lummi island wine tasting june 23, ’23
Hours through June: Fridays from 4-6pm
Good News #1… We will be open as usual this Friday, June 23, from 4-6pm for wine tasting and sales!
Not-So-Good News… Due to family obligations, the wine shop will be closed next Friday June 30;
Good News #2… Beginning July 7, we will be expanding our summer hours to be open both Fridays and Saturdays from 4-6pm!
Friday Bread Pickup This Week
Breton – Incorporates the flavors of the french Brittany region. Bread flour and fresh milled buckwheat and rye make for interesting flavor and the salt is sel gris -the grey salt from the region that brings more mineral flavors to this bread. Goes great with meats and cheeses – – $5/loaf
Spelt Levain – – Spelt is an ancient grain that is a wheat. It has a nutty, slightly sweet flavor and has gluten but it isn’t as strong as the gluten in modern wheat. This bread is made with a culture that is used to create a levain before the final dough is mixed with traditional bread flour, spelt flour, fresh milled whole spelt and fresh milled whole rye. – $5/loaf.
and pastry this week…
Brioche Tarts au Sucre (Brioche sugar tarts)– A rich brioche dough full of eggs and butter, rolled into a round tart and topped with more eggs, cream, butter and sugar. While these are good on their own, they are a perfect substitute for shortcake biscuits for all of the fresh fruit of the season.- 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: Seven Hills Walla Walla Cabernet ’20 WA $32
Seven Hills winery founder and 4th generation regional farmer Casey McClellan began planting grape vines in Walla Walla in the early 80’s, making it one of the the first few wineries in the area, and setting the stage for the rapid development of the Washington State wine industry over the forty years since.
Seven Hills pioneered the planting of primary Bordeaux varietals merlot and cabernet sauvignon in the area, demonstrating that the soil and climate of the area were ideally suited for vineyards in general and these varietals in particular. The winery has forged long-standing relationships with many of the most prestigious vineyards in the region, including Ciel du Cheval and Klipsun at Red Mountain and McClellan and Summit View in Walla Walla. The wines have an established reputation for a quiet, reliable quality. You will like it!
Tasting notes: Aromas of red cherries, black raspberry, and black tea, with hints of fresh herbs, cedar box, and earth; flavors of cherry, raspberry, dark chocolate, baking spice, and vanilla; medium bodied with plush texture, firm tannins, and balanced acidity.
This week’s wine tasting
Attems Collio Sauvignon Blanc ’19 Italy $17
Straw yellow with green highlights and characteristic bouquet of boxwood, tomato leaves and grapefruit, a bright, crisp palate of blossoms and lime, and a long, bright finish.
Monte Tondo Veneto Corvina ’20 Italy $12
Organically farmed; bright nose of fresh cherries and black pepper; fresh, light, and lively palate of cherry, dark chocolate and spice, with supple, well-integrated tannins and a smooth, seductive, slightly spicy finish.
Seven Hills Walla Walla Cabernet ’20 WA $32
Aromas of red cherries, black raspberry, and black tea, with hints of fresh herbs, cedar box, and earth; flavors of cherry, raspberry, dark chocolate, baking spice, and vanilla; medium bodied with plush texture, firm tannins, and balanced acidity
Economics of the Heart: Crossing Lines vs. Line Crossing
In economics “optimality” is “the place where the lines cross,” where no alternative resource allocation can produce higher net benefits. “Where the lines cross” implies the best available balance between benefits and costs; it’s what we aim for, as at Q in the image, the project size where the difference between total benefits (TSB) and total costs (TSC) is the greatest.
It is quite the opposite of “crossing the line,” which implies throwing out all the rules in in service to political expediency. Boo-hiss, huh?
Events of the past couple of months have brought this distinction into sharp political relief here on the island.
For the past six months, our community has been engaged in a pitched battle with County Public Works about ferry economics. In mid-December Public Works proposed a major ferry fare increase to be reviewed by the Lummi Island Ferry Advisory Committee (LIFAC, of which I am a member) at its January meeting, with an expectation that it would be forwarded to the County Council and passed into law a couple of weeks later, with little discussion or scrutiny. However, island residents proposed a convincing counter-proposal which was passed on to the CC and postponed action on the fare increase.
By April PW had introduced a radical revision of the entire ordinance governing ferry operations (WCC 10.34) and financing (current / proposed), which would remove all guard rails limiting the expenses that could be charged against fares. These guard rails are regulated not only by County ordinance but also by numerous state and federal statutes as well as terms of our annual contract with WSDOT governing annual subsidies from State fuel tax revenues.
The pro-PW majority on Lifac has tried various ways to pass it without discussion. You can see some of that in this video, which begins with considerable public input. You can watch the video and make up your own mind how responsive Lifac was to the public. (Public comments begin at 22:25; the meeting gets interesting at 1:21:00; and starts whimpering to a non-decision over the last 10 minutes or so with a series of interruptions. The main takeaway is that the entire front table completely believed everything PW was asserting despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
Subsequent public outcry from the island community delayed the process long enough to demonstrate that a) PW has made numerous major accounting errors in their calculations ; b) there is actually a $1M surplus in the ferry fund, not a deficit; and c) PW has already passed such expenses onto the fare burden in violation of governing County ordinance which is still in effect.
The June meeting passed a request to the Council to make three important changes to the ordinance, including postponing discussion of the new ordinance till July. Due to extensive public pressure, including a petition with over 700 signatures, and a number of great presentations by members of the public, the delay was granted. That’s good news.
Meanwhile, evidence is mounting of some grievous ethical violations on the part of some of some players in this parochial little saga going a bit too far to get their way, but still a few more details to confirm on that, no need to hurry.
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2072 Granger Way