lummi island wine tasting december 16 ’16
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads
Challah- A traditional celebratory bread. Made with bread flour, plenty of eggs, a bit of sugar and vegetable oil – no milk. Shaped into a 4-strand braid. A delicious, refined bread that makes great toast or better yet, french toast. -$5/loaf
Cinnamon Raisin Bread – For your whole grain loving guests. Made with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat, rolled oats and milk and honey for a tender crumb and some sweetness. Unlike other cinnamon breads the cinnamon and raisins are mixed throughout the loaf. This is a nice rustic bread that also makes great toast.- $5/loaf
And for a bit of pastry…
Palmiers (a.k.a. ‘Elephant ears’) – Made with a buttery puff pastry that is rolled out, spread with sugar then folded over and sliced. When baked the sugar on the outside gets caramelized into a crisp, crunchy delightful crust. Di says these are one of her favorites! – 4/$5
Long Day
It’s been a tough week for all of us. Coopie did not bounce back from his chemo last week. Quite the contrary, gradually but rapidly losing his appetite and strength despite the barrage of remedies we forced him to take and a parade of favorite foods that he turned away from. If you have not been through this, it is a challenge learning to dance between a need to make sure he takes all the stuff we Hope is Good For Him and the Inner Voice that keeps telling us to Trust His Inner Wisdom.
There is an old Zen saying, “The Three Realms are just like a Burning House…No One can Remain There for Very Long.” My sophomoric take on that is that Consciousness is embedded in the Illusion of Continuity among Past, Present, and Future, an illusion to which we become understandably–even Necessarily– Attached. With all our hearts we want our Future to have Cooper in it for The Duration, and that is hard to let go of.
This morning we found him unable to stand up, his gums a ghastly white, indicators that his cancer had Spent his red blood cells trying to repair the Damage it was continually inflicting. The day evolved to his getting a transfusion of Fresh Young Blood from a Healthy Young Dog, which has miraculously brought him Back From the Brink for a Little While, whatever that means. Yes, every Stay of Execution draws an inevitable Sob of Relief, which is necessarily followed in the Very Next Breath by the Sobering Reality of its Fleeting Nature.
So. Coopie is home tonight, running at about 50% of Healthy, and we are Deeply Grateful for this Blessed Reprieve. As everyone who has lost a beloved companion animal knows, each moment is an Ephemeral Blessing to be Cherished, alongside a Raging Anger at our Inability to Protect Them from Harm. Seems All Wrong somehow, but we are wired to cherish and protect those we Love.
Twelfth Annual “East Coast” New Year’s Eve Gala Extravaganza!
Yes, our annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” is now an Established Tradition; from 7-9pm on New Year’s Eve we provide the wine, you bring something delicious to share, and when the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we all hoist our glasses and belt out Auld Lang Syne and toast the New Year! We welcome this annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support during past year, and toast to even more fun in aught-seventeen . Arrrr, lads and lassies, ye best mark yer calendars now ‘n’ start planning yer finger food!
Important Note! Speaking of Finger Food, we will again this year have a Secret Operative sampling the dishes and Assigning Points! Yummiest Dish wins a $25 credit, and Yummiest-Looking Dish wins a $15-dollar credit! So make ’em Good an’ make ’em Pretty!
Also, please note that, as in 2011, both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on a Saturday, when we are usually open from 2-6. Our People have been talking to Our People about how to handle this; current inclination is to be open Friday, Dec 25 and Friday, Dec 30 as usual from 4-7, but closed all day on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve except for The Party from 7-9! Stay tuned!
This week’s Wine Tasting
Maryhill Viognier Washington $10
Vibrant aromas of orange zest, honeysuckle, and pink grapefruit; flavors of lemon, pear, and white peach. The mouthfeel is delicate, yet full-bodied, with lingering notes of fresh flowers.
Marchetti Rosso Conero ’14 Italy $10
Rich and inviting aromas of blue florals, plums, brown spices, and hillside brush. On the palate, dry and round textured with red and black cherries, ripe blackberries, cocoa and spice. Culminates in a satisfying, lengthy finish.
Writers Block Cab Franc ’13 California $15
A perennial favorite here, with aromas of red cherry, raspberry, plum, and licorice. Flavors are of red fruit, raspberry, and plum with smooth acidity, followed by soft tannins.
Porca de Murcia Douro Tinto ’13 Portugal
Dark, ripe, and tannic wine with a nice sense of balance between structure and rich, chewy, and full-blown blackberry fruit.
Betz Clos de Betz ’13 Washington 94pts $55
Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauv, mostly from Red Mountain; sexy, supple, perfumed and beautifully complex, with notes of currants, dried flowers and and garrigue; a full-bodied beauty impossible to resist.
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2072 Granger Way