lummi island wine tasting jan 17 ’25
Wine Tasting Winter Hours: Fridays 4-6 pm
Sorry, no Bread This Week 🙁
(those on mailing list will get next week’s order info Sunday…)
Island Bakery has developed a rotation cycle of several dozen breads and pastries. Each Sunday the Bakery emails the week’s bread offering to the mailing list. Orders received before 5 pm Tuesday (and not already claimed) will be available for pickup at the wine shop Friday from 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Contact us at least two weeks before your visit to get on the bread list .
This week’s Wine Tasting
Juggernaut Chardonnay ’22 Sonoma $17
Barrel fermented; aromas of apple, Asian pear and lemon meringue open to rich, lingering flavors of stone fruit, honeysuckle, and yellow plum, with finishing notes of vanilla, butter cream and hints of clove.
Cala Civetta Sangiovese di Toscana ’21 Italy $13
Earthy nose of red plum accompanies a vibrant yet mildly tannic palate of tart cherry with a hint of smoke and ocean brine – a true expression of Scansano, nestled halfway between the Tyrrhenian Sea and Mt. Amiata.
Alain de la Treille Chinon Cab Franc ’22 France $21
From Loire valley alluvial gravel & & yellow limestone terraces along the Vienne, offering complex minerality and a juicy, spicy flavors that dance from plum to cassis, game, earth and tobacco, all with a delicacy that speaks of the village’s cool conditions.”
Economics of the Heart: First the Coup…then the Occupation
Democracy
just doesn’t to be working for the obscenely rich. As a class, they have been grumpy since Roosevelt’s New Deal transformed the role of the federal government. The stock market crash of 1929 had ignited widespread unemployment, poverty, and despair to millions of families and communities as businesses collapsed and work was hard to find. FDR cast a wide net for new ideas, finally basing the New Deal largely on the emerging principles of Keynesian economics, which stood in sharp contrast to the prevailing ethos of trickle-down economics that jobs are created by wealthy businessmen and resource owners who own the means of production and out of kindness hire workers to transform raw materials into goods and services. And, as Marx correctly observed, these “capitalist” owners pay workers barely enough to get by, while they continued to get richer at an ever increasing rate.
Keynes’s view, most simply, was that the economy is like big table where everyone has a seat and an ongoing responsibility to get money from the person next to them (for their work) and pass on to the next person (for their purchases). In that way everyone acting individually keeps money coming in and money going out in a circular flow. If some players withhold too much from the stream, the the entire stream slows down, and more and more do not have enough. Keynesian economics guided economic policy until the 80’s, when Reagan, a charming but stupid man, fully re-embraced trickle-down ( like Project 2025, written for him by the Heritage Foundation), cutting social programs that kept an economic floor under the elderly, the mentally and physically disabled, single parents, ethnic and racial minorities, and more, and shifting some $50 trillion from the bottom 90% to the highest 1%.
The January 6 coup attempt began years before and has never stopped. All these very rich guys who are still rebelling against the New Deal evolved from the tycoons of the 1930’s to the nastiness of early 50’s McCarthyism. They also regrouped from the more crackpot views of the John Birch Society, the long-term lobbying of the Koch brothers through their Americans for Prosperity PAC, spending about $400 million just since 2020. And of course we haven’t even mentioned the long string of Leonard Leo’s decades-long project to gain enough control of the Supreme Court to overturn key legislation regarding women’s rights, environmental rights, business regulation, and ultraconservative Catholic values.
So: Monday begins the Occupation of the United States of America by domestic enemies that nostalgically still call themselves “the Republican Party.” It seems reasonable to expect that the Tweetster’s puppet masters will keep him out there as the 24/7 distraction while their Project 2025 plan to dismantle our democracy proceeds against the will of over half the country’s voters.
The fight begins in earnest…
lummi island wine tasting Jan 10 ’25
Wine Tasting Winter Hours: Fridays 4-6 pm
Had some sun today…nice light on the slough, see photo (while we muse on the ongoing frustration of being able to take digital pictures anytime and anywhere, but we can’t post them in our blogs because Google somehow owns them. Even so, the sun has been rare enough lately that the slough was particularly calm, reflective, and, if you look really closely, just a bit “ducky…”
Friday Bread This Week
Buckwheat Rye – Fresh milled buckwheat and rye flours are soaked for several hours without yeast in a method known as an autolyse. As buckwheat has no gluten and rye little, the autolyse allows the grain to start the fermenting process before the final mix, which is then fermented overnight in the refrigerator. The buckwheat/ rye soaker is then mixed with bread flour, salt and yeast and a bit of honey.– $5/loaf
Whole Grain Spelt Sweet Levain – Made with a levain, also known as sourdough, freshly milled whole wheat and whole spelt before mixing with bread flour as well as a nice combination of dried apricots, golden raisins, slivered almonds and both sunflower and flax seeds. Chock full of flavor! $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Individual Cinnamon Rolls – Made with a rich sweet roll dough of eggs, butter and sugar. The dough is rolled out, spread with pastry cream and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Then rolled up and sliced into individual rolls for baking. – 2/$5
Island Bakery has developed a rotation cycle of several dozen breads and pastries. Each Sunday the Bakery emails the week’s bread offering to the mailing list. Orders received before 5 pm Tuesday (and not already claimed) will be available for pickup at the wine shop Friday from 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Contact us at least two weeks before your visit to get on the bread list .
This week’s Wine Tasting
McManis Chardonnay ’22 CA $14
Lush and inviting with pure fruit flavors, voluptuous palate of peach, apricot, vibrant citrus, and melon and an easy, creamy texture with hints of vanilla and a smooth, lingering finish.
Goose Ridge g3 Red ’20 Washington $17
Syrah-cab-merlot blend; supple ripe plum and blackberry notes with hints of spice, vanilla, black currant and Bing cherry. Nicely balanced with a lush, round mouth and a long, lingering finish.
Chakana Estate Selection Malbec ’20 Argentina $20
Opaque, bright purple in color; pleasing nose of plums and spicy attic dust; full bodied palate of plums and spice with good length, balanced acidity, soft tannins, and lingering finish.
Economics of the Heart: Judge decides ferry lawsuit in Islanders’ favor…Let’s Party!
Yesterday morning we awakened to Peter’s post that the presiding judge in our October lawsuit had just ruled that the County did in fact illegally take $750,000 from ferry fare box revenue to pay for major infrastructure rebuilds in the last several years. We had argued that the plain language of the governing ordinance restricted expenses charged against fare revenue to “regular and routine” maintenance to the exclusion of major capital expenditures. This is a welcome conclusion to and vindication of several years of work that often felt futile.
As many of you know, the lawsuit followed from a conversation I had with Peter in the wine shop a couple of years ago when I showed him the ordinance in question and asked if the specificity of that wording ruled out charging fare revenue for unusually large, infrequent expenses generally associated with periodic replacement or upgrade of depreciable assets such as docks, engines, wingwalls, or landing dolphins. At that point he jumped in with both feet and started digging.
Many islanders kicked in donations for this legal challenge, while Peter (with a lot of lawyerly help from Jonathan) put together a polished and professional case. There are yet many details to be worked through, but ferry users are now due a substantial refund for excess fares paid over the past several years.
All YOU need to know is that this Friday’s wine tasting (today as you receive this post) is in honor of the hours, days, weeks, and months that Peter and Jonathan spent on our collective behalf. Come by, hug yer neighbors, ‘n’ hoist a toast to this wonderful community we share!!
lummi island wine tasting returns January 10
Reminder: Closed till January 10
Every year at this time we close the shop for end of year inventory. It’s a tedious affair, but grounding in its quiet drudgery.
Inventory has been made easier for having whittled down our inventory in recent years because of Covid, but for even longer because of the continuing impact of the “Costco laws” that have been systematically pushing small retailers like us out of the wine business since about 2015.
So, inventory is easier now than it once was, and since it demands a bit of quiet attention, it can even be a bit soothing. 🙂
Friday Bread Returns Jan 10
If you are on the bread mailing list, you should receive ordering info on Jan 5.
2025 will demand calm, tireless commitment to our Constitution and to each other while being deaf to distraction.
Best wishes to all for this holiday season and the coming year!
lummi island wine tasting dec winter solstice ’24
Wine Tasting hours through December
NOTES:
- We are open as usual Friday, Dec 20 for both wine tasting and bread pickup;
- Closed Dec 27 and Jan 3;
- Open for both wine tasting and bread pickup on Friday, Jan 10.
Below is a rare sunny winter solstice photo of a sunset over Orcas Island from our place, marking the year’s shortest day and sunset’s southernmost position before heading back north with more daylight and warmth…!
Friday Bread This Week
Italian Breakfast Bread – A sweetly delicious bread! Made with bread flour, eggs, yogurt, a little sugar and vanilla, with dried cranberries, golden raisins, and candied lemon peel. Perfect for breakfast toast or how about some Easter morning French Toast!? – $5/loaf
Cranberry Walnut Rolls – Something a bit different this week to help everybody get ready for Christmas. Dinner rolls, pick them up on Friday, throw in the freezer, then straight into the oven frozen just before dinner and have delicious fresh rolls for Christmas and I’ll do all the work. Or save for leftover turkey sandwiches, yummm. Made with bread flour, milk, brown sugar and eggs. Then loaded up with toasted walnuts and dried cranberries. 4/$5.
and pastry this week…
Cranberry Muffins – Inspired by a well known coffee shop’s cranberry bliss bars these muffins are made with all the traditional muffin ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, buttermilk and butter. A generous helping of fresh cranberries, toasted pecans, white chocolate chips and topped with a brown sugar streusel finish them off. Yum! – 4/$5.
Island Bakery has developed a rotation cycle of several dozen breads and pastries. Each Sunday the Bakery emails the week’s bread offering to the mailing list. Orders received before 5 pm Tuesday (and not already claimed) will be available for pickup at the wine shop Friday from 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Contact us at least two weeks before your visit to get on the bread list .
This week’s Wine Tasting
Since we have just received our annual shipment of Italian wines from our friends at Small Vineyards in West Seattle (ordered last summer sometime), it seems appropriate to open a few to celebrate the coming Holiday Season. All of the SV wines meet several criteria that distinguishes them from more familiar mass-produced wines. Those wines are each produced in small quantities by a family operated, sustainably farmed, single estate farm, with grapes picked by hand as they have been for generations. We are big fans, and always pleased to show them off.
Tre Donne Roero Arneis ’23 Italy $21
Pale golden yellow; soft aromas of orange blossom, honeysuckle, nectarine, and lemon verbena; flavors of pear, peach, quince, and green apple; enduring minerality and balanced acidity.
Brunelli Martoccia di Luca Rosso di Montalcino ’20 Italy $24
Classic, dignified structure with approachable, wonderfully bright fruit; bright nose of cranberry, cherry, and slate; smooth, integrated tannins, and thoughtful, composed finish.
Château de Crouseilles Madiran ’20 France $32
A big, bold, old vine blend of tannat, cab franc, and cab sauv, with a dense, inky core and slightly lighter rim; youthful nose of dark plum, kirsch, bay leaf, tobacco and mild oak, and a dense, restrained tannic structure of darker fruit with herbaceous and peppery flavors. A big wine.
Antonio Sanguineti Passo Santo White Dessert Wine Italy $18
Translated as Passo Santo (“blessed moment”) is a light dessert wine with aromas and flavors of toasted hazelnuts, caramel, honey, and dried apricot, pairing well with rich biscotti or crème
brûlée, and also zingy enough to pair nicely with cheese at the end of a meal.
Economics of the Heart: The Peculiar Karma of JD Vance
The ongoing dissonance of Maga Noise has caused us to pull way back from our evening news habits of the last few years. Scrolling through each day’s You Tube news offerings again dominated by the Tweetster is more than anyone can take, so we avoid it. It’s like having the front door suddenly blow open and having your house filled with running, squealing, grunting pigs wreaking havoc on your home and your mind, evoking the realization that no, you cannot– WILL not — continue to subject yourself to the 24/7 Maga Sh*t Stream.
So, we are definitely making some progress breaking away from the purposeful, ongoing, meaningless stream of dissonant Noise from billionaire-controlled news sources, and it is having a calming effect. Still looking for groups and sites and individuals who are telling verifiable truths online every day; we know they are out there.
Meanwhile, we are still trying to make sense of the new Maga Circus of Chaos. In particular, who benefits, and how, from having a bunch of idiots, fools, and full-on traitors running the day to day functioning of our very complex government? Every Cabinet member must have broad understanding and experience to keep each Department running. It all depends on the new Congress and the new Administration, but it’s hard to believe that there aren’t a handful of Republican Senators who will refuse to approve these bozo nominations.
Which brings us to incoming VP Vance, an interesting and pretty much unknown quantity, who has arrived at this position on a strange sequence of unlikely karmic events, including his book that mentioned several of them. He is particularly interesting because everybody knows the Tweetster is losing whatever “mind” he ever had, and is completely incapable of actual executive activities. One would hope that Project 2025 has some fences around his playground such that he gets the constant coverage but they pull the levers. (of course, that might actually be worse…) So it is not a huge leap to imagine that Vance was picked as VP so Trump can be Article 25’d by his cabinet when necessary, and Vance would be their new guy.
Despite his personal memoir on his youth, Vance maintains a certain opacity. At the same time we know he had some interesting formative experiences that will continue to have an effect on his character and how he handles his new job as VP. Of particular significance is his stint in the Marine Corps right out of high school. As reported by Drew Lawrence in an article in military.com :
“In his 2016 book “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” which recounted his childhood in working-class Ohio, Vance said that his “final two years in the Marines flew by and were largely uneventful,” though he recalled two instances during his service that changed him.
- One was meeting with local Iraqis during his deployment there, which he said helped change his perspective on gratitude. The other was more of a “constant,” he wrote — about the mindset he learned while in the Corps where he reflected on climbing obstacles, buying cars as a young enlisted Marine without locking in to a 21% loan interest rate, and his role as a combat correspondent.
- “The Marine Corps demanded that I think strategically about these decisions, and then it taught me how to do so,” he wrote. “When I joined the Marine Corps, I did so in part because I wasn’t ready for adulthood. I didn’t know how to balance a checkbook, much less how to complete the financial aid forms for college. Now I knew exactly what I wanted out of my life and how to get there.”
It has been my experience that military vets in general, and Marines in particular, develop a particular sense of pride, camaraderie, and commitment that defines them for life. So even though I have not seen anything in Vance’s public behavior to illustrate it, I am convinced those things have to be there, and find some comfort in believing there are lines that, like Mike Pence, honor will not let him cross. I hope.
In addition, in his years in venture capital, Vance has rubbed shoulders with some very wealthy, bright, imaginative people who seem to have had an influence, including in particular libertarian billionaire Peter Thiel, who was something of a mentor and consequential donor to his Senate campaign. But at some point Thiel felt that Vance was going too far with Trump, and did not support his VP candidacy.
Admittedly this isn’t much to count on, but we find comfort where we can. It is interesting that this guy has come out of nowhere and very possibly assume the Presidency should the Tweetster become legally incompetent (as well as, you know, intellectually and morally…).
Until I see otherwise, I think it is better than even odds to expect that if push really comes to shove, Vance’s inner Marine would more likely than not show up and do the more honorable thing.
2072 Granger Way