lummi island wine tasting april 20 ’18
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Pain au Levain – Made with a nice mix of bread flour and freshly milled whole wheat and rye flours. After building the sourdough and mixing the final dough it gets a long cool overnight ferment in the refrigerator. This really allows the flavor to develop in this bread. A great all around bread – $5/loaf
Cinnamon Raisin – Made with a nice mix of bread flour and freshly milled whole wheat as well as rolled oats. Some honey for sweetness, a little milk for a tender crumb and loaded with raisins and a healthy dose of cinnamon. This is not a rich sweet bread with a swirl of cinnamon sugar, the cinnamon is mixed in and to flavor the entire bread and it is a hearty rustic loaf. Great for breakfast toast, even better for french toast – $5/loaf
And pastry this week…
Brioche au Chocolate – A rich brioche dough made with plenty of butter, eggs and sugar, rolled out and spread with pastry cream before sprinkling with dark chocolate. The dough is folded over all that delicious filling and cut into individual pieces. As with all pastry quantities are limited so if you want these delightful pastries be sure and get your order in early. 2/$5
Concert This Weekend!
Our Spring Concert with singer-songwriter-minstrel Robert Sarazin Blake is filling up but there are still a few spaces left: from 4-6 pm this Sunday, April 22 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 and in 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.
Suggested performance donation is a modest $15 per person, and a selection of wines will be available by the glass. And since space is very limited, please confirm reservations soon!
Learn more about Robert’s music here.
April Flowers
Just down the street is a beautiful flowering plum tree (or is it cherry?) that has grown into a bonsai-like shape next to the road. Each year around this time it Puffs Out. rich with Blossoms, perfect in its Leggy Asymmetry. It has become an annual Icon of Spring, buds slowly taking shape, and then over a day or two Bursting into Full Bloom.
Up close each blossom shows its own personality…
Further along on the same walk
On a well-work path
We find this array of mushrooms,
More little Miracles,
Graceful Parasols in the Afternoon Sun.
Mar a Lago Update: A Few More Stops at WTF Station
Some while back we mused about the Parallels between the Tweetster’s “Government” and the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. You will recall that Time had marooned the Hatter, the March Hare, and Dormouse in an Eternal Teatime where although Chaos and Contradiction are the ruling principles, one is tantalized to suspect that some mostly incomprehensible sense of order might still exist if only we could grasp it.
In recent days the world has presented us with a series of neck-snapping, double-taking, “are you kidding me” moments in which whatever Shreds of Reality we have been clinging to for the past year have been crumbling like Graham Crackers in Hot Cocoa, a kind of soupy, Irretrievable Mess of Goo.
These scenes include the Tweetster’s “lawyer” Michael Cohen linked to Tweetsqueteer Sean Hannity of Fox News; a growing trail of bizarre “business expenses” rung up by EPA head Scott Pruitt, like Teams of Bodyguards to accompany him Everywhere; the Appearance of Stormy Daniels and her Lawyer just about Everywhere, like Surreal Punctuation Marks around everything the Tweetster does; the Release and Feeding Frenzy around ex-FBI Director James Comey’s new book, its Meaning, and the Tweetstorm it has evoked, and of course, the promised International Date between the Trumpster and North Korea’s Un-er.
Like the Hatter’s Tea Party, and like the Twilight Zone, different Rules are in play here, and No One Can Guess what will happen next. Our Hope: that the Tweetster and the Un-er meet and Get Along to the point that they decide to Swap Haircuts and Costumes, you know, for a day or so. Maybe do a few Skits together, or a little dance routine. Yes, we’d all think, “Are they Cute or What…?”
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This week’s wine tasting
Joel Gott Gruner Veltliner ’15 Washington $14
Aromas of apple, Asian pear, and Meyer lemon with a hint of white pepper. On the front of the palate, citrus and tart green apple flavors are followed by crisp minerality on the mid-palate, and a bright, refreshing finish.
Dom. Fontsainte Gris de Gris Rose ’17 France $16
Crystalline salmon color with amethyst tints; aromas of raspberry, cherry, and freshly picked strawberries, followed by exotic aromas of pineapple and mango. On the palate, direct and fresh as the density and richness of the fruit mingle with superb acidity. Stunningly balanced.
Monte Tondo Veneto Corvina ’16 Italy $12
Ruby red colour; bright lively nose with fresh cherry, black berry and black pepper hints; medium-bodied with moderate acidity and supple, well-integrated tannin – well balanced, dark fruit core with cherry, dark chocolate and spicy notes. moderate length with a smooth, seductive finish and a spicy aftertaste.
Chateau de Cabriac Corbieres ’14 France $14
Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Grenache; aromas of black berry fruits; palate shows blackcurrant, blackberry and hints of coffee. The flavors continue to develop to a dense and powerful finish.
Clos La Coutale Cahors ’15 France $16
Amalaya vineyards sit a mile above sea level in the Andes where extreme conditions stress the sustainably farmed vines, delivering fruit of intense flavor of rich red fruits and a hint of spice with soft, approachable tannins.
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2072 Granger Way