lummi island wine tasting october 2 ’15
(note: some photos may enlarge on clicking)
Note: NO Bread This Friday!
As many of you know our increasingly famous Baker is off to Ireland for hiking and exploring, no doubt scouring the countryside for more delicious bread recipes. That means no bread for the next couple of weeks, beginning this weekend. Rumor has it that bread will return by October 16, or the 23rd at the latest. Of course, here on the Island Truth is a slippery concept, an artfully weighted average of current rumors…stay tuned for updates.
Fortunately we still have a few loaves stashed in the freezer, so we should be able to squeeze by!
Aia Vecchia
As we have mentioned before, there are historically hundreds of grape varietals grown and used to make wine in Italy. There are also twenty wine regions which correspond to the twenty Administrative Districts in the country. And within each of these twenty wine regions there are scores of Denominazioni di origine controllata (DOC’s) and Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG’s ), each of which specifies the varietals that may be used to qualify for each DOC label. For example, to qualify for the DOC Chianti Classico designation, a wine must come from a specific geographic area and must include at least 75% Sangiovese, and at most 10% Canaiolo, 10% of the white wine grapes Malvasia and Trebbiano, and up to 15% of any other red wine grapes grown in the region, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. In Tuscany alone there are thirty-three DOC’s and nine DOCG’s. Multiply that over 20 wine regions, and it gets pretty confusing!
On top of all that, in the last few decades Tuscany has become best known internationally for two major styles of red wine: cherry-noted blends made mostly from Sangiovese, and so-called “Super Tuscan” blends of international varietals, particularly traditional Bordeaux grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, often with varying amounts of sangiovese in more of an accompanying role. This is exactly the case with this week’s Italian offering on our tasting list, the Lagone Aia Vecchio. Read more
The Pettiness of Human Ego
There are many scenes from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey that remain powerful and iconic almost fifty years later. One which has often come to mind is when the Monolith selects a group of Early Humans for Development. The image that Director Kubrick (and author Clarke) gave us of our Gift of Understanding was a skirmish between two tribes in which Weapons are invented. The apes jump up and down and threaten each other, and Progress happens when one of them picks up a Bone, invents the Club, and starts the Arms Race. Remember? This theme is repeated over and over again in our myths and legends: whatever the time, whatever the circumstances, the Bad Guys are causing Pain and Suffering, and can only be stopped when the Good Guys Overwhelm them by causing MORE Pain and Suffering.
The Trickle-down Truth here is of course that Those People’s Hero is These People’s Beast and Vice Versa. None of the “-isms” are going to save anyone, because all of the “-isms” are at war with other “-isms.” And it is the Nature of “-isms” to be parochial. Each one claims ownership of some little bit of Truth that gives it Power, Authority, and indeed Responsibility to Save Everyone Else by imposing their Truth on them. One of the great Resonant lines that current President Obama used that got a lot of traction was “Yes, we can.” The important usage here is “we,” not “I.” Which brings us to the Problem: as Woody Allen might say, “Why would I ever vote for the kind of person that would Run for Office?” Ideally running for office would be about Service, but more and more it is about Stardom and Persona.
Maybe I’m still wondering– hoping, perhaps– if the Pope’s recent visit to America might possibly get the various Primates of Power to stop jumping up and down waving Bone-Clubs long enough to achieve some dim realization that we are All in Deep Sheet for all kinds of reasons. And, even though they have the intellectual and emotional development of five-year-olds, they are going to have to step up, make the World Safe, stop the killing and destruction, put the “-isms” aside for a few centuries, and apply the Stupendous Wealth of the world toward the preservation of our Planet and all its creatures. How likely is that, do you suppose?
October scenes
This week’s wine tasting
Altarocca Arcosesto Orvieto ’14 Italy $14
A crisp, clean, fragrant white wine (grechetto, procanico, malvasia), bright and sunny with minerally notes of flowers, citrus, and dried fruits that pair well with savory dishes.
Rio Madre Rioja ’13 Spain 90pts $10
Smoky blackcurrant, cherry and violet aromas with good clarity and zesty mineral lift. Juicy and focused on the palate, with bitter cherry and dark berry flavors; Finishes with strong punch, sneaky tannins and lingering berry and floral qualities.
Lagone Aia Vecchio ’12 Italy $14
“Super-Tuscan”blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Cab Franc. Rich and expressive, with aromas of cherry, vanilla, raw beef, and herbs; structured palate of plum, wild berries, and hints of spice, with a long finish that begs for food.
Andeluna Cabernet Sauvignon 1300 ’11 Argentina $11
Deep red colour, spicy aromas with a hint of coffee and mint. Fresh, balanced, structured and silky on the palate. From rich, alluvial soils of the Uco Valley at 4000 feet in the Andes with pockets of stony, sandy, loam and clay soils.
Isenhower Purple Paintbrush ’08 Washington $25
Cab Franc-dominant Bordeaux blend from a single vineyard, aged in seasoned French oak for 13 months. Nose of sage, thyme, olives, crushed blackberries, bing cherries, black plums, and black currant.
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