lummi island wine tasting jan 13, ’17
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads
Multi-Grain Levain – Made with a mix of bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat and rye flours, and polenta. A little sweetness from honey helps balance the flavors of he grains, then it is loaded up with flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, making for a flavorful and hearty bread -$5/loaf
Breton – From the Brittany region in France; made with bread flour with buckwheat and fresh milled rye flours. The salt is the regional “sel gris,” or grey salt, with its distinctive mineralized flavor. This bread goes well with meats and cheese – $5/loaf
And for a bit of pastry –
Croissants – Incorporating some wild yeast culture in an overnight
pre-fermented dough, laminated with butter for beautiful crisp layers. Some have told me these are better than any they had in France! – 2/$5
Wine Club Reminder
After several trial iterations in the last few years, we have settled on a pretty simple set of Wine Club principles: you pay us $35 per calendar year, and in return we will give you $5 off on your wine tastings through the year AND we will pay the sales tax on all your wine purchases (8.7%! ). Yes, it it’s true: the more you visit and the more wine you buy, the more you save. Is this an Awesome Deal or What…???!!!
But of course every Silver Lining has a Cloud around it. In this case, it means we are now in a new Calendar Year, and all members must renew to continue enjoying these Fabulous Benefits in 2017. This year promises to be a Particular Bargain as because, let’s face it, your need for wine is Certain to Increase as Civilization As We Know it Crumbles, Implodes, and Fades into a Cosmic Cinder. Our Philosophy; even Apocolypse is Better when shared with Good Friends and Good Wine!
January Schedule
We Are open Friday, Jan 13 for Bread Friday as usual (see above!). 
This weekend, Friday the Thirteenth or no, we offer a Safe and Celebratory Haven, a Salon of sorts, where you can pick up your weekly Bread, Meet Up and Let Down with friends, and be Unconditionally Welcome. Sure, there may be a Yawning Black Hole in that other Washington, one that Threatens our Entire Galaxy, but out here on the Remote Fringes, Life is gonna go on pretty much as before. So everybody take a deep breath…and hold…hold…hold…and a long slow exhalation— aaahhhhhh…hhhhhhhhh…hhhhhhhhh…hhhhhhh…. let a Big Breath happen on its own, and then come on by for some wine and Good Cheer!
We have also decided to be Open Next Friday, January 20, as well…a day that is So Weird that not even Kurt Vonnegut could have made it up, but here it comes. We will be here for you, and invite you to come by and celebrate our New-Found Status, Elevated as it were from being Lowly Tree-Huggers to (I’m not making this up) “Coastal Elites.” That is Totally worth Celebrating, Right? Am I Right? You know I’m Right. Of Course I’m Right.
Btw, this photo was taken last summer at Friday Harbor, at a little waterfall in a park near the docks. Someone had left this Plastic Yellow Duck there, looking quite At Home, actually, Laid Back in Designer Shades, and I immediately saw the Obvious Trumpaphor…all this photo lacks is a bunch of circling Sharks..!
Pussy Hats
Probably Us Guys aren’t supposed to Talk About This. Then again, those of us married to Island Women, being New Men, naturally feel Some Juice to Show Up for our local Bellingham Protest against the DT’s on January 21. We Coastal Elite Males do have Our Ongoing Responsibilities, and I look forward to joining you and your Hearth-Mates in our local March Against Trumpism next Saturday, January 21.
Of local importance, there is a National Network of Knitters making Hats for this event. Locally, that is our Gud Erth spinner, knitter, and Alaska photographer Nancy S, who has knitted a Pile of Pink Hats for this event, on which Volunteers like Pat stitch a pair of Little Cat Ears.
The idea is that the Million Woman March in Bellingham will include Lots of Pussy Hats. Having been a Liberal for a Long Time, and having Learned, as most Lummi Island Men married to Strong Women have, that Language is Edgy Stuff, we will avoid Interpretive Comment. Suffice it to say we will All Show Up and March at this event in support of the Women We Love, in support of All Beings, of whatever subgroup, because Everyone suffers, and Everyone deserves compassion and a Better Deal.
We are at a Major Crossroads, folks. As Hal the Sentient Computer said in 2001: A Space Odyssey, “Yes…yes…My Mind is Going…I Can Feel It…I Can Feel It…” Right now, we All feel it, and it hurts. So the Koan of the moment seems to be,given that we are all Human Beings, “how can one person’s Model of Utopia be another person’s Model of Dystopia…? Stay tuned….
This week’s Wine Tasting
Flaugerges Les Comptes Blanc ’14 France $13
Aromatic, fruity aromas lead into a vibrant, generous, unctuous palate with lilac and peach overtones, good minerality, and pleasing length.
Poderi Elia Dolcetto d’Alba ’11 Italy $12
Clean, stinging rhubarb, pleasant toastiness, and bright red fruits with a nice touch of sweet cigar smokiness. Very smooth, with cashmere tannins; classic Piemonte style for an everyday wine.
Joel Gott Cab-Merlot’14 Washington $14
Beautiful notes of crème de cassis, vanilla and spice with a medium to full body, beautiful purity and texture. Satisfying and very easy to like.
Flaugerges Les Comptes Rouge ’12 France $13
Grenache blend; Garnet red, with slightly spicy aromas and flavors of olives, herbs, blackcurrant, cherries, and raspberries.
Castillo la Mendoza Crianza ’10 Spain $13
Ruby red with nose of red ripe fruit and morello cherry with vanilla and coconut notes; warm and round, with fruity flavors with notes of figs, toast and licorice; very easy to drink.
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2072 Granger Way
Love the picture of Pat!!!