lummi island wine tasting july 1-2 ’22

Hours this weekend: 4-6pm both Friday and Saturday

This weekend we will be open as usual from 4-6 Fri-Sat, with limited outdoor seating available on the deck for those who wish to stay outside.

County-wide figures show that current Covid cases now seem to include everyone, regardless of vaccine status. Overall cases remain low at about 2 per 1000, considerably lower than chances of getting the annual flu. Symptom severity is roughly correlated with vaccine status, and over 70% of those around us have now been vaccinated. So at this point in the pandemic risks are still real, but far less threatening, and we all have to judge risks for ourselves.

We will continue taking basic precautions in the wine shop: windows open, air filter operating, outside seating options.  We do continue to request that the unvaxed remain outside for tasting. Fyi, the forecast is for a mostly sunny weekend!

 

Bread Pickup This Week

Pear Buckwheat – Begins with an overnight poolish preferment mixed the next day with bread flour and fresh milled buckwheat; the preferment allows the dough to begin to develop before the addition of toasted walnuts and dried pears soaked in white wine. – $5/loaf

French Country Bread  – A a rustic country loaf made with bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat, and and a bit of toasted wheat germ. After building the levain with a sourdough culture and mixing the final dough it gets a long cool overnight ferment in the refrigerator. This really allows the flavor to develop in this bread.   – $5/loaf

and mmm, pastry this week…

Rum Raisin Brioche: A delicious brioche dough full of eggs, butter and sugar. Filled with golden raisins and chunks of almond paste and (wait there’s more!) topped with a chocolate glaze before baking.- 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: Natura Organic Rose ’21    Chile        $12

Best Time to Visit Emiliana Organic Vineyard | Natura Wines

courtesy www.naturawines.com

Natura is an offspring of Italian winery Banfi which controls numerous wineries worldwide in addition to its iconic Brunello vineyards and winery in Montalcino, Italy.

 The Natura rose is a blend of organically grown Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot from hand-picked, organically grown grapes from the prime growing regions of Chile’s Central Valley, pressed and fermented on the lees in stainless steel tanks.

Vineyards are maintained in a rich interdependent ecosystem that effectively manages pests and keeps the soil healthy. Flowers and native plants thrive throughout the organic vineyards that provide natural pest control and keep soils healthy. The use of chemicals has been replaced with natural compounds and compost from spent grape skins and stems.

Tasting notes: Bright light pink; aromas of fresh strawberries, flowers, and wet stones, with light, bright, and crisp flavors of  strawberries and nectarines on the palate; a bright, elegant, and supple accompaniment for summer dining. Made from  organically grown grapes with Ecocert certification.

 

The Economics of the Heart: Republican EntRightlement

American democracy has been in the cross-hairs of the Republican Party for at least fifty years, at least since the horrible 1968 campaign season when Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. The dreamy era of 60’s Woodstock, San Francisco flower children, and unbridled optimism came crashing down under the same dark forces that took Nixon to the White House.

We now know that well before Watergate in 1972, Nixon’s “plumbers” had spent months and $250k very effectively sabotaging Ed Muskie’s campaign for the Democratic nomination because they thought he would be a more formidable opponent than George McGovern. Ironically, in comparison Watergate was an unlucky afterthought that went south. History shows us that Republicans have been relying on dirty tricks, bullying, and “alternate facts” ever since. Reagan won in  1980 by deliberately wooing Southern Democrats with racist rhetoric, and blue collar voters with welfare society mythology.

The real game-changing turning point came in 1987 when Reagan’s FCC very deliberately eliminated the Fairness Doctrine, opening the door for all manner of hyperbole, personal attacks, and outright lying that led to ubiquitous, 24/7 radio and TV outrage monologues by the likes of Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Beck, Hannity, and the rest. That’s when “News” got strategically deployed as carefully scripted Orwellian Propaganda, and Republicans started actually believing in their own Entitlement to Power. 

We have seen in the J6 hearings that the Republican sense of Entitlement still supersedes even their allegiance to our Nation and the Constitution. The clear takeaway is that most current Republican officeholders were either actively engaged in supporting the coup, or at best have been passively engaged in allowing it to happen and saying nothing. Many of the handful whom we thank heartily for having come forward to testify say they would vote for Trump again. Even worse, it is likely that the many evangelicals among them also support the breathtaking elimination of our Constitutional freedoms by McConnell’s brutal Supreme Court.

We close today with a takeaway worth pondering  from a conversation we had last night with an old friend we have not seen for a long time, Tarso Ramos (Myra’s son), who is the Executive Director at Political Research Associates  in Boston. Their broad goal is no less than: building a more just and inclusive democratic society in which supremacist and authoritarian forces no longer wield significant cultural or political power.

So the closing thought for today from that conversation (my brief takeaway) is that our two-party system as it exists now and has historically existed, is by its nature both dysfunctional and obsolete. It has neither the will or the structure to deal with the multiplicity of demands being placed on it in our overpopulated and  overstressed global environment, nor does it any longer have the checks and balances necessary to protect itself from authoritarian corruption within.

This view corroborates what we old-timers have seen unfold in our lifetimes, going from a world of 2 billion to 7 billion of us, profoundly straining global resources, while stuck in the limitations of our primitive, tribal, primate minds.

to be continued…

 

This Week’s $5 Tasting

Natura Rose ’21    Chile        $12
Cold-soaked before pressing and cold-fermented on the skins to develop rich and nuanced aromas and flavors of grassy lime, tropical fruits, and lychee, with a crisp, lingering finish.

Pascual Toso Chardonnay ’17  Argentina    $14
Aromas of ripe green apple, pineapple and mango; full, fresh palate with bright acidity, finishing with a slight toasty hint on a smooth, lingering finish.

Sea Sun Pinot Noir ’19    California    $21
A deep, alluring pinot, strikingly soft and rich on both the nose and palate, with scents of baked cherries and pie crust, and silky notes of brown spice and vanilla.

 

 

 

 

Wine Tasting

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