lummi island wine tasting may 10-11 ’19
Friday Breads This Week
French Country Bread – A levain bread made with mostly bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat and and a bit of toasted wheat germ. After building the levain with a sourdough culture and mixing the final dough it gets a long cool overnight ferment in the refrigerator. This really allows the flavor to develop for a rustic loaf that you might find in the countryside. – $5/loaf
Pear Buckwheat – Buckwheat is a common flour used in the Breton region of France. It has a nice earthy flavor that in this bread is complemented with the flavors of dried pears and toasted walnuts. The preferment used is a poolish, made with bread flour, water and a bit of yeast and fermented overnight. The final dough is mixed the next day with bread flour and fresh milled buckwheat. The addition of toasted walnuts and dried pears soaked in white wine makes for a really flavorful bread! – $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Gibassiers – A traditional french pastry made with a delicious sweet dough full of milk, butter, eggs and olive oil. The addition of orange flower water, candied orange peel and anise seed bring great flavor to these pastries. After baking they are brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with more sugar. Ooh La La a delightful pastry to go along with your morning coffee or tea. – 2/5$
Hearing is Believing…??
For as long as the wine shop has been open (14 years!) we have had a problem with sound reverberation.
When there are one, two, four, up to ten or so people at the bar, it is pretty easy for several people to be engaged in several conversation without raising their voices or having difficulty hearing. But somewhere around the 11th or 12th arrival pushes some kind of button, and all at once Everyone starts talking louder. With each arrival after that it just gets Worse, until it is difficult to hear what someone directly across the bar is saying to us.
One obscure method of speech volume management suggested by one of our long-time regulars (who was once into this sort of thing) was to raise the volume on our little Bose speakers playing from Pandora until it sort of matched the ambient level of conversational volume in the space. Curiously it does work to a certain extent, but a marginal one, and not nearly enough.
So for many years we have been promising to Do Something about it. After a fair amount of research we have decided to start with a few sound-absorbing pads on the ceiling. In theory they will dampen the reflection of sound waves and limit reverberation, making the sound more coherent and less dissonant.
The pads were mounted this afternoon, so this weekend is the Trial Balloon; let us know if you notice any difference!
Anne Amie
“Oregon” has become a Brand Name in the global Pinot Noir market. It has been a really very astute marketing move, and has been phenomenally successful in the last couple of decades promoting Oregon Pinot Noir. We like pinot as much or more than many, and do our best to sample whenever possible. Think of it as just one more perk of having a 3-yr-old grandson in Oregon…!
One of our most consistent favorites has been Anne Amie. As shown at left, to reach the winery you drive through a flat stretch alongside vineyards, then up a steep slope to the winery perched on top surrounded by more vineyards and a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside.
Although few things could be more lovely than relaxing with a lovely glass of pinot in a setting like that, we hope it will be almost as lovely for you to come by the wine shop this weekend during this glorious Spring Weather and try some for yourself. We have not tasted this particular vintage, and admit having found several disappointments in our recent tastings of Oregon pinots, so maybe this one won’t be to your taste. On the other hand, to date we have not had a pinot noir from Anne Amie that we have not enjoyed. We hope you will agree!
Mar a Lago Update: Showdown at the Not-So-Okay Corral
We can all agree that the past week has been a Nonstop Political Spectacle, with no sign of ending any time soon. It just keeps getting Worse, reminiscent of “Galloping Gertie,” the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which had a Fatal Design Flaw. By failing to consider how certain wind conditions could start the bridge oscillating in a way that amplified each oscillation instead of dampening it, the bridge self-destructed in Spectacular Fashion.
A similar phenomenon seems to be at play in our nation’s Body Politic, which appears headed for some kind of Showdown fairly soon at some not-so-okay Corral. In ordinary political circumstances, a conscientious search for common interests can build effective pathways to negotiation and compromise. But in the Strange World of the Tweetster, every “compromise” registers as a Loss which must be avoided–or punished–or buried– at all costs.
To complicate matters further, somehow over the past two years Republicans at every level have quietly been lining up in the Congressional Gym and drunk with Gusto the little paper cups of Mephistophilian Kool-Aid served by His Tweetsterness’s Obeisant Servants Kelliann and Sarah. Oblivious to the warnings of Mssrs. Cohen and Comey about the True Nature of the Faustian Bargain they are entering, they have all Double-Downed on their Fealty to the Dark Side with their ceaseless Mantra “No Collusion!” In recent days the Chorus has included Darth McConnell of course, along with L’il Lindsay, Dangerous Doug, and the rest. As Lt. Worf would accuse, “They have NO Honor!”
And this is really the Point here: Congressional Republicans have chosen to mischaracterize the Mueller Report as exonerating the Tweetster when it does no such thing. In doing so they have gone far beyond the allowable boundaries of “spin” or their customary dissembling into Outright, Bald-Faced Lying. And Everybody Knows we have now crossed some kind of metaphysical Rubicon where even the concept of Truth is under constant attack. Time to Take a Stand.
Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date: 10,000 as of 5/1/19
This week’s wine tasting
Montinore Borealis White Oregon $15
Aromas of orange blossom, honeydew, guava and kiwi; sumptuous flavors of stone fruit, Meyer lemon and juicy pear drizzled with caramel
La Croix Belle Caringole Rosé ’17 France $11
Syrah-Grenache blend; intense nose of rose petals and pear-drop candies; palate of alpine strawberries, raspberries, and cranberries, with a citrus accent on the crisp finish.
La Rocaliere Initial R ’14 France $12
80% grenache, 20% syrah; pressed after 12 hours cold maceration, 10 days fermentation, and aged in both stainless steel and concrete tanks before bottling to display bright, red fruit flavors both fresh and versatile on the palate.
Goose Ridge g3 Red ‘`16 Washington $15
Syrah-cab-merlot blend; supple ripe plum and blackberry notes with hints of spice, vanilla, black currant and Bing cherry. Nicely balanced with a lush, round mouth and a long, lingering finish.
Anne Amie Select Pinot Noir ’16 Oregon $23
Shows aromas of cherry, strawberry, sassafras, cardamom, and fig, with flavors of cherries and figs, cassis, and cola, and aged 10 months on lees in one-sixth new French oak; refined and well balanced.
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2072 Granger Way