lummi island wine tasting june 24-25 ’22
Hours this weekend: 4-6pm both Friday and Saturday
We just learned that anyone in the wine shop last Saturday afternoon may have been exposed to Covid. One guest developed very mild symptoms on Sunday for one day. We have tested negative so far, with no symptoms.
County-wide figures show that new cases seem to include everyone, regardless of vaccine status, and that symptom severity is roughly correlated with vaccine status. At this point in the pandemic we all have to judge risks for ourselves.
We will be open as usual from 4-6 Fri-Sat, and there will be limited outdoor seating available on the deck for those who wish to stay outside. We do continue to request that the unvaxed remain outside for tasting. Fyi, the forecast is for a sunny weekend!
Bread Pickup This Week
Multi Grain Levain – – Made with a sourdough culture and a flavorful mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A nice mixture of flax, sesame sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some polenta add great flavor and crunch. And just a little honey for some sweetness. A great all around bread that is full of flavor – $5/loaf
Polenta Levain –– Also made with a levain, also known as sourdough, in which the sourdough starter is fed and built up over several days, then mixed with bread flour and polenta in the final dough mix. This bread is a nice rustic loaf with great corn flavor. – $5/loaf
and mmm, pastry this week…
Brioche Tarts au Sucre – otherwise known as brioche sugar tarts. A rich brioche dough full of eggs and butter is rolled into a round tart and topped with more eggs, cream, butter and sugar. These are delicious topped with fresh fruit inlace of a traditional shortcake. As always, quantities are limited, be sure to get your order in – 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: Monte Tondo Veneto Corvina ’20 Italy $12
Corvina (click link and scroll down) is one of several grapes historically grown in the Veneto (Venice) wine region of Italy. Others include Rondinella and Molinara; the three are often blended together into Valpolicella. Corvina and Rondinella grapes, in turn, are sometimes dried before pressing, yielding a concentrated juice which is used to make amarone. The same skins are then typically used many times in additional fermentations to make ripasso, a valpolicella that is richer for the treatment.
The Monte Tondo winery is located just outside Verona. As a separate varietal, this corvina has an appealing lightness and low alcohol content that make it a good pairing with light summer meals on the deck or patio.
The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel, which preserves the freshness and lively spiciness of the grape while maintaining a supple and
smooth character. After bottling it is aged another several months before release.
Notes: Ruby red color; bright lively nose with fresh cherry, black berry and black pepper hints. Medium-bodied and well balanced, with moderate acidity and supple, well-integrated tannins. Dark fruit core with cherry, chocolate and spicy notes. Moderate length with a smooth, seductive finish and a spicy aftertaste. Food pairing: Ideal with typical Mediterranean dishes, roasted and grilled meat, salami.
This Week’s $5 Tasting
Charles Krug Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ’20 Napa $15
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.
Monte Tondo Veneto Corvina ’20 Italy $12
Organically farmed; bright nose of fresh cherries and black pepper; fresh and lively palate of cherry, dark chocolate and spice, with supple, well-integrated tannins and a smooth, seductive, slightly spicy finish.
Charles Krug Cabernet Saugvignon ’18 Napa $30
Cranberry and briary aromas with hints of brown butter and clove leading to a palate of cranberry and black currant flavors nicely integrated with lightly toasted oak, all leading to a smooth lingering finish of berries and butter.
The Economics of the Heart: Rights and Wrongs
In recent years we have watched our country become increasingly dysfunctional. It seems to be a global trend. Perhaps we are a crazy species, or perhaps the Internet is the new Tower of Babel. We were resourceful enough to have survived this long, but we are looking more and more like an experiment gone terribly wrong. Or, as the Creator might quip on the Daily Show, “Well, Trevor, we didn’t know how these humans would work out in an interdependent ecosystem, and, well..now we know!”
Let’s start with the unfolding public hearings of the House Jan. 6 committee. The ongoing revelations of the detailed history of how January 6 insurrection evolved into actuality have lately revealed two very important things. First, there was indeed an ongoing conspiracy directly instigated by the Tweetster to overturn the 2020 election and stay in office for another term. Second, that conspiracy recruited millions of supporters with the Big Lie and came dangerously close to succeeding in stealing the election.
The near-success of the project created a blueprint for more blatant attempts by Republicans to rig elections in their favor in Red states nationwide. Many have already changed the rules for voting and vote tabulation, reducing oversight by replacing neutral Secretaries of State and election workers with partisan Republicans. These new laws are designed to keep Democrats from voting, and for keeping their votes from being counted if they do manage to vote.
The Good News is that the revelations of the Jan 6 Committee have been well documented and well presented, mostly by a carefully selected handful of conscientious Republican officials at both the state and federal level who chose follow the law rather than the Tweetster. The Bad News is that most of the Republicans in office at all levels still believe that all Americans should be bound by their religious superstitions, racial biases, and sense of divine entitlement. Their King James is better than the Books of a hundred other religions, all based on some culture’s beliefs and tradition (i.e., superstition), and all made up by imperfect humans under the auspices of divine revelation– all equally hopeful, all equally flawed.
Deep concern for this very development is why the framers were so careful to make their new country a secular one that allowed the practice of all religions but favored none. They recognized and feared the tyranny of any government that claimed divine right.
Fast forward to today, when the Ultra-Right Supreme Court just decided that every American has the right to carry a loaded gun anywhere and anytime. In his 66-page argument, Justice Thomas (he of the MAGA and Jan 6 co-conspirator wife) wrote:
“The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.’ ” Thomas wrote, referring to a previous Supreme Court ruling. “We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need.”
Hmm. “No other Constitutional right,,,??” Really? There seems to be a special kind of blindness in whatever form of “justice” these guys are peddling. The clear and transferable implications are that women do NOT have a right to manage their own bodies and their reproductive burdens, that the sudden appearance of guns in holsters Everywhere will NOT affect any sense of public safety and well-being, and that no polluter or nuisance-creator need worry about ever having to pay for damages imposed on others. As if, you know, turning all of America into Deadwood or Tombstone is what the framers Really had in mind.
If these six clowns really believe this crap, then any lingering hope for Roe is reduced to a flicker, and the Originalists have laid the first asphalt on their brave new Road to Hell for our country.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
2072 Granger Way