lummi island wine tasting aug 13 ’21
Please note: The wine shop will be closed next weekend (August 20-21). Bread pickup will happen as usual from 4-5:30, but there will be no wine tasting either Friday or Saturday. We regret any inconvenience.
Current Covid Protocols
Since the highly contagious Covid Delta variant has been infecting even vaccinated people, we have all been forced to assume that contact with anyone outside our immediate pod is a potential threat– and vice versa.
Weighing the various risks, we will be open this weekend as usual (Fri- Sat, 4-6 pm), but with several restrictions for participation.
- Indoor tasting: You must have completed a Covid vaccine sequence at least a month ago AND You must have had little or no unmasked contact with off-island groups in the past week.
- Outdoor tasting on the deck: You must have completed a Covid vaccine sequence at least a month ago, AND wear masks and maintain thoughtful social distancing
Friday Bread
Each Friday our friend Janice of Island Bakery delivers fresh bread ordered by email earlier in the week. Each Sunday she sends details on her offerings for the coming Friday to the email list. Orders must be returned to her by 5 pm on Tuesday. Subscribers typically receive the email with the the current week’s choices on Sunday, and have until 5pm Tuesday to get their orders in for pickup at the wine shop the following Friday from 4-5:30.
Over the years she has established a list of several dozen breads and pastries from which she selects two different artisan breads and a pastry each week. Over several years she has established a somewhat cyclical rotation through the recipes.
If you would like to be on the mailing list, click on the Contact Us link at the top of the page.
Wines of the Week: Antech Blanquette de Limoux and Antech ‘Emotion’ Cremant de Limoux Rosé
Antech has been making sparkling wines in the Limoux region of France for six generations. Its Blanquette de Limoux is made from Mauzac, the original varietal used for making sparkling wines in France, plus chardonnay and chenin blanc using practices developed in Limoux long before sparkling wine was ever made in the Champagne region.
In the Ancestral Method, the grapes are harvested by hand when almost overripe. Fermentation takes place at low temperature, until the juice reaches a modest alcohol content of 5%. The Ancestral Method then uses a second fermentation lasting several weeks, using only the residual sugars from the first fermentation until the wine reaches 6 or 7% alcohol.
This Blanquette offers an interesting and tasty example of this original style of French sparkling wine. The method and the use of the original grape mauzac yield a taste that symbolizes the terroir, traditions and history of Limoux. Its straw yellow color, twirling bubbles, and sparkling reflections are irresistible, and the palate is lively with notes of juicy apple and grape.
Emotion Cremant de Limoux Rosé uses the same ancestral method, but adds to the mauzac the more traditional French sparkling wine blend of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Pinot Noir, matured on the lees for 18 months to add complexity and richness to the finished wine.
Economics of the Heart: Shadows of the Future
There’s a lot going on right now, a lot of unanticipated challenges, as the simplest things are becoming more and more complicated and starting to adhere to each other like a cloud of butterflies with sticky wings. Today has been a good illustration.
We are taking our trailer to Oregon next week to help the kids move from Corvallis to Portland. As we all know, moving is an exhausting experience. We are all pack rats of a sort, impulsively collecting and clinging to various shiny objects of momentary desire: a particular stone on a beach, an old photograph, a ball of string, and we don’t like to leave them behind.
We wanted to get ourselves Covid-tested before we go, so a few days ago we spent an hour or two online setting up appointments for tests at Northwest Labs drive-thru setup at the airport this afternoon (Thursday). We successfully navigated the always-unexpected delays of Ferry Refueling Day and only waited an hour to get across.
At the airport drive-thru we found that it had closed unexpectedly “due to air quality issues ” as two employees manning the station required emergency assistance. And while we sat there trying to figure out what to do next, we both noticed the intense heat surrounding us and permeating the car, as if the thousands of square feet of pavement had absorbed it all into a smothering furnace, creating an overwhelming desire to escape. A sobering experience.
Next we drove to the nearby clinic that had set up the airport testing, and found a number of people with our same frustrations. One fellow got angry and threatening toward the clinic spokesperson, who had to duck in the door and get support. Very disturbing, we are all wound up so tight.
In the meantime, I got up at 3 am to look at the Perseid meteor shower, only to find the sky to hazy for viewing. That continued all day today beginning with an eerie red dawn and ending with a more eerie red crescent moonset due to the smoke of widespread wildfires, which are part of the smoke that makes the sunrise and moonset red, and makes us long for normality. And we know now that we are in a race with natural systems and a battle with each other to wake tf up, check our egos at the door, and get to work preserving precious Life on this tiny and isolated refuge we call, simply, Earth, our only Home.
And on top of it all, there is the continued dehumanization of interpersonal trade. As we do our best to navigate the churning waters of Covid and climate change, politics and power, wealth and despair, we have come to measure Progress by the length of time it takes to reach an actual human being when we have a problem with a website, a bank, a government agency, a merchant, a product, or a service…”please listen carefully, as our menu items may have changed…”
This week’s $5 tasting:
Antech ‘Emotion’ Cremant de Limoux Rosé ’18 France $15
Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Mauzac, and Pinot Noir; matured on the lees for 18 months to add complexity and richness.
Antech Blanquette de Limoux Reserve Blanc ’16 magnum France $32
Expresses the typicity, richness and roundness of the “Mauzac” grape variety and traditional method of the region. Pale yellow color with green reflections; fruity, round, and balanced, with aromas of green apple and white fruits.
Bocelli Sangiovese ’18 Italy $16
Bright, lush, and appealing; deliciously ripe and smoky, with notes of marasca cherry, granite, and rhubarb compote. Finish is long and dry, with admirable acidity that makes the palate taut and pleasing.
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2072 Granger Way