South Of France Meets South Park
Well-known Seattle “power couple”, Carol Bailey and Dr. Steve Medwell – The Princess and The Bear – are announcing the Grand Opening of Seattle’s first and only French wine tasting room and Wine Clubs, July 8-11, from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily, featuring wines made mostly by women and not available anywhere else in the U.S. The couple, who just flew in from France for the opening, will be on hand, inviting visitors to explore these high-quality, exclusive, affordable wines as well as join their ever-growing Wine Clubs.
“We are thrilled to be bringing our specially-curated, mostly organic diversity of wines from the world’s largest wine-producing region to the Pacific Northwest,” said Princess & Bear Co-Founder and attorney Carol Bailey. “These delicious small batch wines and the amazing artisanal winemakers, which we discovered by chance, have become our passion. We are so excited to be able to share them with our first home, Seattle, and our wine club members throughout the US.”
“We hope Seattle joins us in the love of these small batch wines,” said Co-Founder Dr. Steve Medwell. “We’re the sole company importing only French wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region in France to America and they are available right here in Seattle. A majority of the wines we hand selected from our home in the Languedoc, are under $30 a bottle despite their outstanding quality.”
When Medwell retired after decades as a colorectal surgeon at Seattle’s Polyclinic, and Bailey retired from her family practice law firm, Integrative Family Law, the two thought they were retiring and moving to an idyllic property in the charming village of Quarante, France. Instead, they discovered this incredible, underground movement of independent, mostly women winemakers who were upsetting the conventional bulk wine industry and the couple was instantly captivated. It became their mission to import these high-quality, carefully curated wines and champion the small, independent winemakers of the region.
“One of the things that makes the wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon so special is the tremendous number of grape varieties grown here,” said Bailey. “In the last 20 years winemakers have come from all over the world to make wine in this region because the geography is so uniquely varied, from Mediterranean sandy soils to iron rich clay soils to mountain shales. Each grape has its favorite terroir and tells the story of the land. We are now honored to bring the story of these incredible winemakers, and their wines, to Seattle. As we say ‘Our pride in this place brings joy to your glass’.”
Opening in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, The Princess and The Bear tasting room is just west of Boeing Field, and features a modern, comfortable and intimate atmosphere with a welcoming and international vibe. It offers the best wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region, which are all hand-selected by founders Bailey (The Princess) and Medwell (The Bear,) from a variety of small, independent winemakers – more than 60 percent women – who use their tenacity, creativity and expertise to make these wines.
The Princess and The Bear tasting room is located at 309 South Cloverdale Street, Suite A1 in the South Park neighborhood. Throughout the four-day opening celebration, complimentary flights of wine will be served with glass pours and bottles available for purchase. Available for purchase will be three other Languedoc wines and one small, independent producer’s rosé Roussillon wine. P&B Wine Club members will receive 15-20% club discounts on all bottle purchases throughout the weekend.
Complimentary small bites created by tasting room neighbor Shane Ryan, owner of Osprey Bistro, will be available throughout the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, the event will also feature live music by Maestro Pasquale Santos from 4-6 PM.
More information about the events planned as well as the tasting room and P&B Wine Clubs can be found here. News Media can access this DropBox Link for additional professional photos, information on P&B and more.