lummi island wine tasting aug 18-19 ’23
Hours this weekend: Friday & Saturday, August 18-19, 4-6 pm
This week’s wine tasting:
Abacela Albarino ’22 Washington $22
Bright fruit with aromas of pineapple, pear, lemon and nectarine, crisp acidity,and juicy stone and tropical fruit flavors.
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.
Toso Reserve Malbec ’18 Argentina $21
Elegant and balanced with good concentration and ripeness; focused, clean notes of blackberry, plum, and ripe, dark cherries; a plush, elegant mouthfeel, easy tannins, and lingering notes of leather and Spring soil.
Friday Bread Pickup This Week
Buckwheat Rye – Fresh milled buckwheat and rye flours are soaked for several hours without any yeast in a method known as an autolyse to start the fermenting process and really gets the enzymes going before the final mix – which is then fermented overnight in the refrigerator. The buckwheat, rye soaker is mixed with bread flour, salt and yeast and a bit of honey.– $5/loaf
Whole Grain Spelt Sweet Levain – Made with a levain preferment of freshly milled whole wheat and whole spelt before mixing with bread flour along with dried apricots, golden raisins, slivered almonds, and sunflower and flax seeds. Chock full of flavor!
and pastry this week…
Chocolate Babka Rolls – A sweet pastry dough full of eggs, butter and sugar, rolled and spread with a chocolate filling, rolled up and cut into individual rolls that are placed in baking forms for baking and then brushed with sugar syrup after baking. 2/$5
To get on the bread order list, click the “Contact Us” link above and fill out the form. Each week’s bread menu is sent to the list each Sunday, for ordering by Tuesday, for pickup on Friday. Simple, right..? If you will be visiting the island and would like to order bread for your visit, at least a week’s notice is recommended for pickup the following Friday.
Wine of the Week: Abacela Albarino ’22 Washington $22
Abacela founder Earl Jones wanted grow Spanish wine varietals in the Pacific Northwest, after his comprehensive research taught him that the the climate in Spain where tempranillo thrives couldn’t be matched in California. Tempranillo vines need a hot growing season between mid-April and October, but cool nights and little rain before harvest in late October, and before the first frost.
His comprehensive research led him to plant Tempranillo (1995) and Albariño (2000) grapes at his Fault Line Vineyards near Roseburg, OR, chosen for its specific micro-climate and soils proving that the varietals can thrive in the Pacific Northwest. Since then, the vineyards have expanded to 25 acres of tempranillo and 12 acres devoted to albariño, along with other site/climate-matched varietals including grenache, malbec, and syrah.
Currently Abecela produces about 2,000 cases of albariño each vintage. It makes a bright, lively, and flavorful white wine with typical aromas and flavors of apple, pear, and white peach, with bright acidity and a pleasant salinity that spreads out the finish: a great summer sipper with lots of afternoon dishes.
Economics of the Heart: Fascism Comes to America
The past 100 years of human history have shown us the pros and cons of various socio-political systems. Much of the last century was a transition from monarchy to various forms of “elected” government. After all, any social system requires a set of rules that its members are either content to follow (or are forced to follow) in the interest of meeting the population’s needs. In our own nation there has been an ongoing philosophical division between Republican support for the business/finance interests of the wealthy, and Democratic support for the interests of everyone else.
In the past decade or two we have seen increasing conflict of values about what is important or not, what is fair or foul, true or false, right or wrong, cruel or just, legal or illegal, deserving or undeserving, noble or corrupt, worthy or unworthy. We have seen our two-party political landscape morph from reasoned argument to entitled assertion, from structured discussion to infantile rant, from conducting the people’s business to keeping the people’s business from being conducted. All of these things are brought even more starkly into relief by the fascisization of Republican politics and the resultant multiple criminal charges against the Tweetster, who meets or exceeds all the qualifications for a Fascist leader.
Every Fascist leader of the last century built around themselves a cult of personality, and this is not lost on fascism scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat who gives Mussolini credit for creating the mold: “Mussolini would strip his shirt off in newsreels, engaging cheering fans in idolizing their leader.” link
“The primary way the early fascists got to power was by killing off and intimidating their primary rivals, the Socialists, with their own “Squadrists” — terrorists who would descend upon towns in trucks, uniformed in black shirts — had knives and they killed thousands of people in the years 1919 to 1922. The killing went on after Mussolini became prime minister…landowners and businessmen in particular supported the suppression of socialism.” link
Today in our own country and around the world we see an increasing number of world leaders that bear these Fascist characteristics —the hyper-nationalism, the leader cult, the undermining of the independence of the judiciary. And it is happening right here, right now in our own country. Today’s Republican Party has no platform other than Trumpism and limiting the rights of women, immigrants, and people of color, while bowing to the wishes of Corporations and billionaires.
Pretty existential stuff…
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