lummi island wine tasting december 13’19
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Friday Breads This Week
Polenta Sourdough – Made with a levain starter mixed with bread flour and polenta in the final dough mix. This is not the sweet corn cranberry bread that we have done in the past but rather a nice rustic loaf with great corn flavor. – $5/loaf
Seeded Multi Grain Levain – Also made with a sourdough culture and a mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A nice mixture of flax, sesame sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some polenta add great flavor and crunch, plus a little honey for some sweetness. A great all around bread that is full of flavor – $5/loaf
Gibassiers – A traditional french pastry using a delicious sweet dough full of milk, butter, eggs and olive oil. The addition of orange flower water, candied orange peel and anise seed bring great flavor to these pastries. After baking they are brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with more sugar. Ooh La La a delightful pastry to go along with your morning coffee or tea. – 2/$5
and, order now for delivery next week…
Stollen – A delightful holiday bread made with bread flour with fresh milled rye, milk, eggs, and lots of butter for a soft crumb, along with dried fruit, fresh and candied lemon and orange peel, and almonds. Shaped around an almond paste filling and rushed with a glaze of melted butter, sugar, and ginger…fabulous! $5/loaf.
(breads must be pre-ordered by Wednesday for pickup here at the wine shop at our Friday wine tasting, 4-6pm. Planning a visit to the Island? Email us to get on the mailing list!)
FIFTEENTH Annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve” Gala Extravaganza!
Please join us for our annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” from 7-9pm on Tuesday, December 31! We provide the wine, and You bring something delicious to share! When the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we break out the Bubbly, toast our Great Good Fortune to live in this wonderful community, belt out Auld Lang Syne, and offer our Best Hopes that Aught-Twenty unfolds well for our Country and our Planet!
This event is our annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support during past year, and toast to even more good times in Aught-Twenty!
…Arrrr, ‘n’ don’t ferget, lads and lassies, it now be time to start plannin’ yer Finger Foods to share for our Annual Best Snack Awards! This year everyone will get a ballot to vote for The Best Tasting Dish, (which wins a $25 gift certificate!), and Best Looking Dish (which wins a $15 gift certificate!) So make ’em Tasty an’ make ’em Purty, eh…?!
Holiday Hours
Please note will be open our usual hours both THIS weekend (12/13 -12/14) and NEXT weekend (12/20-12/21). Holiday hours will be announced next week.
Forgotten Gem
Rooting around in the cellar for wines to pour this weekend we discovered an unopened case of 2009 Betz La Sarenne Syrah, and we figured that given the persnickety way Betz wines are made, this one is probably just starting to hit its stride.
We have probably mentioned in earlier posts that winery founder and long-time winemaker Bob Betz has a deep affection for French Wines and for many years has modeled each wine after the style of particular French wine regions. For example, the wine we are pouring this week, La Serenne Syrah, is modeled after the style of Southern Rhone syrahs, with rich, lush fruit, elegant tannic structure, and great aging potential. By contrast, his Cotes Rousse Syrah is modeled after the Northern Rhone style, with deeper color and darker, more brooding fruit flavors, while his Besoleil is modeled after the style of Chateauneuf du Pape, typically blending grenache, syrah, and mourvedre for a softly rich palate.
This is a Special Wine, don’t miss it!
Mar a Lago Update: Nattering Nabobs of Negativity
With the battle lines of Impeachment now firmly drawn, we are reminded of those Halcyon days of of the Nixon-Agnew Administration– you know, the Watergate break-in, the lengthy court battles, the Tapes, and the ongoing battle between Nixon and Congress over access to those tapes. The process culminated in 1974 with the release of the so-called Smoking Gun tape that overnight turned both public and Congressional opinion– both Parties!- strongly against Nixon and he resigned shortly afterward.
Mostly forgotten in that history is that during that two-year battle between the White House and Congress over evidence, Vice President Spiro Agnew pleaded no contest to one count of tax evasion and resigned from office. Gerald Ford replaced him as Vice President and became President when Nixon resigned. Agnew is remembered for his sometimes humorous insults against anti-war protesters, calling them liberal elites (hmm. sounds familiar…), an effete corps of impudent snobs, and the nattering nabobs of negativism.
As it turns out, Agnew pioneered the Populist style. which appealed to many in the Suburban South, offering them a more palatable alternative to George Wallace, who also ran in 1968. Agnew’s populist rhetoric helped Nixon win several key Southern States by courting the “Silent Majority,” whose values historian Peter B. Levy lists as “orderliness, personal responsibility, the sanctity of hard work, the nuclear family, and law and order.” That Populist stance also began the rapid exodus of Southern Democrats to the Republican Party. Since then the Republican Party has continued to shift further and further away from the Constitution’s original Humanist values toward much narrower, more authoritarian, and more autocratic control.
The current Impeachment Hearings have become increasingly dissonant as one after another Republican tries to Shout Down the Facts, as if by Sheer Spleen they can actually change Reality. So far only one Republican Congressman (Justin Amash of Michigan) has publicly supported impeachment, left the Party and rebranded himself as an Independent. A few days ago CNN posted an interview with former Republican Senators Bill Cohen of Maine and Slade Gorton of Washington. Both were on the House Judiciary Committee that passed articles of impeachment against Nixon in 1974. Both were deeply concerned about the failure of current Republicans to grasp the gravity of the charges against Trump, and urged them to do their Constitutional duty to assess the facts and do the right thing.
Sadly, that doesn’t seem likely. Today’s Republicans are full of Hubris, lack all humor, and rail at the Truth like King Lear against the Storm. They use all their energy to cling to Power, and their Criminal Stupidity threatens Every Living Thing on this Beautiful Earth. This isn’t just Politics; it’s rapidly becoming an Existential Battle for Global Survival.
Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date 13,445 as of 10/10/19
This week’s tasting
Marchetti Tenuta de Cavaliere Verdicchio ’17 Italy $14
Refreshing citrus fruits, playful acidity, and complex minerality. Made only with “free run”juice (no pressing!), it is precise and lovely,
Procedo Rose ’18 Oregon $16
Dark berry nose. Extended skin contact makes for a Tavel-style rose, with hints of the red grapes in the blend, showing floral and fruity notes with a bit of sweetness and balancing acidity on the finish.
Crios Malbec ’18 Argentina $13
Bright, dark red. Red currant, black cherry, ripe strawberry and spices on the nose; sweet red fruit flavors with notes of earth, licorice and menthol; creamy fruit firmed by smooth tannins…a terrific value.
Ryan Patrick Rock Island Red ’16 Washington $16
Aromas of baking spices, coconut, vanilla, anise and blackberry lead to full-bodied fruit and barrel flavors. Coconut and vanilla notes linger on the finish. The oak plays a very prominent part in the show.
Betz la Serenne Syrah ’09 Washington 93pts $55
A massive wine, sourced from the outstanding Boushey Vineyard, packs tart black fruit into a tight frame of licorice-soaked tannins. There are traces of clean earth, light mineral and smoked meat, while the tannins are kept in close check. There’s terrific structure and poise in a wine of substantial power.
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2072 Granger Way