lummi island wine tasting jan 17 ’20
click on photos for larger images
Friday Breads This Week
Dried Cherry Walnut – Made with a nice mix of bread flour and freshly milled buckwheat and whole wheat flours. Orange juice and olive oil are a unique combination in this bread that add flavor and keep a soft crumb, then loaded up with dried cranberries and toasted walnuts. Makes great toast- $5/loaf
Whole Wheat Ciabatta – Using an Italian biga pre-ferment as well as a poolish, and fermented overnight in the refrigerator. A long, slow ferment adds a lot of flavor to the final bread. Made with regular bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. A little olive oil for more flavor and a lot of water. A great rustic bread – $5/piece
and pastry this week…
Traditional Croissants – Made with two preferments, a levain and an “old dough” where a portion of the flour, water, salt and yeast is fermented overnight. The final dough adds more flour, butter, milk and sugar, and laminated with more butter before being cut and shaped into traditional French croissants…iohp, as good as croissants can get! – 2/$5
(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!)
Wine Club Membership Renewal Time!
Okay, mis amigas and amigos, we are now entering the SIXTEENTH YEAR of our community wine adventure with all of you! While our little business has never been much of a “business,” we find our success is best measured not in financial terms but in the friends we have made with you over all these years and the friends that have been made among you through our little wine shop. Over the years many dear friends have come and gone, but the community has remained intact. Every weekend brings old friends and new friends, good conversation, and an enduring warmth. We are deeply grateful for your participation in whatever it is that we have created here, and thank you all for being part of it.
Which reminds us, it is again the start of another Calendar Year. Which means that your membership in our Wine Club must be renewed for 2020 to continue your club benefits of $5 tastings instead of $10 for nonmembers, and no sales tax (save 8.7%!) on purchases. Yes, yes, we must be Crazy to offer this Benefit Package for a measly $50 for the entire year, but there it is, time to sign up for another year to enjoy our great community AND great savings!
Mar a Lago Update: Heaven and Hell
The Samurai approaches the Master in the town square, and asks if he can be his student. The Master asks what he would like to learn. The Samurai says he would like to learn about Heaven and Hell. Oh, the Master says, I could never teach something so Profound to an Idiot like you! As the Samurai starts to draw his sword, the Master says “Welcome to Hell!” As the Samurai releases his sword the Master says. “Welcome to Heaven!”
The story draws on the once common belief that there is a universal morality, that the differences between Right and Wrong are understood and respected by everyone, and that we all share the same Moral Compass. But these days our society is so divided in values that we no longer agree on what is Good and what is Evil, what is Virtuous and what is Corrupt, and where is the line between Principle and Expediency.
These lofty questions have been smoldering in our body politic for several decades, until they are now, like the Climate Crisis, bursting into flames across our country and the World. The Tweetster and the current Republican Party are America’s local manifestations of this global Moral Malignancy.
We oldsters remember the last Impeachment a mere twenty years ago, and yes, it was a completely Partisan Affair. The Right spent some Six Years investigating President Clinton on a series of phony charges including the Vince Foster’s suicide, Hillary Clinton’s health care plan, the Whitewater Investigation, the Paula Jones lawsuit, and of course the Monica Lewinsky case. After years of investigations which began almost as soon as Clinton took office, he was ultimately impeached for lying in the Jones suit about his relationship with Lewinsky. He was acquitted in the Senate. We remember it as a “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy” to remove Clinton from office. When asked why they hated him so much, Clinton observed with a shrug, “Because we beat them…it’s just politics.”
So it is not without some perspective that we see supporters of the Tweetster having the same feelings of Unfair Persecution of Their (not “Our”) President. The difference, of course, is that the Muller Investigation found numerous instances of impeachable offenses, all shouted down by Republicans and thwarted completely by corrupt Republican Attorney General Barr. The shouting continued through the House impeachment hearings on the Ukraine bribery conspiracy, in which not a single Republican could speak with civility. As if feigned Outrage were a valid defense against the Truth. Is it…??
Well, this week began the Impeachment “Trial” of the Tweetster in the heavily Republican Senate, which has been boasting for weeks that it has no intention whatsoever of taking the matter seriously. At the same time, the Administration has stonewalled all House subpoenas for witnesses and documents, and Very Partisan Attorney General Barr (who makes Tweetster Loyalist Jeff Sessions look Fair-minded) plays his “Golly, gee, I don’t think so, nothing to see here” card while preventing DOJ from doing its job to protect the National interest.
All this is happening against a backdrop of Imminent Climate Disaster which these same Republicans are making worse by the minute, and disintegrating relationships with our international Allies and adversaries alike. However it turns out, this Impeachment is a Vital Beachhead in the Quest to Save Life on Earth. For whatever reason, Republicans have all signed up to thwart every attempt to save our Planet, but as we see clearly in Australian forest fires, African droughts, Midwest floods, and millions of endangered species, very soon even They will awaken to the new reality of man-made smoke, fire, flood, and species extinction.
As the old saying goes, “Awake, awake, be mindful in practice; Time flies like an Arrow– it will not wait for you!”
Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date : 15,433 as of 12/10/19
This week’s tasting
Ryan Patrick Rock Island Chardonnay ’17 Washington $15
Subdued aromas of yellow apple, vanilla and spice lead to medium-bodied custard flavors.
Terrapura Reserve Carmenere ’18 Chile $11
Intense and expressive aromas of strawberries, blueberries, and a bit of black pepper. The palate is smooth with sweet tannins and a long, pleasing finish accompanied by an elegant touch of oak.
Toso Reserve Malbec ’17 Argentina $20
Round and inviting, this wine is slightly firm around the edges with plenty of fruit and consistent tannins..
Terreta Roble Red ’17 Spain $11
Structured and fruity, with mature tannins that provide a velvety mouthfeel and a long finish that fills the palate with spice, mineral, and balsamic hints.
Seghesio Home Ranch Zinfandel ’15 California $50
Blackberry, black plum and other brambly fruit characteristic of Alexander Valley. “Graham crust” undertones typical of the Home Ranch terroir. Subtle hints of oak, briary acidity and a finish of ripe peach.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
2072 Granger Way