lummi island wine tasting january 29 ’21 Groundhog Day Weekend

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Another Groundhog Day

Here at the wine shop we are big fans of Groundhog Day. From time out of mind, human beings have been attuned to the regular passage of the seasons, year after year, observing, counting, and eventually  being able to predict the “Quarter Days:” the Solstices when the sun was furthest north and furthest south, and the Equinoxes when the sun was halfway between. Many cultures also noted and celebrated the four “Cross-Quarter” days that fall between each solstice and equinox.

Different cultures have had different names for them, but eight times a year, every 45 days, many cultures have long paused to acknowledge these markers on the solar calendar with a festivity and ritual.

February 2, falling midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, has also been known variously as Candlemas, Imbolc, Oimelc, Brigid’s Day, Bride’s Day, Brigantia, or Gŵyl y Canhwyllau. In many ancient traditions it is considered the beginning of Spring. In the picture, it is labeled “1st.” Our culture (yes, we use the word loosely) usually refers to it as “Groundhog Day,” but it has–literally–cosmic significance.  Who knew??

Popular American folklore predicts that if The Groundhog sees its shadow there will be six more weeks of Winter. Of course, as we can see from the diagram, whether the Groundhog sees his (or her) shadow or not, there are STILL six more weeks until Spring Equinox marks the official end of “winter.” Until the last few years here in the PNW, judging from the pussy willows and other buds that used to start appearing around here, it often seemed appropriate for Groundhog Day  officially be Our First Day of Spring. Curiously, the last few winters, while milder in many ways due to global warming, have also seen a few nasty snowstorms here on the island around Valentine’s Day. 

 

Bread This Week

Barley, Whole Wheat, & Rye Levain – A levain bread where the sourdough culture is built over several days and allowed to ferment before the final dough is mixed. Made with bread flour and freshly milled whole wheat, barley and rye flours. A hearty whole grain bread that is a great all around bread. – $5/loaf

Honey, Wheat, Lemon & Poppy seeds – Made with a poolish that ferments some of the flour, yeast and water, but none of the salt, overnight. This results in a very active pre-ferment which is mixed the next day with the final ingredients which includes a nice mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Some honey, poppy seeds and freshly grated lemon peel round out the flavors in this loaf. A great all around bread – $5/loaf.

Chocolate Croissants – A traditional laminated French pastry made with a bit of sourdough flavor and another pre-ferment to help strengthen the dough to create the traditional honeycomb interior. Rolled out and shaped with delicious dark chocolate in the center. – 2/$5

 

Wine of the Week: Vicente Faria Gloria Douro Reserva ’16 

Today’s incarnation of the Vicente Faria winery began in 2001, but his family has been making wine in the Douro Valley region of northern Portugal for some 200 years.  His approach to wine-making derives from his great-grandfather as well as long experience with top Bordeaux winemakers and adopting practices from some of the industry’s best wineries. Today, he combines the techniques he has learned from both winemaking regions to create extraordinary wines. Vineyards use only sustainable farming practices, without irrigation or fertilization.

The Douro Valley is the first and therefore oldest designated wine region in the world, producing wines for over 2000 years!  The soils are mostly schist, forcing vines to grow deep into the ground to find water and nutrients. In addition, the very hot summers and cold winters also stress the vines, conditions that are ideal for making wines of character.

Vicente Faria Gloria Douro Reserva ’16    Portugal    $16
A juicy and delicious Portuguese red wine blend with aromas of fleshy black plum and blackberries. Full-bodied and smooth. The grapes are grown in the Douro Valley in the northeast of Portugal. The wine was aged in oak barrels.

 

Wine Emergencies…Who Ya Gonna Call?

While Covid continues to limit our movements and associations, we will continue to help you keep your wine shelves topped up. We know how it is…one minute your wine shelves are reassuringly stocked, and the very next day you reach for something and OMD, where did it all go?? It happens to all of us during these undifferentiated days and weeks of semi-quarantine.

But fear not, mis amigos! When a wine emergency strikes YOUR wine pantry, just click on the Order Wine link in the header above to browse our list of currently available wines with tasting notes and prices. When you have made your selections you can phone us with your order or email us using the Contact Us link above. We will confirm your order and make arrangements for pickup/delivery at your convenience. EZ-PZ!

 

 

Just The Facts, Please, Ma’am…

Like all alien Monsters, the ex-Tweetster still looms large, so close he continues to fog the rear-view mirror with a gut-wrenching miasma of Coke-infused KFC breath. For now we must take it on faith that, like any other Nightmare Space Alien, his power will fade over time and distance. But that remains to be seen, because his fanatic MAGA base have been guzzling his conspiratorial Kool-Aid for so many years they are incapable of distinguishing facts from fantasy, truth from lies.

A case in point is a lawsuit filed against Tucker Carlson and Fox News by plaintiff Karen McDougal charging defamation after Carlson did a series of shows accusing her of extortion.  Four months ago, Tweetster-appointed judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissed the suit, ruling that ” the general tenor of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not ‘stating actual facts’ about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘non-literal commentary”…given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’ about the statements he makes.”

So the challenge this presents for broadcasting and informed public opinion going forward is that on the one hand, Carlson and Fox are not obligated to tell the truth because they are not presenting news, they are simply providing opinion.

Well, the judge’s ruling does not square with what we have all witnessed over the past four years in general and over the last four months in particular. We have all watched as most Congressional Republicans chose to support the false narrative of a “rigged” or “stolen” election and widespread fraud. Many of them applauded the storming of the Capital by what was in fact an armed and organized attempt to nullify the national election and keep their candidate in power. In short, it was an attempted coup that is, unfortunately still bubbling among dozens of Republican Senators and scores of Republican Representatives.

Clearly nearly half of Americans cannot tell“exaggeration and ‘non-literal commentary” from actual facts.  And clearly we cannot have a useful national conversation about anything if we cannot agree on the most basic facts about what is truth and what are lies. So one obvious starting point is to require that all written or broadcast commentary be required to label itself clearly as “documented, factual news” or ” undocumented editorial opinion.”

Wine Tasting

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