lummi island wine tasting july 9-10 ’21
Current Hours: Friday & Saturday 4-6pm
We are still operating under reduced hours 4-6pm Friday and Saturday for wine tasting and sales. Covid vaccinations are required for admission upstairs in the tasting room, but unvaccinated guests are welcome to enjoy wine tasting outside on our entry deck.
The weather looks clear through the weekend, with sunshine and moderate summer temperatures predicted.
Bread This Week
Kamut Levain – Kamut, aka khorasan wheat, is an ancient, protein-rich grain discovered in a cave in Iran in the 70’s that many people who can’t tolerate wheat find more digestible. This bread is made with a levain that is fermented overnight before being mixed with with bread flour and fresh milled whole kamut flour. It has a nutty, rich flavor and makes a golden color loaf. A great all around bread – $5/loaf
Barley, Whole Wheat, & Rye Levain – a really nice mule-grain artisan bread made with a sourdough culture built over several days. 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
and pastry this week, another favorite…
Morning Buns – Made popular by Tartine Bakery in San Francisco with the same laminated dough as croissants. The dough is rolled out, spread with a filling of brown sugar, orange zest, butter and cinnamon, then rolled up and sliced before baking. – 2/$5
Wine of the Week: Casal Garcia Vinho Verde
As our dear, Portuguese-fluent friend Myra taught us years ago, the correct way to pronounce “vinho verde” (literally ‘green wine’ –for its youth, not its color– is something like “veen-yo vairdge.” We should also note that when she says it, she moves her head and hands in space, painting the words in the air like a Samba. So you know this has to be, you know, Something Special. Which is true, especially in mid-summer.
This little region at the northern end of Portugal has been making this wine for some 2000 years in what was once called the Minho province. It’s in the blood, it’s in the landscape, it’s in the long cultural history of the region. There are some 19,000 individual “vineyards” spread over 51,000 acres. A quick calculation reveals that on average, that’s about 2.6 acres per vineyard. But many of those are even much smaller family vineyards grown on stone walls, fences, and pergolas on whatever land is available.
Located on the Atlantic west coast of the Iberian Peninsula in northern Portugal, the Vinho Verde region resembles the Pacific NW with its lush, green landscape and temperate climate. Grape varietals permitted in vinho verde include Alvarinho, Avesso, Azal, Arinto, Loureiro, and Trajadura, which all grow well in the area.
Usually bottled within three to six months after harvest, “green wine” pairs beautifully with summer salads, seafood and Asian cuisine, and is meant to be enjoyed young. Often it shows a light frizzante on the palate and a hint of off-dry sweetness balanced nicely by palate-cleansing acidity and a soothing freshness.
A light wine that is marked by its beautiful citric colors and incredible freshness with with soft aromas of tropical fruits and citrus. A very balanced wine that leaves a harmonious and citric after-taste.
The Economics of the Heart: Media and Anger Management
We were fascinated some years ago by the behavioral differences between Chimpanzees and Bonobos described in Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence. A major takeaway from the book is that the organization of male-dominated Chimp society continually stimulates ongoing male violence– against females, against other males in their own group, and even more violently against males in other groups.
This violence has been further correlated with the olfactory obviousness of female estrus in chimp females; research has suggested that “no adult male chimpanzee is subordinate to any female of any rank,” and that chimp males have “an innate propensity for dominance, gratuitous violence, war, rape, and murder.”
In contrast, in bonobo society, estrus has more subtle outward signs, and therefore does not evoke male competition, and indeed may explain why bonobo society is essentially matriarchal. The implication is that a single variable (the scent of female estrus) has had a profound effect on the evolution of these two closely related primates.
Over the last few years, we have observed the emergence of a similar contrast between Republicans and Democrats. At first glance, they seem members of the same species, citizens of the same Country. But the inescapable truth of our recent experiences is that Republicans are like chimps in some kind of Estrus Rage. They have become irrational to the point of delusion. Their media outlets purposely broadcast in RAISED and ANGRY voices, deliberately evoking Outrage and Anger with Lies Big and Small.
The polarities between chimps and bonobos are artifacts of their genetic differences. The polarities between Republicans and Democrats are manufactured continually and deliberately to keep a base of voters misinformed and malleable pawns in a power game aimed at taking over this country and dismantling it piece by piece–the ultimate corporate Takeover and Liquidation of Assets.
Hard to digest under any circumstances, but probably your best bet is serving at room temperature for the Last Show at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe…
This week’s $5 tasting:
Adorada “eau de California” Rosé ’16 California $14
Brilliant coral color with aromas of strawberries, red grapefruit, rose petal, and jasmine; palate of strawberry, orange zest and a touch of white pepper spice with bright acidity to balance the fruity creaminess. And all presented in a Very Fashionable Package!
Casal Garcia Vinho Verde Portugal $10
A light wine that is marked by its beautiful citric colors and incredible freshness with with soft aromas of tropical fruits and citrus. A very balanced wine that finishes with a refreshing, crisp, and harmonious finish.
Daou Pessimist Red blend ’17 California (Paso Robles) $25
Full-bodied, rich and spicy, with good balance and unfolding layers of elderberry and truffle with accents of cocoa, cardamom eucalyptus, leather, tobacco, and grilled meat, with an alluring, smooth and leisurely finish.
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2072 Granger Way