Parlour Wines, An Organic Italian Wine Shop, Opens In Madison Park | Eater Seattle

"I found a bottleshop dedicated to organic Italian wine that quietly opened in Madison Park in October 2021; it reopened with a wine bar in early July, making it the neighborhood's only wine bar and, according to the report, the only wine bar in Seattle specifically focused on Italian natural wines. Located across from the Madison Park tennis courts, this second Parlour Wines (the original is a wine, vermouth, and amaro shop in Brooklyn) is run by married owners Brendan and Amber Casey, who moved to Bremerton in 2020 to be near family and escape New York during the pandemic. After decades in bars and restaurants — including Brendan's stints at Cafe Campagne’s now-shuttered Marché and six years at West Village Tuscan restaurant I Sodi — he became obsessed with Italian wines and the idea that “wine is a food,” viewing pairing as “food with another food” and favoring estate wines made by the people who grew the grapes. Every bottle at Parlour Wines is an organic estate wine; while not completely natural, most are made with low-intervention methods, because Brendan wants to introduce Madison Park's domestic-wine–loving residents to natural wine without assaulting them with the wild flavors found at the fringes of the movement — “I can’t be pushing my boat out too far and expecting them to swim all the way to me,” he says. He also emphasizes a sense of place by focusing strictly on Italian regions. The shop also offers local and Basque ciders, vermouth, and wine-based Italian amaros (note that some Seattle amaros are spirit-based and can't be sold under his current liquor license), runs a wine club with tiers for in-store and harder-to-find bottles, and plans to add light bar snacks eventually; for now people can bring their own food or grab a pizza from The Independent Pizzeria down the street." - Jade Yamazaki Stewart