lummi island wine tasting april 16-17 ’21 — easing into reopening
(Some photos may enlarge when clicked)
Bread This Week
Toasted Pecan & Flax Seed – This bread is a little different than most of the levain breads that I make as it is made with a starter that is fed with rye flour instead of wheat flour which creates a different flavor profile. The final dough adds bread and whole wheat flour, toasted pecans, flax seeds and honey for a very flavorful bread – $5/loaf.
Heidebrot – A great country rye bread made with about half bread flour and half fresh milled rye with a rye levain. With no other additions the rye flavor really shines in this bread. Great bread with meats and cheese – $5/loaf.
Kouign Aman: As with croissants, has both a little levain for the sourdough flavor as well as some pre-fermented dough to help build strength. When rolling out however, instead of using flour to prevent sticking, sugar is used. The dough is cut into squares and baked in cupcake tins where all that sugar and butter caramelizes and makes for delicious, crunchy, delightful pastry. – 2/$5
It’s Here…Partial Reopening!!
We are happy to report that we will be reopening for limited hours for both wine tasting and sales Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17. from 4-6pm. For this initial opening we will limit attendance inside the wine shop to those who completed their Covid vaccine sequence before April 1. Tastings will be available outside for the unvaccinated and the cautious.
For our reopening weekend we will offer a complimentary wine tasting selection of three wines (see notes below). Whether you taste them inside or outside, we thank you celebrating the beginning of a return to normalcy. Without all of you, this entire venture would be pointless. We have missed you, your collective energy, your wisdom, and your humanity. It may be a while till we get back to a comfortable and relaxed normality, but for sure this is a Milestone Marker on the way to a new Normal.
Since there has NOT been a general All Clear on Covid, we are all still obligated to avoid crowding, yelling, coughing, cackling, hooting, spitting, or singing in proximity to people outside your “pod.” We are all looking forward to seeing each other (and maybe copping a few hugs!) again, but for the time being we prefer that our guests avoid crowding around the bar as in pre-Covid, but spread out into the shop in smaller groups.
Bread pickup will continue on Fridays from 4-5:30 outside the shop. Our new shelter (see photo, left, is a definite upgrade in strength and functionality from the previous one we have been using since last October (you know, when it got too dark in the ferry parking lot!)
The Economics of the Heart – Pundit Fatigue
We didn’t notice it was or ever would be a lasting “thing” when it first started. Well, yes and no. It has taken many years to become what it is today, when we all can see clearly that yes, it IS a Thing, but now it is so commonplace that it is accepted as a fundamental aspect of Reality, like the color of the sky or the state of liquid water.
The “Thing” is everyday garden variety, Fact v. Punditry, which used to be called, in an innocent and parochial way, “News.” We elders can remember when the “news” was Cronkite or Brinkley describing events as they had occurred on a particular day, around a certain time, at a particular place. The news was what you clipped out of the newspaper, memorized, and took to class in case you got called on to talk about Current Events. It was the descriptive narrative that grounded us in a common, everyday Reality. Remember that?
Of course there have always been editorial opinions trying to tease meaning and intention, whether noble or nefarious, from the day’s events. For some years now, however, the business of News has become the business of polarization as entertainment, reaching a crescendo in the now Bygone Tweetster Era that coined the phrase (we are not making this up) “alternative facts.”
All of this is to say that to be informed and useful, citizens need to know– and agree– on the essential parameters of the Reality we all share. Even though we acknowledge and appreciate different opinions on the Meaning of events, if we cannot agree on the factual parameters of the events we can’t communicate about them.
While we are all enjoying the comparative serenity of our new government, there is still a nagging feeling that our society may have become unmoored from a common view of Reality itself. Like the myth of the Tower of Babel, today’s internet Reality has become a cacophony of dissonance from 8 billion souls all talking at once, and we are all feeling the need for a quiet, soul-restoring anchorage.
This week’s wine tasting…!!
Ryan Patrick Rock Island Chardonnay ’18 Washington $15
Golden straw color; aromas and flavors of wildflowers, crisp apples, honey, and freshly baked cinnamon roll with a round, crisp, medium body and a graceful finish of sumac-spiced croutons; an appetizing, full-bodied Chardonnay.
La Vielle Ferme Rosé ’20 France $10
Classic and tasty blend of grenache, syrah, and cinsault from northern Provence; fruity, dry, crisp, delicious, and smooth, and at a bargain price!
Flying Trout Grenache NV Washington $15
100% grenache; dark burgundy in color, with aromas and flavors of ripe dark plum and blackberry with lingering notes of clove and cinnamon. Soothing and seductive, this wine offers a lot of value for its modest price.
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2072 Granger Way
