lummi island wine tasting feb 3 ’23
Hours this weekend: Open 3:30- 5:30 pm Friday Only
Our current plan is to be open Fridays only through February.
Covid (and a bunch of other winter bugs) is still around, more contagious than ever, but far less threatening for the vaccinated.
We all have our own comfort zones; these days we all have to manage the space around us in our own way. Just be mindful of the risks, thanks.
Friday Bread This Week
Black Pepper Walnut- Made with a nice mix of bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A fair amount of black pepper and toasted walnuts give this bread great flavor with a distinct peppery bite. Excellent paired with all sorts of meats and cheese…and wine, of course! – $5/loaf
Sesame Semolina –Begins with a sponge that pre-ferments some of the flour, water & yeast before mixing the final dough. Made with semolina and bread flour and a soaker of cornmeal, millet, sesame seeds, a little olive oil to round out the flavor and tenderize the crumb then rolled in more sesame seeds before baking. Lots of great flavors! – $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Individual Cinnamon Rolls! –Made with a rich sweet roll dough full of eggs, butter and sugar. The dough is rolled out, spread with pastry cream and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Then rolled up and sliced into individual rolls for baking. And boy are they delicious! – 2/$5.
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: Tre Donne Roero Arneis ’20 Italy $27
photo courtesy asiaimportnews.com
The revered Italian wine region of Piedmont (i.e., ‘foot of the mountain’) lies in the NW corner of Italy, in the foothills of the French and Swiss Alps to the west and north. The geography makes for the serendipitous combination of warm days and cool nights that make perfect conditions for wine grapes. The Roero region is just north of the iconic Barolo and Barbaresco regions, which produce some of Italy’s most prestigious wines.
White wines from Roero must contain at least 95% Arneis, and reds must contain at least 95% Nebbiolo. With roots diving deep into layers of tufo clay, the 35-year-old vines at Tre Donne yield a wide array of complex aromas and flavors for a nuanced, medium-bodied Arneis with lovely notes of pear, apricot, and white blossoms.
Economics of the Heart: Groundhogs and Cross-Quarter Days
We take a time-out from serious stuff this week to pay homage to what our culture calls Groundhog Day, what some cultures call the First Day of Spring, and what calendar geeks call “cross-quarter” days. We are all familiar with the the two equinoxes and the two solstices that mark the official transitions from one season to another as the Earth’s annual orbit and tilted axis continually move the noonday sun from being overhead at the Tropic of Cancer to being overhead at the Equator to being overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn, on and on, the richness of changing seasons.
There is also an ancient tradition of celebrating the “cross-quarter days” that fall halfway between these major events. February 2, falling midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, has historically been called Candlemas, Imbolc, Oimelc, Brigit, Brigid’s Day, Bride’s Day, Brigantia, or Gŵyl y Canhwyllau. In the picture at left it is labeled “1st” in small red letters.
Every society across the planet depended on the growing season to prepare for the winter to follow. There were deities to be invoked for good fortune, and continual preparation for planting, tending, harvesting, and storing enough for winter– lots of toiling tortoises, fewer hapless hares. Our culture usually refers to this one as “Groundhog Day,” but cross-quarter days have had both cosmic and cultural significance from prehistoric times, across continents and across cultures. In many ancient cultures the cross-quarter days marked the actual transitions between seasons (e.g., making Groundhog Day the official “First Day of Spring,” six weeks before the vernal Equinox.
Seasonal changes were key economic factors in agrarian and gathering societies, and many had “celebrations of light” on Candlemas to mark the lengthening of days and the coming of Spring. In Gaelic tradition, the goddess Cailleach teased the mortals with a sunny day when her intention was to make the next six weeks colder and wetter, and a dreary day if Spring was to come early. (Like, what is the story with these mean-spirited deities…?) Another tradition suggests that in Biblical times since mothers were not allowed in public until six weeks after delivery, Candlemas would have been Mary’s first public outing and temple visit with her baby boy.
And then there is an old song sung on Candlemas that lays out the Groundhog’s mission:
“If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.”
Of course, as we all know, whether the Groundhog sees its shadow or not, there are STILL six weeks until Spring Equinox. Until the last couple of years, here in the PNW Groundhog Day has indeed marked the appearance of buds and flowers, longer days, and milder temperatures, sudden hailstorms followed by warming sunlight and gusty winds. We already see some buds on the Indian plum, pussy willows, and other shrubs. But like all the seasons now, underlying conditions have changed, and we have seen more frequent mid-February snowstorms, unheard of until recently.
And either way, officially there are six more weeks of “Winter” regardless of Groundhog shadows!
This Week’s $10 Wine Tasting
Tre Donne Roero Arneis ’20 Italy $20
Pale golden yellow; soft aromas of orange blossom, honeysuckle, nectarine, and lemon verbena; flavors of pear, peach, quince, and green apple; enduring minerality and balanced acidity.
Bieler Cote du Rhone ‘la Jassine’ ’20 $15
Brooding aromas of raspberry, black cherry, garrigue, chocolate and tobacco which build and concentrate on the palate; hilltop fruit delivers a rich mouthfeel with soft, round tannins on the finish.
Marchetti Villa Bonomi Conero Riserva ’19 Italy $27
100% Sangiovese from Montepulciano, aged 16 mos. in barriques and 12 mos. in bottle; shows intense floral bouquet, intense, nuanced flavors; ripe, pleasing tannins, and satisfying finish.
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2072 Granger Way