lummi island wine tasting june 9 ’17
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Pain Meunier – aka ‘miller’s bread.’ Developed to honor the miller who mills the wheat and contains all portions of the wheat berry, bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat as well as cracked wheat and wheat germ. Always a favorite this is a great all around bread. – $5/loaf
Fig Anise – Ever a local favorite! Using a sponge that is fermented overnight then mixed with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Honey, dried figs and anise bring in all the flavors of the Mediterranean. – $5/loaf
And for pastry this week, in honor of our Recent Ursine Visitor…
Bear Claws! – Made with a danish pastry dough rich in cream, eggs, sugar and butter. The dough is rolled out and filled with almond paste, powdered sugar, egg whites and just a bit of cinnamon to round out the flavor. Then, because bears love honey, topped with a honey glaze after baking. Claw-Lickin’ Good! -2/$5
Sunday Concert June 11!
Singer/songwriter/therapist (and Lummi Island familiar) Rob Hutchings has played his music in the wine shop numerous times over the past year, where many of us have enjoyed his expressive and emotive style: “With these songs of awareness, we celebrate our creative connection with an intention of healing.” For this concert Rob is teaming up with bluegrass mandolin/guitarist Perry Welsh, who brings his dynamic picking/strumming patterns to this musical collaboration in which unique rhythms frame the narrative elements of Rob’s songs. It’s gonna be fun! Listen
Music from 4-6pm. Suggested donation is $15. Wines available by the glass.
Space is limited, so please email us to reserve space!
Horchata & Chocolate
As mentioned last week, we have replenished our dwindling stock of Theo’s Chocolate Bars. And even though we are by Popular Demand heavily stocked in favor of Very Dark Chocolate, some of us also have a fondness for good Milk Chocolate, and the new Cinnamon Horchata bar is particularly irresistible.
Horchata is a Spanish beverage dating back to the Moors in Valencia over a thousand years ago. The original recipe used ground yellow nutsedge (aka tigernuts), water, and sugar. Today there are many regional and ethnic variations found across the Spanish-speaking world, which may or may not include milk, ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, and/or tigernuts. The most familiar version found in the US is the Mexican recipe, which typically includes rice, vanilla, and cinnamon. There are also versions that include coconut milk, peanuts, cashews, nutmeg, cocoa, or allspice. It may or may not be strained.
It just Makes Sense that a savory concoction that has been popular for a millenium has been adapted to local ingredients, while never straying very far from its flavorful origins. We are told it is a common menu item in Mexican restaurants, and we are looking forward to exploring its possibilities. In the meantime…blending these flavors into a Chocolate Bar was a True Inspiration!
Mar a Lago Update
At some point…like Now, maybe…it might be useful to consider the Remote Possibility that Trumpism as a Movement may be something Most Devoutly to Fear rather than to Mock, Dismiss, or Ridicule. Since the Foundation of any Society is a Commitment to Shared Values, at some level Political Control can be amplified by eliminating the ability even to think about them from the language. This idea was the Primary Theme of George Orwell’s 1984. Its language of Newspeak was designed to make critical modes of thought and expression impossible by eliminating even their Possibility from spoken and written language.
The beginnings of Newspeak in the Real World date back to The Great Reagan, who actually held a starring role as “President” in the real year 1984, with his Iconic claim that “Government Is The Problem!” Fast forward to Now and consider just One of the Many Bizarre Current Changes happening in Public Dialogue, i.e., the Attack on Facts over the last two years on Talk Radio, Fox News, and a bazillion Internet websites, to the point that “Free Press” has been dismissed as “Fake News;” long established Scientific Facts have been relabeled Questionable Opinions, and Constitutional Protections are being redefined as Establishment Elitism. Sad!
This week’s wine tasting
Flaugerges Les Comptes Blanc ’14 France $13
Aromatic, fruity aromas lead into a vibrant, generous, unctuous palate with lilac and peach overtones, good minerality, and pleasing length.
Gassier Esprit Rose ’15 France $15
Very clear with shades of peach; floral nose with notes of pear, peach, and apricot; round and delicate on the palate with notes of peach, mandarin, and grapefruit.
Zenato ‘Alanera’ Rosso Veronese Italy $15
Dark, inky color; rich and focused nose, with ripe berries, dusty oak and a precise note of waxy vanilla bean. On the palate delivers extracted flavors of cherries, strawberry, clay and even a hint of crushed mint. Soft tannins, rounded finish.
Catena Zapata Cab Franc San Carlos ’14 Argentina $19
Purple color with ruby tones. Elegant aromas of spices, garrigue, red berries, cassis, and raspberries, with layers of cedar. Mouth-filling and rich with flavors of cassis, raspberries and notes of black pepper and oregano. The finish is bright and fresh with finely grained tannins.
Finca el Tesso Crianza’13 Spain $17
87% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano, 5% Cab Sauv from 50 year-old vines; Bright and polished with enticing aromas of chocolate, baking spices, licorice, and sweet flowers, with lush notes of black raspberry.
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2072 Granger Way