lummi island wine tasting november 1 ’14

This Week’s Breads

20141024-122220.jpgJanice brings a basket of fresh-baked bread just just as we open each Friday shortly after 4pm.

This weekend:

— Light rye with caraway seeds – (think Reuben sandwich!)
— Golden polenta with dried cranberries

Rumor has it that Janice’s breads will be featured in the next incarnation of the Beach Store Cafe, reopening soon under new, Island-friendly management. I can tell you that Ryan is helping set up the wine list and server wine training, that many of the wines will be pleasantly familiar to our regulars, and that you will probably be able to buy a decent bottle to have with your dinner. We do remind our members, however, that it will continue to be to your advantage to buy a nice bottle from us and pay the modest corkage fee to have it with your dinner at the Cafe. I’m just saying…! In any case, after a month without a restaurant, we are all looking forward to having it open again!

Special Hours on Saturday

leePlease note we will not open till 3pm this Saturday so we can attend the Memorial for our friend and Wine Club member Lee McCollum. We press our palms together and bow in gratitude for having known him, and with sorrow for his loss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murphy and the Green Ketch. cont’d

dscn1015 (Modified)With apologies for dwelling on a subject, there is something so tragic and yet so inevitable about the ongoing (albeit at a very slow pace) saga of the Green Ketch, which we mentioned last week. The day after our post, stalwart volunteers mounted an energetic attempt to move the boat to what they hoped would be a more benign situation at the SE corner of Legoe Bay…you know, where the Happy Jack spent many years rusting in peace before being hauled away in chunks last Spring.

It has been reported that the effort involved a lot of muscle, a sturdy tractor, lines through blocks set offshore, and the like. Given the many unexpected obstacles, however, by the time the Ketch had been drawn close to the desired safe perch, the Tide had receded too far, and she was left stranded much further from shore than had been planned.

 

dscn1016 (Modified)Every sailor of experience has learned many times the inevitability of Murphy’s Law: “Anything that Can go Wrong will go Wrong…and at the Worst possible time. ” This is an important point for you non-sailors out there, who may only be familiar with the first part. Because to Really understand how Murphy’s Law operates, you must have a firm grasp of the “worst possible time” part of the Law.

Personal experience suggests the existence of several additional corollaries: 1) Murphy always shows up when you least expect it, and b) things go wrong in an exponentially cascading sequence.

It is particularly disturbing when the salvage attempt turns out to make things Worse. But that’s Murphy for you.

Wander Brewery

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Week before last on a quiet Saturday afternoon we had the pleasure of meeting the owners of Bellingham’s newest brew-pub, Chad and Colleen. They opened their place in a hangar-like warehouse on Dean Street, in the little industrial area south of Bellingham High School, last Spring.

 

 

 

 

 

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Since today Is Pat’s birthday, we took the opportunity to visit the brewery. We are happy to report that there are about 10 brews at any one time, and we tried them all in two rounds of samples. Though they serve no food, they have arranged for a different Food Truck to be at their place each day they are open. Unfortunately, today they had a last minute cancellation, and we had to hustle over to Taco Lobo for some takeout to bring back.  All you need to know is that Chad is an Artist who makes Beautiful brews, and we highly recommend a visit!

Lambrusco Rosé

For those of us of a certain age, the word “Lambrusco” conjures memories of consistently unpleasant sparkling wines of our youth. Not only were we young and inexperienced; in fact the Lambruscos that made it to our shores and our parties were quite often sappy-sweet and not particularly pleasant.

Slow-forward to today’s global, educated wine market, and it’s time to take another look at what Lambrusco can be. There are two versions, a sweet version (Amabile) and a dry version (Secco). Like other dry sparkling wines, Lambrusco goes well with lots of dishes because of its festive bubbles, palate-cleansing acidity, and subdued and adaptable flavor profile, which can be fruity, floral, or both.

Lambrusco is apparently quite an ancient wine, mentioned by Virgil, Pliny, Cato, and Strabo. No one knows what those wines tasted like, but in more recent centuries a steady stream of poets have sung its praises.We have occasionally carried dry Lambrusco, but this is our first dry rosé version. Come by and check it out!

 

 

 

This Week’s Tasting

i Quercioli Lambrusco Rose Italy $10
A lovely dry and sparkling Rose with pie cherries, huckleberries and aromas of strawberries and fresh herbs. Nice mousse and clean finish

Feraud Cotes du Rhone 11 $14
Dark berries and cherry pit on the pungent nose; slight jamminess and a hint of cracked pepper to its extroverted berry fruit. Juicy and focused, with supple tannins and a lingering herbal note.

Olivares Monastrell Altos de la Hoya ’11 Spain 91 pts $10
Black raspberry and cassis aromas, with spicy mineral and floral elements. Powerful dark fruit flavors with vanilla and cola nuances and juicy acidity; velvety texture, with lingering spiciness.

Soter North Valley pinot noir ’12 Oregon $30
Spicy red and dark berry aromas; palate of juicy raspberry, floral pastille and licorice flavors lifted by tangy acidity. Silky and seamless, finishing with smooth, fine-grained tannins.

Matthews Sauvignon Blanc ’13 Washington
A scintillating nose of lime, melon, green apple and hints of quince, with a racy background of grapefruit and herbs. Bright, crisp and steely, with bracing acidity and minerality. A limited production wine for a good cause,

Wine Tasting

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