lummi island wine tasting april 10 ’19
note: some photos may link to larger formats when clicked…
Friday Breads This Week
Sonnenblumenbrot – aka Sunflower Seed Bread Made with an overnight pre-ferment before mixing the final dough with freshly milled rye, then loaded up with toasted sunflower seeds and some barley malt syrup for a typical German seed bread- $5/loaf
Pain Meunier – Made with pre-fermented dough it contains all portions of the wheat berry: flour, fresh milled whole wheat, cracked wheat and wheat germ. Always a favorite and a great all around bread. It makes the best toast! – $5/loaf
And pastry this week…
Traditional Croissants – No filling, nothing fancy, just delicious french pastry made with a levain as well as pre-fermented dough – The final dough is made with more flour, butter, milk and sugar, and laminated with more butter before being cut and shaped into traditional french croissants. 2/$5
Saturday Concert April 20!
Make your plans now! Our Annual Spring Concert with singer-songwriter-minstrel Robert Sarazin Blake! This year’s concert will be from 2-4pm on Saturday, April 20 in the wine shop!
As Robert’s many local followers know, he is a modern-day troubadour who travels widely (mostly here in the Pacific Northwest , Germany, and Ireland) to share his craft, very often in pub atmospheres like our dear wine shop. And to all venues he brings his sonorous voice, open heart, wry humor, and engaging songs to weave a web of well-being around you. For those of you who have not attended any of our concerts, know that our little shop is a great venue for Robert’s style, which is is always engaging and energizing. Learn more about Robert’s music here.
Suggested performance donation is a modest $20 per person, and a selection of wines will be available by the glass. And since space is very limited, please confirm reservations soon!
Please note our regular Saturday wine tasting will follow the concert, from 4-6pm.
This Year’s Robin, cont’d
We mentioned last week that a robin was brooding three eggs in a new nest above our entryway porch. The robin is still there, and as yet we have seen no signs of hatchlings. In theory the eggs should hatch within a couple of weeks, and it is now two weeks since we got home from our trip and found the new nest.
She is getting somewhat used to us, seeming less compelled to drop silently out of the nest, fly to a nearby tree, and sing to distract us from the nest. So everything seems to be unfolding as it should. Still, we find ourselves glancing up at the nest frequently, hoping to see or hear signs of a successful hatch.
So we fuss over Another little Local Drama…Spring comes, the grass grows by itself…!
Mar a Lago Update: The Jig is Up
Intensive Ongoing Research continues to confirm that at the End of the Day, which might occur much sooner than we have generally imagined, the impacts of Our Species on Global Climate might well cause Mass Extinction of most living species– including ours– currently inhabiting our Dear Planet Earth.
We have known about the Existential Threats posed by our unrestrained burning of vast amounts of fossil fuels for at least forty years, but our Leaders have chosen to ignore them. We are, after all, a “social species,” which apparently means we are at least as persuaded by the effects of our actions on our Standing in the Social Hierarchy Right Now as we are by what Reason has to say about the Distant Future, like, you know, a week from Tuesday.
We are reminded of the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare—(skip the ad for a surprisingly timely rendition) except that in the current case– in contrast to the Moral of the Fable– the Short-sighted Hares have taken almost complete Political Control of much of the world. Given that there are indeed lots of ego-driven Hares out there, our compelling Question– both Political and Existential– is How can We possibly Survive?
It is one thing to be skeptical about Opinions. It is an entirely different thing to be in Denial about, as Al Gore called them, “Inconvenient Truths.” Seriously, how can a person have lived through the last thirty years and not Get It that: Storms are getting Worse; Habitats are getting too dry, wet, hot, or cold to support the species which have lived there for Millennia; cycles of wet-dry-hot-cold are making the production of food more difficult in many places where it had been Easy; and long-established patterns of human development and habitation along coastlines and rivers have been increasingly devastated by flooding from increased rainfall, higher tides, and more powerful winds, all of which will continue to worsen for a long time even if we act now to slow the rate of change.
The takeaway here is this: anyone who doesn’t Get It that Global Warming is an Immediate Existential Threat to Life as Our Species has always known it is Part of the Problem in a time when we Most Desperately need Solutions. It is futile to argue with them, and time to move on without them.
Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date: 9,451 as of 4/1/19\
This week’s wine tasting
Lasso Bianco ’16 Portugal $12
Apples, green plums and peaches round out lemon zest acidity in this soft, fruity white wine. It is ready for drinking, finishing with an attractive warm finish.
Bieler Bandol Rosé ’17 France $17
Grenache-Syrah blend; soft and bright, with plenty of red-berry and currant flavors. Its fruitiness and balanced acidity make for an immediately attractive, easy wine.
Indaba Merlot ’15 South Africa $10
Crafted in a fresh, pure style, this velvety Merlot seduces with aromas and bright, juicy flavors of cherry, dark berry and plum backed by subtle mocha and herbal nuances and a delicate minerality.
Carmen Carmenere ’16 Chile $16
Aromas of fresh berries, baking spices and chocolate get this wine going; full bodied yet balanced, with toasty black fruit flavors with grip and intensity.
Seghesio Zinfandel Angela’s Garden ’17 $19
Nose has ripe bing cherries with a bit of leather that expand on the palate to ripe maraschino and Rainiers. Youthful and bright with a surprising depth of flavor and a youthful finish.
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2072 Granger Way