lummi island wine tasting sept 29 ’17
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Pain Meunier – Contains all portions of the wheat berry, bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat as well as cracked wheat and wheat germ. A portion of the flour, water, salt and yeast are fermented overnight before mixing the final dough which gives this bread great flavor. Always a favorite and a great all around bread and it makes the best toast! – $5/loaf
Fig Anise – One of the more popular breads in the rotation. Made with a sponge that is fermented overnight, then the final dough is mixed with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Honey, dried figs and anise bring in all the flavors of the Mediterranean. A great flavorful bread – $5/loaf
And for pastry this week –Chef’s Surprise!!
Janice’s mixer is undergoing repairs, and she couldn’t be sure what her pastry options would be this week. However there will be pastry, it will be delicious, and it will cost $5! If you are willing to take a chance, just put in an order for pastry and wait for the surprise!
It’s back! La Rocaliere Tavel Rosé
We have mentioned frequently our fondness for La Rocaliere, a little winery in the Lirac region of France, a bit west of Avignon. Like many wineries in Lirac (there aren’t that many), La Rocaliere also makes wine from the neighboring region of Tavel, where rosé is the only wine allowed to be made. You will recall that essentially rosé is basically a white wine made from red grapes. To keep it a rosé and yet retain some color the juice must be allowed only a very short period of contact time with the skins.
In Tavel, the contact time with the skins is longer than in many other appellations, making Tavel rosé darker in color than other rosés, with more structure, tannins, and aging potential. Well, we certainly think so, having visited this winery a couple of times (see photo, left) ; and though summer and rosé season are winding down, this one is good one to carry into Fall!
Brunelli Apricale
Our recent semi-annual shipment of Italian wines from Seattle importer Small Vineyards included another Favorite we haven’t seen for a couple of years, the Brunelli Apricale Tuscan blend of sangiovese grosso with a little merlot and cab franc. Although Italian DOC regulations prohibit including any other grapes than sangiovese in either Brunello or Rosso di Montalcino wines– or pehaps because of these prohibitions– in 1996, Italian authorities approved the Sant’Antimo DOC (at the southeast corner of Montalcino) which Montalcino producers could use to produce wines that were not 100% Sangiovese.
During our last sampling of this wine the Sun shone through the wine glass, staining my hand with Bacchan Light…OMD, a Miracle? Better come taste it for yourself! Or, as Benjamin Franklin put it, “Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy!”
Buy Partisanship
The First Time we Remember Seeing It was 1994, when the Republicans took over the House in the First Midterms of the Clinton Administration. Newt Gingrich somehow became House Speaker and Manifested Hubris, Outrage, and Utter Disbelief that a Democrat could Occupy the White House. He Declared War on the Clintons and the Democratic Party, and Pioneered the Position that Partisanship left No Room for Negotiation in the Historic Sense of the Word. Rather, the Implication was that since the Great Reagan, the Presidency Belonged to the Republican Party, and as long as that Office was occupied by a Democratic Pretender, it was the Duty of Republicans to Defy, Resist, Demean, and Refuse to Engage with Democrats. It was a Parting of the Ways, the End of Negotiation and Compromise and the Beginning of Power Politics on Every Issue.
Fast forward to Today’s McConnell-Ryan-Trump-virate, and we see a Government crippled by the double-edged Sword of “we don’t need your Stinkin’ Votes”/ How Come We Don’t have Our Own Party’s Votes?” The Same tactic used to Shut Off Inter-Party Compromise is now On Line with its Own Agenda for Shutting Down Intra-party Compromise as Well. It leaves us Wondering Where in the World these Bozos got the Idea that a Government elected by a slight majority has the Right– even the Duty– to Strive to Impose Its Views on Everyone, including the Half which is Strongly Opposed.
Ultimately, we see the Fallacy of Majority Rule in all of this. If there is No Compromise among points of view, no accommodation for the wants and needs of Everyone at the Table, no Give and Take, then the Best We Can Hope For is to Ricochet through History from One Extreme to Another. Not an Appealing Prospect…the Toxic Legacy of Newt.
Mar a Lago Update: Not Just Another Hurricane Season
There have been So Many Gi-Normous Hurricanes in the last couple of weeks that I can barely remember their Names. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott estimates Harvey will cost the state up to $180 billion – more than previous Epic Hurricane Katrina. Then Hurricane Irma maintained 180 mph wind speeds for 37 hours, a record for Most Intense Storm Ever, Anywhere on Earth, and hit a Glancing Blow on Florida. Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico 10 days later as the strongest storm to hit that island in 90 years. In the last few weeks, this unprecedented Series of Record-Strength Hurricanes has devastated the United States Gulf Coast, South Florida and the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. It would not be extravagant to imagine the Total Cost of this one-season series of Hurricanes to our Country exceeding 500 Billion Dollars.
About 97% of the World’s Scientists have Concluded that Climate Change is Directly Related to the concentration of CO2 and other “greenhouse gases” in the Earth’s atmosphere. Their views are not Opinions to be considered on Equal Footing with Crackpots. The test of their Accuracy is in their Predictive Value. Everyone now Agrees that the the Average Temperature of our Atmosphere is Increasing. Countless studies have shown that the rate of temperature increase is predictably correlated with the concentration of Greenhouse Gases (CO2, methane, and others) in the atmosphere.
At Some Point in the Next Few Years the Annual Costs of Climate Disasters will become So Obvious and So Catastrophic that even Republicans will be muttering, “Holy Sheet, Batman, Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Us About This?? Unfortunately, the Complexity and Scale of our Planetary Climate are So Huge compared to our ability to affect them that it is going to Keep Getting Worse for Decades even after we start making a Concerted Effort to Slow it Down. To paraphrase Mark Twain:“It Ain’t what we Don’t Know that gets us into Trouble. It’s What we Know for Sure that Just Ain’t So…”
This week’s wine tasting
Bergevin Lane Linen Sauvignon Blanc ’16 Washington $11
The nose is a trip straight to the tropics, pineapple, Mango and a hint of lime. In the mouth the tropical flavors melt into Fresh pear, peach and apricot with an undercurrent of citrus. The finish is smooth peachy lemons and limes.La
La Rocaliere Tavel Rose ’16 France $14
Scents of dark berries, cherry and licorice, with a floral accent. Firm and structured, displaying cherry and floral pastille flavors and a hint of bitter herbs, finishing with good power and length.
Domane Laroque Cab Franc ’16 France $11
Nose of subtle raspberry, rhubarb, spice and tobacco aromas. In the mouth elegant and silky tannins bring a very feminine touch to this wine with concentrated fruit, attractive aromatics and good body. Great with savory Moroccan and Asian spices.
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.
Brunelli Apricale ’16 Italy $14
Sangiovese Grosso with a little Merlot and Cab Franc; Fruity and persistent nose of wild berries and spice. Soft and balanced with fine tannins this Sant’Antimo Rosso works well with any meal!
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