lummi island wine tasting dec 8 ’18

Posted at December 6, 2018

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Bread This Week

Prairie Bread – Named for the ingredients that reflect all the goodness of the grains that grow on the prairie. Using regular bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat as well as oats, and cornmeal. And as if that wasn’t enough it is loaded up with poppy, flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds with just a hint of brown sugar for a little sweetness. A great all around bread. – $5/loaf

Honey, Wheat, Lemon & Poppy – Made with a poolish that ferments some of the flour, yeast and water, but none of the salt, overnight. This results in a very active pre-ferment which is mixed the next day with the final ingredients which includes a nice mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Some honey, poppy seeds and freshly grated lemon peel round out the flavors in this loaf. – $5/loaf.

Another delicious pastry this week…

Morning Buns – Made popular by Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, my interpretation uses the same laminated dough as croissants. The dough is rolled out, spread with a filling of brown sugar, orange zest, butter and cinnamon. Rolled up and sliced before baking. – 2/$5

 

December Schedule Update

Dec 7-8: open for BOTH Bread Friday 4-7 and Saturday 2-6

–Dec 14-15: OPEN Bread Friday, CLOSED SATURDAY!

–Dec 21-22 and 28-29: OPEN USUAL HOURS

and…mark your calendars…Dec 31: 13th Annual “East Coast New Year’s Celebration” 7-9pm..!

 

 

Italian Invasion

Over the last month, some of you may have noticed a significant tilting of our tasting menu toward Italy. This is due in part to the arrival of our semi-annual shipment of wines from Seattle importer Small Vineyards. In addition we recently learned of a train-car load of wines that had been in wreck or tied up in legal limbo— in truth we really have no idea where they have been.

What we do know is that a LOT of wine has been delayed SOMEWHERE for a year ot two and somehow got picked up by one of our distributors, and came on the wholesale market a couple of months ago. It included large quantities of Small Vineyards Italian wines as well as others we have carried in the past, and, together with our regular fall shipment from SV, that means we have brought in about 30 cases in the last two weeks heavily leaning Italian.

And, a week or two before that, we may have mentioned a couple of deals with Judy for some Big California Whites from Conundrum and Mer Soleil and a a big Cab from Juggernaut which allow us to offer them for $17 each instead of $21. AND…in the process we were able to score a couple of 1.5 and 3-liter bottles we can open for you at our 13th Annual “East Coast New Year’s Celebration…!”

 

Nero d’Avola

Speaking of Italian wines, this weekend we are pouring a great example of Sicily’s dominant red grape, Nero d’Avola.  The obvious translation of the grape’s name is something like “black grape from Avola,” which it is. It has adapted well to Sicily, thriving in hot, dry climates. Its flavor profile usually includes bold dark fruit flavors from fresh black cherry to prune. Body can vary from lighter to heavier as vineyard climate goes cooler to hotter, or as winemakers age it is less or more new oak.  Curiously, the wine does not seem to suffer from the climate difference, but merely shows a lighter or denser face, giving it a wide range of enjoyable expression.

We have grown fond of the grape here at the wine shop, having been protected by Natural Selection from ever having tasted the Bigger Oakier versions. The one we offer this weekend is one of our favorites, offering an enticing balance of weight and ripeness. But if it doesn’t appeal to you, don’t give up on the grape– it has many faces and almost certainly you will eventually find one that grabs you.

And by the way…the photo shown here came up on a Search for Nero d’avola. Although we obviously took the photo of Celia and Barbara at the wine shop some years ago (October 2010), we admit we have No Idea what it has to do with this thread! But it is reassuring that we actually have an Online History together! Who Knew? And btw, make sure to come by this weekend and try out this lovely Italian wine from Sicily!

 

Mar a Lago Update: Needs, Beliefs, and Behaviors

Various horocopes and psychological models over our many years have provided criteria and maps to help guide us toward learning about Our Selves, our Strengths, our Weaknesses. Who are we? What makes us Tick? How do we Improve? How can we be Better? Where have we Failed or Succeeded?

There are many, many ways we humans have organized ourselves around these questions about ourselves and our worlds, and there are many views about Character Types, Strategies, Beliefs, and Behaviors. Everyone I know has wrestled with these questions as we have tried to resolve our own many successes, failures, and contradictions.

Most of us at various times in our lives have looked at our behavior and felt some sense of inadequacy, shame, judgment, or disappointment, explored it in some way, and made some decisions about improving. That is, we all have some kind of internal process (super-ego…?)  that continually monitors how our behavior affects others, and that affects the decisions we make about whether and how far to assert our wills in various relationships.

Given the Normal Distribution of Almost Everything, it is Reasonable to Assume that Everyone must have these same tendencies to self-evaluate and modify behavior as appropriate to achieve more desirable social outcomes. However, here we are Two Years Into the Tweetster’s So-Called Administration, and it is hard to find evidence of any Growth in Perspective, Clarity, or Achievement.

There IS (or Should Be) a Resume of sorts to be President. Events of this week have provided many useful Takeaways:

Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date: 6,420 as of 11/2/18

 

This week’s wine tasting

Cantina del Morellino Vermentino  ’17   Italy    $16
Later harvest ripeness yields great varietal expression and character, with enhanced viscosity, concentration, and aromatic structure. Great match with almost everything.

Stephen Vincent pinot noir ’14   California     $14
Fragrant Sonoma aromatics of wild strawberry and cherry, and forest floor, sun-dried apricots and strawberry preserves. On the palate, medium-bodied, with raspberry, blood orange, and toffee hints with a smooth finish.

Matorana Nero d’Avola ’17    Italy   $14
From Sicilian volcanic soils; full-bodied and fresh with big notes  of ripe plums, berry cobbler, dark chocolate, and almonds, melting into earthy flavors with good minerality.

Les Pious Cotes de Rhone Grenache     ’14    France    $14
Smooth and rich, with notes of plum and caraway; grown biodynamically and aged in cement tanks…nice!

La Quercia Montepulciano d’Abruzzo  Riserva Colline Teramine ’10     Italy      $26
From 50-yr-old vines, aged two years in oak; fulsome notes of cocoa rhubarb, blackberry, and herbs; long, lingering finish;  rich, full-bodied and rustic in expression. Fermented and aged in concrete. Tons of juicy black cherries, pure fruit, and a silky/velvety mouthfeel.

 

Wine Tasting

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