lummi island wine tasting august 26 ’16

(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)

Friday Breads (email us to get on the preorder mailing list! )

20141024-122220.jpgPain de Beaucaire – This new bread is an authentic regional bread named after the Beaucaire region in southeastern France and was one of the first breads to be made free form and not formally shaped. It was a very popular bread until people began to prefer the lighter and crunchier baguette. Made with mostly bread flour with just a hint of fresh milled rye and whole wheat with a layer of wheat bran in the center. Makes great toast – $5/loaf.

Multi Grain Levain – a variation on the multi grain levain of a few weeks ago. Made with a great mix of bread flour and fresh milled rye and whole wheat plus flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, polenta and some honey– a great Daily Bread! – $5/loaf.

Pastry this week Chocolate CroissantsMade with a traditional French laminated dough and filled with delicious dark chocolate. Ooooh la la!!- 2/$5

 

September Schedule — Make a Note, It’s Complicated!

#1: We are open this weekend as usual: 4-7 Friday and 2-6 on Saturday– all the Usual Suspects and All the Usual Fun!

#2. Next weekend (Sept 2-3) is Labor Day Weekend Artists’ Studio Tour, and although we will be away, the wine shop will be open as usual Friday and Saturday. On Friday Janice and Sue are your hosts, as they were a couple of weeks ago…you know, the regular Friday Night DIY Impromptu Bread & Wine Sharing.

Then Saturday our very knowledgeable friend and wine rep Elaine has volunteered to spend the day pouring selections from her companies’ portfolios (we will post her tasting list next week!). We encourage Our Faithful to make a Special Effort to come by, say Hi, and see what she has brought. Btw, chances are that some Friday wines may carry over from this weekend’s wines (just sayin’), while Saturday’s wines will be Elaine’s hand-picked selections! We strongly recommend you come Both Days!

#3. First Drydock weekend (Sept 9-10) we are still Away. Janice and Sue will again host for Bread Friday. Then, on Saturday, by Popular Demand (!) Judy A. has volunteered to pour some great selections from her company’s portfolio. Even though it will be the First Weekend of Drydock, and therefore Quiet on the island, you all know that Judy always carries a Banner of Festivity with her, brightening all Nearby Spirits! Don’t miss it!

#4. NB: Second Drydock Weekend (Sept 16-17) : So sorry, we are away, Janice is away, and wine shop (sob!) Closed All Weekend. (So be sure to stock up!) We will be back for Sept 23-24 weekend as usual. 

 

Travel Plan

Next week we are off to France for a bit. The first week will be on a canal in the Camargue. And since the trip has been planned by our friend and wine representative Laurent, whom many of you have met, and whose wines you have sampled from time to time on Friday afternoons, you might correctly infer that there may be some Wine Education involved. Hopefully the weather will be comfortable.

After that, plans are to visit Montpellier for a few days, then explore the lesser-known wine regions of Gaillac and Cahors in the larger catch-all French Wine Region generally just called the “Sud-Ouest”, or Southwest, which includes a wide area with Bordeaux to the northwest, Languedoc to the south and east, and Spain and the Pyrenees to the southwest.

Besides being the home of many lesser-known French wine regions, the area also is home to some of the oldest examples of prehistoric human culture, particularly the painted caves at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac and Lascaux. With some luck we will be able to visit them, the former being the Real Thing that still allows a few visitors each day, and the latter being the Authentic Copy to give a Realistic Taste of the Original without damaging it with our breath and our bacteria.
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Januik

MIke Januik has been making wine in Washington State for thirty years. Besides making all the wines that bear his name, he also is the winemaker for Novelty Hill, which specializes in wines from the highly regarded Stillwater Creek Vineyard (see video).

The tasting rooms for both Januik and Novelty Hill are located a few hundred yards from the entrance to Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville. The decor is Very Northwest Modern, and the wines are all quite Delicious, Skillfully Made, and keep you coming back for more.

Yet, as I write this, I am encountering a tiny sense of Contradiction, a soupçon of  Concern. I mean, to be Fair, I am sucking down this wine with Ease as I write this, and it is entirely Enjoyable. And I am battling contradictory Reviews that make me Doubt my own instincts about the wine’s Actual Merits.

Bottom Line: Points, Schmoints: For my palate, there is something about Stillwater Creek Vineyard that I really like, enjoy, resonate with. Our other main experience with cabernet sauvignon from this vineyard was from Walla Walla Vintners, and it was Superb. So when someone now says, “it’s from Stillwater Creek Vineyards,” s/he has my attention. Come on by, check it out, see what you think!

 

This week’s wine tasting

Josef Schmid Riesling Kremstal ’11  Austria   
Bright yellow with delicate green highlights; fine stone fruit on the nose; fresh and crisp, with notes of peaches, gooseberries and apricots.

Mas des Bressades Rosé Cuvée ’15   France  $14
Spicy aromas and flavors of ripe red berries, orange, and pungent flowers; Nicely concentrated and supple, gaining weight with air, picking up bitter cherry and melon notes and a lingering red fruit liqueur quality.

Alta Vins Tinto  ‘13   Spain  $11
60% Garnacha, 30% Syrah, 10% Carinena; Brilliant garnet color; bright and fresh with notes of red currant, balsamic, and rose water.

La Rocaliere Lirac Rouge ’13               France              $16
Equal parts grenache, mourvedre, and syrah. Clay hillsides and serene aging in cement tanks yield this
inky purple wine with deeply pitched aromas and flavors of cherry-cola, licorice and violets.

Januik Cabernet Sauvignon  ’13   Washington     $29
Classic cassis and black currant notes in medium to full-bodied, easy drinking package. Lots of dark fruit,
with elegance, energy and length.

Wine Tasting

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