lummi island wine tasting aug 8 ’20

Posted at August 6, 2020

click on photos for larger images

New: Saturday Outdoor Wine Tastings By Appointment!

We have tidied up the wine shop entrance area to accommodate limited Saturday afternoon outdoor wine tasting appointments for two parties of up to four people each. To minimize overlap between groups we are scheduling the first group for 2:30 and the second at 4:00. Tasting fee is $5 each for a flight of four wines. Social distancing rules will be observed, and hand sanitizer will be provided. See guidelines below.

Social Distancing Rules:

1. Everyone must wear a mask whenever they are not seated;
2. Groups sharing a table must be a “pod” like a family or close friends that regularly share space together or otherwise take responsibility for managing social distance within their group; and
3. Everyone agrees not to arrive before their appointment begins and to leave before it ends.

Obviously seating is very limited; call number next to our logo (above, right) or email us at info@artisanwineclub.com to make a reservation.

 

Wine Shopping: Online or By Appointment

We are grateful for the continuing support of your phone and email wine orders while the Shutdown continues. We think we have put together a worthy selection of better-than-average-for-the-price wines to suit the demands of this stressful time.

Wine orders can be ordered by email or by phone for pick up here at the wine shop by arrangement, or during Friday Bread Pickup at the ferry parking lot. Just click on the “Order Wine” heading at the top of this page for a partial list of our current offerings.

When you have made selections, you can submit an order as follows:

 

 

Chateau de Donjon, an Old Favorite Back in Stock

Back in October 2011, driving north from Carcasonne, we tracked down an old winery called Chateau Donjon, in the somewhat rustic region of Minervois. It was located in an old castle-and-former-monastery dating back to the 12th century, and less than 30 minutes from Carcasonne. We had  been buying these wines for several years, enjoying their reliable quality and modest prices, the two most important characteristics of wines we prefer to carry.

As it turned out, we arrived around mid-day on a Sunday, and knocked on the Door (which was ajar) (remember, this building is essentially a huge medieval castle, with a huge door like an old Cathedral!). As there was no answer, we were heading  back to the car when the door opened and we met Jean Panis, the owner-winemaker, whose family had been making wine there for five hundred (we are not making this up!) years! Though the place was officially closed, he gave us a very brief tour and tasting in what must be one of the oldest rooms we have ever been in. Might have been a dungeon, or prayer room, or who-knows-what back in the 12th century.

The whole interaction took less than a half hour, yet felt like a very kind gift. Indeed, after we had left and were driving away, M. Panis came jogging across the street with a bottle of wine for us. Charmant, n’est-ce pas?  All you need to know is that the wine he gave us is one we have carried for many years, and of which we have just restocked the most recent vintage. It tastes like Real Wine, and some of us are quite fond of it!

Chateau du Donjon “Grande Tradition” Minervois 2016  France     $15
Powerful primary aromas of ripe black fruit and hints of strawberry/raspberry. Very dense on the palate, with black fruit and red cherry flavors. Firm, structured and exceptionally rich.

 

Mar a Lago Update: Stressful Times

A recent update from the American Psychological Association (APA) predicts the mental health effects of stress caused by the Covid pandemic will be serious and slow to heal. Their recent national poll found that nearly half of American parents are experiencing stress levels between 8 and 10 on a ten-point scale (higher than non-parents) suggesting that managing education at home during school closures on top of providing for basic family needs during the economic slowdown are constant burdens.

Similarly, a related article in the NY Times (lost link) discussed the effects of stress that all of us have been feeling as familiar routines and social contact have been disrupted for so long. When we add our most recent six months of the pandemic to the previous three years of Reality-Twisting Mad-Hatter-ness from the White House, we can see how completely Reasonable it is for us to feel adrift, worried, confused, and helpless.

Sadly, it has been clear from Day One that neither this Administration nor its loyal Republican members of Congress have even dimly grasped the magnitude of the threat posed by the virus nor embraced a cogent national response. They assured us the virus was not serious, predicted it would simply disappear, downplayed the need for masks, and pressured governors to reopen businesses and schools even while daily new cases were still rising.

According to one estimate based on outcomes in Australia, early focus on testing, social distancing, and quarantines could have saved the lives of most of the 150,000 Americans who have died and will continue to die from the virus under this Administration. So the truth turns out to be not only that the T could shoot not just one person on Fifth Avenue and walk away, he has killed over 150,000 of us with his unaccountable Stupidity and Hubris, and nothing whatsoever has changed! It is hard to grasp the magnitude of what this Nation has lost in the past four years in honor, in trust, in respect, in intelligence, in loyalty, and in friendship, all lost to ignorance and personal ego, the pettiest of reasons.

This leaves us in what feels like our weakest position of the past four years. As the election approaches, we can feel the Rules we have counted on and taken for granted all our lives as our Solid Foundation looking vulnerable and under attack from the highest levels, from the White House and Congress, through the Executive Departments and even the Supreme Court. Things could get Very Ugly over the next couple of months as Republicans amp up their vote-rigging operations across the nation, closing polls here, losing ballots there, disenfranchising voters here, finding uncounted favorable ballots there. Not to mention launching attacks, declaring martial law, cancelling the election altogether, or disappearing the opposition. There is cause for concern, and we all feel it.

On a positive note, there are more of us than there are of them, and every year for the next decade or two that trend is likely to continue based on simple demographics. No one really knows Why TF any sane person would become a Republican, but whatever those reasons are, their numbers are dwindling as the nation grows more culturally diverse. If we’re very lucky, maybe they will all run to a cliff and throw themselves into the sea while smugly thumbing their noses. And we would all Cheer wholeheartedly at the sincerity of their Vision. Nothing personal. Just, you know, the Darwin thing.

 

Wine Tasting

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