into a slightly wider range of wines. You love your wine and want to expand your horizons.  Why are they more expensive?  I want more knowledge about wines, in general! Your combination of not quite inexpensive, a few very special wines, and perhaps a classic or two will all be AWESOME and you will walk away having delved a bit deeper into the world of the vine.

$500/3-month subscription, 6 bottles a month, 18 bottles total. OR $2000 for the entire year, paid in full, with additional benefits (see below)

Vineyard:  This top tier of our Bottle Society is for the person who knows their wine, but wants to expand their knowledge of smaller, family owned, artisanal wines from around the world.  Perhaps you already have a collection or are thinking about starting a cellar?  This collection will include some very unique and special wines.  Think accompanying the family or business meal on some special occasion, or something you might like to lie down for a few years to see how it grows up.

$1000/3-month subscription, 6 bottles a month, 18 bottles total. OR $4000 for the entire year, paid in full, with additional benefits (see below)

As we like to eat and drink seasonally, we have broken down each 3-month collection by season:

Autumn 2012: October, November, and December

Winter 2013: January, February, and March

Spring 2013: April, May, and June

Summer 2013: July, August, and September

Why buy for all four seasons up front?  What benefits are included?

If you choose to sign up for a full year of participation in the Ferdinand Bottle Society, not only will you experience the full range of wines to delight your palette as the year progresses, you will also have access to these benefits:

On the monthly pick up day, you will enjoy a bottle of wine, gratis, selected by Marc to drink at the bar that evening. Yes, all 12 months of the year!

Every Season you may have a one on one consultation with Marc Papineau to discuss anything you may want to discuss, question or discover about wine.  Marc is truly a wealth of knowledge and his love and passion for each bottle he purchases is evident.  Whether you have a wine cellar and want to debate the virtues of one region or another, or simply want to know more about the grapes, regions and the different varieties of wine out on the market, Marc will be at your service.  Yes, four times a year!

We hope you consider joining this very unique Ferdinand Bottle Society in our inaugural season:  Autumn 2012, beginning in October. There are many wine programs out there on the market, but we assure you that this will let you explore wines like never before.  To register please go to: www.ferdiandthebar.comto sign up now.  We only accept members on a seasonal basis.  If you don’t sign up now, your next chance will not be until January 2013!

Thank you! Gracias! Danke Schôn! Merci! Grazie!

And don’t forget, Braida tasting at 100pm.  See you here!

Wines featured:  Markus Huber- Gruner Veltliner, 2011 and Hugo Sparkling Rosé                   Preisinger 2010 (Biodynamic)-Burgenland Blaufrankish and Zweigelt

Founded in 2009, Circo Vino is a importer specializing in wines from unique terroirs, crafted by winemakers who farm their own grapes and care about each step of the winemaking process from vineyard to table.  Our wines demonstrate a sense of place and a singularity of style. We strive to offer serious artistry and joyful pleasure in our portfolio selection.

Braida di Giacomo Bologna-Saturday, September 15th- 1-4pm

Montebruna Barbera d’Asti 2008,  Moscato d’Asti

At a young age Giuseppe Bologna  founded the Braida estate, cultivating a single vineyard of Barbera to make wine for himself and his friends. It was this vineyard that he passed on to Giacomo Bologna along with an unbounded love for this wine and the land where it was made. Giacomo produced a wine that catered to his own exacting standards. He believed that great wine must come from great soil and had been fortunate enough to inherit land that was ideal for grape growing.

Giacomo Bologna was actually the first to realize that Barbera could age brilliantly in small oak barrels. In the 1980′s he put this discovery to use, creating three now-famous crus, Uccellone, Bricco della Bogotta, and Ai Suma. The extraction, clarity, and superb balance of these wines is simply unbelievable. Today, Giacomo’s wife Anna and their children continue the plans and dreams that he conceived long ago.

As always, Free tasting in the Free World

This is a correction of the earlier publication on my part.  Steve Olson is a rep at Cavatappi and I had that name stuck in my head because I’m going pre-maturely senile…or is it dimentia?  Join Steve Brooks(!)-not Olson- owner and winemaker of Trust Cellars, at Bar Ferdinand tomorrow.  He will be pouring  his ’11 Rosé of Cabernet Franc, ’11 Riesling, 2 of his Syrahs and a Cabernet Sauvignon.  For those of you not familiar with Trust Cellars, Steve and his wines are some of the most chill products to roll out of that valley.  Steve is a super laid back and down-to-earth individual, whose wines are a reflection of himself and his surroundings. Nothing showy here; no un-needed new wood; no fat dollops or gobs of gooey fruit: just good acid, alcohols in check, balance in place and savory character not usually associated with this part of the world. Get down here!

Free tasting in a Free World