lummi island wine tasting july 14 ’23
JULY HOURS: Fridays & Saturdays, 4-6pm
a quiet day on the slough…
Friday Bread Pickup This Week
Pain au Levain – Made with a nice mix of bread flour and freshly milled whole wheat and rye flours. After building the sourdough and mixing the final dough it gets a long cool overnight ferment in the refrigerator that really allows the flavor to develop in the bread. – $5/loaf
Cinnamon Raisin – Made with a poolish of bread and fresh milled rye flour that is fermented overnight before the final dough is mixed with bread flour, freshly milled whole wheat and rolled oats. Some honey for sweetness, a little milk for a tender crumb and loaded with raisins and a healthy dose of cinnamon. The cinnamon is mixed into the dough and flavors the entire bread, a hearty rustic loaf, great for breakfast toast, even better for french toast! – $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Gibassiers – A traditional french pastry that incorporates the flavors from the southern France region. Made with a delicious sweet dough full of milk, butter, eggs and olive oil. The addition of orange flower water, candied orange peel and anise seed bring great flavor to these pastries. After baking they are brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with more sugar. Ooh La La a delightful pastry with your morning coffee or tea! – 2/ $5
To get on the bread order list, click 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: Idilico Tempranillo ’20 Washington $21
Javier and Shylah Alfonso
Pomum Cellars in Woodinville is really two wineries in one. The Pomum label is used for blends of traditional French varietals like cab sauv, cab franc, and syrah. Currently those include the Pomum Red, which we almost always have in stock, and a higher end red blend, Shya.
Since winemaker Javier Alfonso grew up in Spain’s famed Ribera del Duero wine region, where tempranillo is just called “tinto” (i.e., the only real red grape), he created a separate label (Idilico) for the wines he makes from Spanish varietals grown in Washington (tempranillo, garnacha, graciano, monastrell, albarino). All the Idilico wines are made from Spanish varietals sourced from top vineyards in Yakima Valley.
Idilico is the only winery in Washington focusing exclusively on Spanish varietals. It turns out Washington vineyards are ideally suited for growing just about any wine grape, including the finicky Spanish varietals, which seem to yield their best wines from challenging terrain and temperature variations.
Contrary to popular belief, wine regions in Spain are not endlessly balmy and sunny. On the contrary, many top growing regions in Spain best resemble Eastern Washington, with arid desert conditions, scorching day time temperatures, and huge temperature swings at night. Add a short growing season and frosty winters, and you get, as the saying goes in in many of Spain’s best growing regions, “Nueve meses de invierno tres meses de infierno”— “nine months of Winter and three months of Hell!”
Anyway, we have been big fans of Javier’s wines for many years. This week were are pouring his tinto, and we are pretty sure you are going to like it!
This week’s wine tasting
Mas des Bressades Rosé ’21 France $14
Bright and refreshing classic Rhone blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvèdre, with splashes of Carignan and Cinsault; nice flavor balance of bright red fruit, wild herbs, and a vibrant, spicy finish.
Phantom Chardonnay ’20 California $15
Entices with its rich layers of green apple and pear that lead into spicy flavors of freshly baked apple pie, while barrel fermentation imparts a creamy, luscious mouthfeel finishing with sweet notes of vanilla and melted caramel.
Idilico Tempranillo ’20 Washington $21
Pretty aromas of dried herbs, game and tart cherry with hints of moist rock and some citrus notes; on the palate the wine is medium-bodied with juicy mouthfeel, soft tannins, and a bright, lingering finish.
Economics of the Heart: How 4.5 + 2.5 = 0
We mortals have a fair amount of imagination. But recent events demonstrate that there are times when all we can do is shake our heads in wonder at the way events unfold. Yes, we think. this IS stranger than fiction…No one, we think (except possibly Carl Hiaasen), could possibly have made this up!
Last week our ferry saga ended quite suddenly after the cancellation of a “special meeting” called on very short notice, with, um, a conspicuous lack of detail about need or purpose. It generated a certain public outrage, a power play by the majority, perhaps, that was called off at the last minute because it violated several elements of the State Open Meetings Act. Ahhh, we of the minority exhaled, perhaps we might actually get some traction at the next scheduled meeting scheduled for 7/12..?
Over the weekend, however, three members of the majority suddenly resigned from the committee as a group, apparently from public pressure. That left four of us, a relatively balanced but minimal quorum that could, possibly, conduct actual business at the next meeting, after many months of keeping serious topics from coming to the floor for discussion. It seemed remotely possible the remaining group of four might possibly find some common ground and make some progress.
On Monday morning, checking in with the County’s legislative liaison person revealed that four remaining members were still a quorum and could officially meet. Encouraging. However, by mid-morning we learned that one of the four had a conflicting engagement and would not be able to make the meeting.
A few hours later, a fourth member resigned, leaving only three of us of the designated seven. Liaison contacted Legal, and apparently if all three of us remaining could meet, that would still have made a quorum, but two definitely did not.
Those events precipitated a lot of hasty phone calls and emails, which quickly brought everything to a standstill for this month and perhaps longer. Not a bad thing really, if it stays at a standstill. We shall see.
No doubt this all sounds very abstract and boring. But for those of us caught up in it, it has been an Ordeal without resolution, involving much of our community, and completely unresolved, and emotionally exhausting. Danny Glover said it best, here: This isn’t the way things are supposed to be.
” of the ferry committee
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2072 Granger Way