lummi island wine tasting march 29 ’19
note: some photos may link to larger formats when clicked…
Friday Breads This Week
Honey, Wheat, Lemon & Poppy seeds – Made with a poolish that ferments some of the flour, yeast and water overnight. This results in a very active pre-ferment which is mixed the next day with the final ingredients which includes a nice mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Some honey, poppy seeds and freshly grated lemon peel round out the flavors in this loaf. – $5/loaf.
Prairie Bread – Named for the ingredients that reflect all the goodness of grains grown on the prairie. Using regular bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat as well as oats, and cornmeal, and loaded up with poppy, flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds with just a hint of brown sugar for a little sweetness. – $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Cinnamon Rolls – These are made with a rich sweet roll dough that is full of eggs, butter and sugar. The dough is rolled out, spread with pastry cream and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Then rolled up and sliced into individual rolls for baking. And boy are they delicious!! – 2/$5.
Saturday Concert April 20!
Make your plans now! Our Annual Spring Concert with singer-songwriter-minstrel Robert Sarazin Blake! This year’s concert will be from 2-4pm on Saturday, April 20 in the wine shop!
As Robert’s many local followers know, he is a modern-day troubadour who travels widely (mostly here in the Pacific Northwest , Germany, and Ireland) to share his craft, very often in pub atmospheres like our dear wine shop. And to all venues he brings his sonorous voice, open heart, wry humor, and engaging songs to weave a web of well-being around you. For those of you who have not attended any of our concerts, know that our little shop is a great venue for Robert’s style, which is is always engaging and energizing.
Suggested performance donation is a modest $20 per person, and a selection of wines will be available by the glass. And since space is very limited, please confirm reservations soon!
Learn more about Robert’s music here.
Mar a Lago Update: The Increasing Plausibility of the End of Life on Earth
We arrived home from several weeks on the Road to our little Paradise here on Lummi Island this beautiful, sunny afternoon. In several ways it has been more challenging than relaxing to have been away in the trailer the past month– March came in like a Big, Bullying, T-t-teeth Ch-ch-chattering Lion that rained all day and Froze at nigh, both here and in Oregon. Hard to relax– not exactly, you know, hammock conditions…! Throughout the Northwest, though, the last ten days have been mostly sunny, comfortable, and reassuring. Spring is here, and it has rarely felt So Welcome. Ahhhh!
That’s the Good News.
The Bad News is that we listened to a very interesting and disturbing interview on the radio a few days ago between Ralph Nader and Dahr Jamail, author of “The End of Ice,” that brought into Sharp Focus what David Suzuki said to an audience member here in Bellingham ten years or so ago who asked him if we should be Worried about Global Warming. Suzuki’s answer was, “You should be Sh*#ing Your Pants!”
Similarly, Jamail quite matter-of-factly lays out the Reality that the current concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is historically consistent with an average temperature seven degrees higher that now, and a sea level tens of feet higher. Even if we immediately stopped emitting CO2 altogether, temperatures could continue to rise for decades or even centuries, exceeding the ability of most species to adapt or successfully migrate to survivable habitats. Bottom Line: it may already be too late to avoid a Mass Extinction severe enough to destroy all Life on Earth, and caused by Human Beings. WTF is wrong with us??
Though we will probably never know what is actually in the Mueller Report, we do know there was massive Russian intervention the 2016 election, without which the Tweetster could not possibly have “won.” We also know is that if the Whole World of Human Beings doesn’t Step Up to meet the Existential Threat of the Growing Climate Crisis we have created, the Whole Game is Over. And we are also coming to see that the Survival of Life Itself is not of particular concern to Republicans.
Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date: 7,546 as of 1/1/19\
This week’s wine tasting
Robert Ramsay Mason’s White ’17 Washington $17
100% roussanne; aromas and flavors are bright and lemony and lightly effervescent, with the more typical honeyed richness of this grape appearing late on the mid-palate for a tasty and refreshing– but decidedly less sensual–interpretation.
Oregon Solidarity Pinot Noir Rose ’18 Oregon $16
Last fall a California winery canceled contracts for 2,000 tons of grapes from the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon a mere two days before harvest, citing possible smoke taint from area wildfires and leaving vineyard owners in the lurch. A community of area wineries bought the fruit, made the wines, and saved the vintners’ bacon. This is the rose, to be followed by a chardonnay in May and a pinot noir in August.
Airfield Bombshell Red ’17 Washington $14
Bramble fruit aromatics ranging from blackberry to ripe raspberry. A hint of strawberry preserves leads into an intriguing layer of exotic spice. The palate is round and displays rich secondary flavors of boysenberry and pomegranate that exits with a silky, lingering finish and a lively burst of fresh fruits.
Martorana Nero d’Avola ’17 Italy $14
From Sicilian volcanic soils; full-bodied and fresh with big notes of ripe plums, berry cobbler, dark chocolate, and almonds, melting into earthy flavors with good minerality.
Dynasty Cellars Zinfandel ’14 Washington $25
Following the Dynasty style with lots of new oak that gives a soft texture but challenges the more subtle flavors of the dark and ripe fruit.
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