lummi island wine tasting august 15 ’20

Posted at August 13, 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.

The photo at left was posted on Yelp by our very first tasting group several weeks ago (was that Sweet, or what?!). The Saturday weather has been good, and each Saturday has been Deeply Restorative to be able to hang out with a few of you again for a bit. After all, spending time with all of you each week is really the only reason we have been doing this all these years; so even with appropriate distancing it really helps fill a tank that has been too empty for too many months!

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:

 

 

 

 

Pic St. Loup

Pic St Loup

At a recent tasting we poured an old favorite, the Chateau Lancyre Pic St. Loup Rosé. As usual each year, it hit the spot for those who tasted it— you lucky few who had made reservations for our limited (dare we say…exclusive…?) seating during Covid!

Whenever we offer a wine from this little region a short drive north from Montpelier, we can’t help mentioning a certain fascination with the appellation. Visible in the photo, the “Pic” is a 640-meter “Tooth” of Granite that dominates the view for miles in every direction, powerful, beautiful, vaguely remote, and totally dedicated to the grapes on its flanks.

The wines from Pic St. Loup must be predominantly syrah, grenache, and mourvedre (as in nearby Southern Rhone) and fairly consistently have a certain gravitas. The vines must be at least six years old (not the usual three) before considered mature enough for making red wines, but are perfect for making excellent rosé!). Vineyards are scattered among rugged hills sloping up from the Mediterranean and the climate tends to be cooler and wetter than elsewhere in Languedoc due to the influence of Atlantic winds and rain from the West and North.

Typically, Pic St. Loup reds show deep color and satisfying depth of flavor, with bold, spicy, and earthy complexity. They also tend to display more elegance and refinement than wines from the hotter Languedoc plains to the south. This week we are pouring (among other things) the Chateau la Roque Pic-St. Loup Rouge, a blend of 65% Grenache, 25% Syrah, annd 10% Mourvèdre.

As one reviewer puts it, “Perhaps it’s the horse-farmed, chemical-free vineyards, far from present-day pollutants, or perhaps it’s the minimalist winemaking and unfiltered bottling, but there is something timeless to La Roque’s Pic Saint Loup, its herbal bouquet and rich, fleshy texture, all free from any hint of modern trappings.”

Chateau la Roque Rouge ’17   France   $18
 65% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre. A lithe and expressive red, with fine balance   and well-structured flavors of dried cherry, plum and boysenberry, featuring hints of tarragon and cream on the finish.

 

Mar a Lago Update: Domestic Enemy #1

As he crossed the Rubicon from Gaul back into Roman lands in 49 BC in defiance of orders not to return to Rome, Julius Caesar is reputed to have said, “Alea iacta est!”— The die is cast! That action began a five-year war that would transform the 700 year-old Roman Republic into the Roman Empire, creating karmic currents that still drive human history.

We seem to be at such a moment in the history of our own country, in which our current “leader” has just this week crossed his own Rubicon, boldly admitting (bragging…?) that he was taking deliberate action ( appointing one of his Yes-Men to be in charge) to keep the US Postal Service from reliably being able to collect, sort, secure, and deliver mail-in ballots in the upcoming November election for the very Seat of Power that he now holds and wants to keep holding.

At present our own State of Washington is one of five (plus Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, and Utah…huh? Utah??) that do only mail-in balloting. It is easy and has many built-in safeguards, including what some of us consider the Gold Standard of Voting: a physical, verifiable paper ballot that can easily be audited to confirm its validity. Moreover, you can vote two or three weeks before the actual election (makes  collating and counting easier), and you don’t have to drive somewhere or wait in a line to vote. In short, it’s the most secure system yet devised.

It is also well established that changing demographics in the U.S. are becoming increasingly unfavorable to traditional Republican “values.” To paraphrase an old cartoon, picture a Boomer Mom of the Fifties in her “modern” kitchen with her young daughter, who asks “Mommy, is it true that Republicans have Hearts of Stone?” To which Mommy replies warmly, “No, dear…Republicans don’t have hearts.” In response to the erosion of their traditional base, over the past twenty years we have seen Republican politicians across the country focus on grotesque gerrymandering, voter suppression tactics, national manipulation of state legislatures by the Koch brothers lobbying group ALEC, slanderous reporting on Fox and Right Wing radio, and increasing affinity with authoritarian foreign states.

Here we are today, a few months away from perhaps the most pivotal election in our Nation’s history, and our already-once-impeached and so-called President has today declared with full confidence in his Godlike Authority (and almost certainly backed up by 99% of Congressional Republicans) that he is taking deliberate action to make sure that voting by mail in the November election fails to deliver a convincing outcome. This will likely involve attempts to use the Postal Service to lose ballots, suffer weeks-long delays in reporting results, and creating issues in many states that challenge the validity of election results.

And from the resulting chaos, the future of the Empire and the entire world will be decided. This is Serious Stuff, folks. In one direction lies a hopeful future of human unity, carbon neutrality, environmental stewardship, mutual respect, kindness, patience, and wisdom. In the other lie many possible Dystopias of self-centered ignorance, violence against other living beings, distrust, anger, and our own possible extinction.

Today War has officially been declared; everything we hold dear is at stake; and the future depends on our ability to restore Order to the process we call America. The next three months will decide that future.

 

Wine Tasting

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