lummi island wine tasting dec 2-3 ’22
Hours this weekend: Open 3:30- 5:30 pm both Friday and Saturday
We are happy to report that we are now testing negative for Covid and feeling much better. All in all, we are thankful to have had mild cases and to be on the mend, thanks in large part to the effectiveness of the Omega booster. For your safety and peace of mind we plan to be masked up in the wine shop this weekend.
ALSO… please note above the slight change to new Winter hours!
No Friday Bread Pickup This Week!
Please note there will be no bread pickup this week. If you are on the bread list you will receive an email on Sunday with selections for next weekend.
To get on the bread order list, click on 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: Greywacke Pinot Noir ’18 New Zealand $30
Most simply, greywacke is a type of sandstone with a lot of rock grain and fragments in it, kind of a lumpy batter that set up before it was completely stirred. It is believed to have formed by mudslides along a continental shelf. Greywacke is made up of dull-colored sandy rocks that are mostly grey, brown, yellow, or black which can occur in thick or thin beds, and which bear some similarity to local formations of “Chuckanut sandstone” that we see on our own shores here on Lummi Island and around the San Juan Islands.
Last year we learned that many of the formations at the Aiston Preserve (recently acquired for restoration and preservation by the Lummi Island Heritage Trust) and much of the southern half of Lummi Island contain significant deposits of greywacke. These formations are about 150 million years old, and overlay basalt and chert from an even more ancient sea floor.
Greywacke is also a major part of the geological structure of New Zealand, and just a couple of years ago we learned there is a NZ winery of the same name. We have been stocking their sauvignon blanc and pinot noir for a couple of years now, and so far it has been universally satisfying. The rocky soil gives the wines a complex minerality with aromas and flavors of dark fruit and nuances of cedar, earth, and smoke.
Winemaker Kevin Judd was the longtime winemaker at the consistently highly regarded Cloudy Bay winery before starting his own winery at Greywacke in 2008. It’s good! (read more)
Economics of the Heart: Will Majorities Actually Matter Again?
https://fontsarena.com/ugly-gerry/
In one of today’s posts, opinion writer Jennifer Rubin put out a thoughtful and encouraging take on the recent national election. In particular, voter turnout and election outcomes across the country suggest that Republicans have lost control of at least some of their key constituencies. While the MAGA base of less-educated, white, evangelical, Christian, rural, and older voters (along with their other base of self-serving bazillionaires…) still forms the core of Republican support, it is clear that that base is shrinking over time.
Rubin points to this week’s example of nearly a dozen Republican Senators who voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act. Though fully two thirds of their caucus voted against it, one third actually voted for it for a surprising bit of vanishingly rare aisle-crossing. Across the nation some 70% of voters support the Act, suggesting the (we can only hope) possibility that Republicans are facing a long-term uphill battle against a growing population of young voters, “especially millennials and Generation Z voters who will soon dominate the electorate.”
For the last fifteen years the Republican operational plan for maintaining political power with a declining base has been twofold. Part 1 was gaining control of rural state legislatures before the 2010 Census and effectively using blatantly partisan gerrymandering to increase the number of “safely Republican seats” in their states’ Congressional districts. Despite being cynical, anti-American, and mean-spirited, the tactic was enormously successful. Part 2 over the past ten years has been to fire up the base with a vast, 24/7 right-wing media bombardment to stoke their fears and prejudices about race, gender ambiguity, and every nation’s obligation to provide refuge from the ever-increasing number of toxic regimes and failing economies around the world. All in all Republicans have been very effective at setting up the conditions for their minority rule across the Red states, and most Congressional Republicans are still all in to eliminate fair elections.
This picture is nicely summarized in a quotation from Robert P. Jones, head of the Public Religion Research Institute about the Dobbs decision: “it is part of a gambit to hold onto a particular conservative vision of white Christian America and impose it upon a more religiously and racially diverse nation that is increasingly supportive of a set of rights grounded in a constitutional right to privacy.”
Rubin’s encouraging main point is that yes, we can see most Republican leaders still pretty much All In with their long-term commitment to keep changing the rules at both state and national levels to their advantage. At the same time, however, as suggested by the recent election results, long-term demographic trends are not in their favor. The recent election pleasantly surprised us with the thoughtfulness of voters around the country. That result, along with growing evidence that younger voters generally lean toward inclusion and fairness, are causes for a bit of hope that we might once again become a nation of, by, and for the People.
This Week’s $10 Wine Tasting
Domaine de l’Amauve La Daurèle, Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret ’20 France $17
Grenache blanc, clairette, viognier, & ugni blanc; expressive nose of white fruits, Mirabelle plum, and acacia honey; soft on the palate with lively citrus flavors…delicious and very Food Versatile!
Chateau Auzias Cabardes ’18 France $12
60% Cabernet Franc, 30% Syrah, 10% Grenache. Enticing aromas of black raspberry and mulberry that showcase the Cabardes appellation where both Rhone and Bordeaux varietals may be grown. Fine-grained tannins and lacy, billowing acidity carry that raspberry/mulberry fruit all the way to a fresh, graceful finish.
Greywacke Pinot Noir ’18 New Zealand $30
Delicious aromas of juicy blackberries, blueberries and strawberry jam, with suggestions of black olives, cedar and a hint of lavender. Finely structured palate shows red and black fruit with earthy, smoky nuances.
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2072 Granger Way