lummi island wine tasting june 22 ’18

Posted at June 22, 2018

(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)

Bread Friday this week

Buckwheat Rye – fresh milled buckwheat and rye are soaked for 8 hours without any yeast in a method known as an autolyse. As buckwheat and rye don’t have much gluten this allows what little gluten there is to start developing and really gets the enzymes going before the final mix. This soaker is mixed with bread flour, salt and yeast and a bit of honey. Makes great toast – $5/loaf

Black Pepper Walnut- made with a nice mix of flours, bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A fair amount of black pepper and toasted walnuts give this bread great flavor with just a bit of peppery bite to it. Would go well with all sorts of meats and cheese – $5/loaf

and pastry this week…

Palmiers aka Elephant Ears – made with puff pastry rolled out, spread with sugar,  folded over and sliced. Makes a delightful, crisp, crunchy, buttery, sugary pastry.  – 4/$5

 

Short Blog Tonight

We were in town all day today, attending a wine tasting (you know, Work!), running errands, and then meeting up with some of you for another Amazing Dinner in town at Ciao Thyme. Celebrating the First Day of Summer, the menu include lots of fresh ingredients, was creative and delicious, and got us home very late…pushing midnight as I write. Hope to see you all this weekend!

 

Adorada Rose

Lately we seem to be on some kind of detour from our Ongoing Mission of support for small, creative wineries with Artistic and Environmental Integrity who, wherever they are on the Planet, strive to bring the fruit of every harvest into Harmony with some Cosmic Intention, helping each wine Unfold without Will and without Desire into a True and Full Expresson of Itself. Admittedly, it’s a vaguely spiritual goal and something of a long-term winemaker’s Koan: as each season yields its annual product, how can we best facilitate its True self-expression without the intrusion of personal ego?

Last week we offered for tasting an over-the-top cabernet sauvignon called Juggernaut, deliberately crafted for concentrated flavors, sensual aromas, and lingering finish. And this week we offer a similarly designed rosé called Adorada. The philosophy behind both wines is similar: begin with the marketing image and then craft the wine to match. In the case of Juggernaut, it meant big, extracted fruit with matching label graphics. In the case of Adorada, it means just the right color, flavor profile, and minimalist design profile to make the wine into a Fashion Statement. Maybe making wine is one art, and selling it is another…hard to accept for some of us old-timers. But we tasted it and priced it as with all our wines, and despite the Style Campaign, we found it a well-made wine at a reasonable price, and we think you will, too. And yes, it comes in a very stylish package. Which leads us to the basic question:  are we persuaded by the package, to like it better than we would if tasting it blind (bottle and label covered by a paper bag)…?

 

Mar a Lago Update: Truth and Lies

Let’s face it, admit it, and give both Credit and Blame as deserved: the Tweetster is is most Blatant, Unapologetic, Compulsive, and Unrepentant Liar that any of us has ever Seen or even Imagined. And even more amazing, the Lying is such a Hallmark of Who and What he Is, or more precisely, who and what he Pretends to Be, that his supporters are Oblivious to it, and his detractors get more and more exhausted Rolling Their Eyes.

Are there really still people out there who haven’t noticed that the Official Tweetster Truth Changes from moment to moment and from day to day? Or is it more that they just Don’t Care, or can’t tell Giant, Blatant, Knock You Down and Rub Your Face in them Lies from actual, observable, reliable, the same today, tomorrow, and every day Facts?

The last two weeks of “It’s Obama’s Fault,” and “Our Hands are Tied” justifications for separating immigrant families detained at our border have been Proven to have been Lies, Whole Lies, and Nothing but Lies, yet nothing seems to have changed. The Tweetster’s supporters double down on “He’s Our Guy,” the fractious Republican Congress remains torn between Far Right and Way, Way Far Right, and both Truth and Lies have now achieved Equal Standing on our Political Stage. Opinion is no longer based on the merit of arguments, but rather on their Alignment with Our Predisposed opinions.

 

This week’s wine tasting

Mer Soleil Unoaked Chardonnay ’15   California    $17
A pure, clean expression of Chardonnay, fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel and small concrete tanks. Aromas of flower blossoms and crisp pears, round and layered on the palate, with vibrant acidity and depth.

Adorada “eau de California” Rosé ’16 California       $19
Brilliant coral color with aromas of strawberries and red grapefruit, rose petal, and jasmine; palate of strawberry, orange zest and a touch of white pepper spice and bright acidity to balance the fruity creaminess.

Morellino di Scansano Maremma Toscana Capoccia ’15    Italy    $11
Bright and clean with a dark color, soft cherry fruit and structure, but nice weight and a juicy finish. Fruit forward without being sweet or alcoholic. Great value.

Chateau Mayne-Vieil Cuvee Alienor  ’15     France     $15
Old vines merlot; serious and sumptuous with perfumed fruits and firm tannins that will soften with age into dark blackberry and generous structure.

Turner Pageot Le Rouge  ’14    France     $19
Red wine from biodynamic vines, 80% grenache and 20% syrah; heady nose of mixed red and black fruits, brioche, polished leather, iodine, tobacco and spice; full bodied and well balanced, scarlet and spicy, bright yet brooding.

 

Wine Tasting

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