Lummi Island Wine Tasting August 29
A million or so years ago when I was a young naval officer, the unwritten rule was that conversation in the wardroom (officers’ mess) should avoid the three controversial subject areas of sex, religion, and politics to avoid offending anyone. Nowadays, these are often popular and lively topics of speculation and debate, especially among familiars.
The reason this is on my mind is that it was a quiet day in the wine shop on Saturday, relatively speaking, beginning with a nice couple visiting from Chicago. He was reserved and cordial; she was lively and outgoing. Shortly after they arrived, Anne and Jerry (our most loyal “regulars”–see Anne’s blog) stopped in, including Anne’s daughter Clare, currently an Anglican seminarian. So it seemed natural to move into a conversation about religion, which moved to social justice issues, which moved to general values, which moved to politics.
As far as I know, our out of town guests were not offended, but one wants everyone to feel welcome, so one gets concerned sometimes. Ah, perhaps it is always a risk with a spirited debate and an interesting discussion…it is probably the main reason our shop is in existence, an ongoing salon, fueled by good wine, where we can enjoy musing about anything and everything.
Our other new guests were Kim and Carolyn from Vashon Island. Pat lived there for a time in the Wayback years, when carrying her first and only child who is now forty. We are impressed that these charming young women are not only married (in Canada) but have gone to the further trouble to have the same last name, even if they can’t “marry” in Washington. They still have a bit of “newlywed glow” about them, makes you smile to be around them.
In some way the wines seemed secondary to the day, but all were tasty and appreciated. We cleared the last of the 2004 Juan Gil, which opens the door to the ’06, which is even better! The Montinore white blend contunued to please, and the Emilio Moro “Resalso” tinto fino (i.e., tempranillo) won some advocates with its chewy freshness. But the Marchetti Rosso Conero montepulciano was the star, with its smooth texture and dark fruit. I am increasingly impressed by each wine I taste from this Italian artisan winemaker!
This week we are pulling a few more mature reds off the shelves:
- Legoe Bay Chardonnay ’06 : Washington Crisp lemon-lime, green apple, and grapefruit with a clean finish, our locally produced Chardonnay is a terrific value. $10
- Casale Vecchio Montepulciano ’06 Italy Strong ruby red colour with violet hues, richly fruity with a strong aroma of wild berries and prunes and warming, spicy notes from ageing in oak barriques. Soft, well-balanced and perfectly harmonious. $16
- Neyers Grenache Hudson Vineyard ’02 California Intense and vibrant, with a showy fruitiness up front, this offers snappy, grapey scents that echo wild berry and blackberry, and finishes with dense, complex flavors. $23
- Canon de Sol Syrah ’02 Washington Big jammy dark-fruit flavors, complemented by toasty spicy accents. $20
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2072 Granger Way
Rich, Pat, Anne et al.
I am so sorry I missed meeting Clare. I attend both Anglican and Episcopal churches and look forward to meeting her.
Rich – as always we will be more than politcally correct. My social causes reach to depths others find really uncomfortable. And there is also the library for Pat. I was a librarian in a couple of lifetimes.
See y’all Saturday!
MJ
Never mind grown children, I will shortly be a GREAT grandmother! Any day now.
The wine was lovely and the conversation, as always, was lively and about real stuff, not just the weather. If you can’t talk about religion, politics sex you might as well keep quiet
Some of us are PROUD of reaching a certain maturity. But you’re still a youngster, so you have that to look forward to! After all you ARE about to be a grandma any minute now, and I am sure you are gonna be proud of that!
Rich, did Pat chase you with the cheese knife after she read this blog post? How appropriate you were writing about subjects to be careful of in polite company! For all the other mothers of a certain age out there ( including me), please consider eschewing the statistical accuracy of such phrases as “child who is now forty” and replacing them with “child who is now grown”. Leave us some wiggle room, piacere!