Hot Winemaker Profile #4 – Bjorn Madsen of Madsen Family Cellars

Welcome to HOT winemaker profile #4. Today I'm profiling Bjorn Madsen of Madsen Family Cellars. I met Bjorn at a Seattle Uncorked event a couple of weeks ago where he was pouring his family's wines. We traded business cards and I contacted him for an interview. He graciously granted my request so this post is a result of the hard work I put in to plying him with wine to keep him talking. I joke, I joke! Bjorn was an easy interview, very open, fascinating to listen to, and did I mention he's HOT?!

"It's better to make a good first impression than to try to fix a bad impression." - Bjorn Madsen

Wiser words were never spoken. Bjorn, the assistant winemaker (and son of owners, Dana and Sandra Madsen) for Madsen Family Cellars on the weekends, and an Affineur (cheese ager) at Beecher's Cheese in Pike Place Market in Seattle during the week, was referring to the wines that he and his family make in a warehouse in Olympia, Washington.

Bjorn agreed to meet me for the interview at the North City Bistro and Wine Shop (http://northcitybistro.com/default.aspx). We were lucky enough to hit it on a night when there was free live Jazz. The cool thing about this wine bar is that you can buy a bottle of wine from their wine shop and then drink it there for a small corkage fee. After choosing a bottle of the 2006 Gilbert Cellars Claret - a beautiful and tasty blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 8% Malbec, 5% Petite Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc - we settled in with our wine to discuss his family's winery. The interview was off to a good start!

Family and Winery History

Bjorn and his family, the aforementioned Dana and Sandra, and his younger brother, Leif, lived in Fairbanks, Alaska until the decision was made to move the family to Chehalis (Indian word for "shifting sands") in 1985. The family moved to Olympia in 1995, where they live now. Dana and Sanda decided, after learning to cook gourmet food and pairing that food with fine wines, that they wanted to experiment with making their own wines. After experimenting with winemaking beginning in 2003 in the family garage, the Madsens turned to serious winemaking and the first Madsen Family Cellars vintage was produced in 2005.

The Grapes

The Madsens source their grapes from the top AVAs and vineyards in eastern Washington, purchasing most of their grapes from Seth Ryan Vineyard, Red Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills, and the Wahluke Slope. Good wine truly does start in the vineyard! Dana went to UC Davis for winemaking so education also helps.

The Wines

I recently purchased two Madsen Family Cellars wines, the 2006 Cabernet Franc and the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon at The Grape Choice. Both of these wines are made from grapes from Red Mountain so they're made from high-quality grapes and it shows. I've been drinking the Cab Franc as I write this post and it's the perfect expression of a Washington Cab Franc, for my taste. The color is a beautiful shade of purple, has a gorgeous, flowery nose, and tastes of dried violets, cherries, and plums. For details about where to buy and the cost of these two wonderful wines, see the end of this post.

Wines Currently Available

Whites

Un-oaked Chardonnay

Lightly oaked Chardonnay

Dry Gewurtztraminer

Yakima Valley Riesling

Off dry Yakima Valley Riesling called "Beri's Delight" after Dana's mother

Rhapsody (their own blend of white wine with raspberry wine)

Orange Muscat dessert wine

Red Wines

Cabernet Sauvginon - Red Mountain 2005

Cabernet Sauvginon - Red Mountain 2006

Cabernet Sauvginon - Destiny Ridge (bottled and resting)

Cabernet Franc - Washington State 2007

Merlot - Washington State 2007

Wines Currently Aging in Barrel for Release in 2010

Sangiovese - Columbia Valley

Petite Verdot - Horse Heaven Hills

Bordeaux style blend

Hotness Assessment

Here's my HOT winemaker criteria broken down as it applies to Bjorn:

1. Great wines (Oh yes - grapes from top AVAs in eastern WA.)
2. Intelligent (Hell yeah - Bjorn has a degree in Molecular Biology.)
3. Personality (After spending several hours chatting with him, I can attest to the fact that he has an awesome personality.)
4. Physically attractive (Bjorn is the one on the right in the picture. Hot, hot, hot, VERY HOT!)

On a scale of 1 - 10, 1 being the least hot and 10 being the hottest.

I'm giving Bjorn Madsen a 10+ because not only do I think he's hot, but a woman sitting next to him at the wine bar commented on how hot he is when he was in the men's room! So, apparently he exudes HOTNESS!

You can find Madsen Family Cellars on the Web at http://www.madsenfamilycellars.com/.

If you'd like to visit their winery and tasting room, they're located at 2825 Marvin Road NE, Suite D, Olympia, WA 98516.

You can find Madsen Family Cellars wines at The Grape Choice in Kirkland at http://www.thegrapechoice.com/. I paid about $30 for each of the two bottles that I purchased at The Grape Choice.