lummi island wine tasting october 6 ’17
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Levain w/ Dried Cherries and Pecans – A levain is made the night before using a sourdough starter; the final dough combines the levain, bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat, dried cherries, and toasted pecans. A nice rustic loaf that goes well with meats and cheese – $5/loaf
Poolish Ale Bread – Starts with a poolish preferment from bread flour, yeast and a nice ale and and fermented overnight. Mixed the next day with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. This makes a great all around bread with a nice crisp crust – $5/loaf
And for pastry this week – Palmiers!!
Palmiers aka Elephant Ears – Puff pastry that is rolled out, spread with sugar, folded over and sliced. Makes a delightful, crisp, crunchy, buttery, sugary pastry. – 4/$5
Wines of La Mancha
La Mancha is the largest wine appellation in Europe, with more than 500,000 acres (202,350ha) of vineyards spread over 182 municipalities and four provinces (Albacete, Cuenca, Ciudad Real and Toledo). While summer daytime temperatures can often exceed 104 degrees F., winters are often cold, with frequent sub-zero temperatures, and it is extremely dry; the Moors called it al-mansha, meaning “parched earth.” As one winemaker has described it, “Nine months of Winter and Three months of Hell!” The heat is somewhat mitigated by slight elevation ( 2000 feet in many places), and limestone-chalk soils which retain moisture.
A number of varietals do well in these challenging conditions, including tempranillo (called Cencibel locally), the primary grape of this and many other Spanish wine regions, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot, as well as a number of other French and Spanish varietals. Today’s tasting menu includes the Bodegas Ayuso Estola Reserva, a blend of cencibel and cabernet sauvignon. Like many wines from this region, it has mouth-filling flavors and a bargain price, a great combination. We previously poured this wine on Labor Day Weekend, when it proved Very Popular!
Cloudlift Zephyr
We have spoken often in these pages of our fondness for the wines from Cloudlift Cellars in Seattle. This week we have another Cloudlift release for your tasting pleasure, the 2013 Zephyr (in case you hadn’t noticed, all of the wines are named after atmospheric conditions). This is the first time we have carried this wine, which is winemaker Tom’s Washington wine-take on the traditional Southern Rhone blend of syrah, grenache, and mourvedre. I am tasting it for the first time as I write, finding that unlike many of Tom’s wines, this one has been taking a particularly long time to open up.
After over an hour, the nose is still quite shy, but the palate is deepening into dark cherry and dried plums with hints of coffee and a persisting acidity that begs for Grilled Meat dripping with Crispy Fat. And garnished with, oh, how about mushy Baked Apple? Hmm…yes, that should work Pretty Well….!
Mar a Lago Update
A new poll suggests that only 11% of Americans approve the Republican Direction for Health Care. Yet Congressional Republicans Persist in their Obsession with Repealinobamacayeh (yes it is now All One Word). On the one hand They Know they should probably Deliver Something to their Base before the 2018 election, but on the other hand their Basic Philosophy seems Always to Have Been to Train their Constituency to Bark and Bare their Teeth on Cue rather than to Deliver any Real Nourishment to them. Makes you suspect that indeed many voters will Settle for a Scapegoat rather than actually Get What They Want…Sad!
On the one hand it is Difficult to find a time in Recent History (last 30 years or so) when Republican voters have shown any signs of Rebellion, any misgivings about the Failures of their Chosen Leaders to Deliver on Promises. Could it really be As Simple as the Cumulative Brainwashing effect of 25 years of Right Wing Talk Radio and Fox News?? Or must we Dig Deeper for Understanding? Certainly we are All Suckers for Ego-Strokes, and it feels Really Good to Have Your Feelings Acknowledged. But at the End of the Day Acknowledgement, while it Feels Really Good, is not Enough to Float your Boat.
So a lot of People are Angry, and not Only Republicans. It is hard to look at Today’s Political Landscape and see Anyone whose Interests are served by American Elected Officials other than the Uber-Wealthy. But it is Easy to look at Today’s Political Landscape and see that Everyone But the Uber-Wealthy are Being Manipulated into Division Against Each Other, when it would make a Lot More Sense to be United against our Common Manipulation. Years ago I saw an Old Cartoon (New Yorker…?), in which Someone is sitting on a Park Bench feeding Bread Crumbs to a Big Pigeon. But on closer Inspection, the Pigeon is Obviously a Person in a Not-Very-Convincing Bird Suit. A Second Person is saying: “Excuse me, but That Person is Making a Fool of You.”
There is a Great Deal of Money and Power Invested in Maintaining the Polarities which Paralyze our Democracy. “Excuse me, but These People are Making Fools of All of Us…!”
This week’s wine tasting
Marchetti Tenuta de Cavaliere Verdicchio ’15 Italy $16
Full-bodied, with lush pear, melon, and a touch of honey; a little off-dry, with an extra month on the vine to develop greater body, structure, and fruit essence; deftly made, with beautiful acidity. Lovely!
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.
Bodegas Ayuso Estola Reserva ’15 Spain $10
Tempranillo/ cab sauv blend; Warm aromas of spices and ripe fruit; wide and round palate, easy drinking, great buy!
Domaine Turenne Cuvee Bastien ’15 France $15
Mourvedre-syrah-carignan blend; semi-carbonic maceration and fermentation with indigenous yeasts; aromas of black berries, spice, pepper, and juniper, with flavors of roasting cocoa/ coffee beans and game.
Cloudlift Zephyr ’13 Washington $32
Syrah-Grenache-Mourvedre; aromas of black cherry, dark strawberry and light toast. Rich dark purple fruit flavors of blackberry jam and blueberry make for a voluptuous structure and lovely finish.
lummi island wine tasting sept 29 ’17
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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!
lummi island wine tasting sept 22 ’17 fall equinox
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Bread this week
Whole Wheat Ciabatta – Uses both Italian biga and poolish pre-ferments. Once mixed the dough is fermented overnight in the refrigerator. A long, slow, cool ferment adds a lot of flavor to the final bread. Made with regular bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. A little olive oil for more flavor and a lot of water. With so much water this bread can’t really be shaped, just cut into pieces and baked. A great rustic bread – $5/loaf
Pain Normand – Brings in the flavor of french Normandy region which is known for its apples. Made with fresh milled whole wheat and rye flours as well as bread flour then mixed with apple cider as well as dried apples. A delicious artisan bread – $5/loaf.
And for pastry this week…
Bear Claws! – Made with a danish pastry dough rich in cream, eggs, sugar and butter. The dough is rolled out and filled with a filing made with almond paste, powdered sugar, egg whites and just a bit of cinnamon to round out the flavor. Then, because bears love honey, topped with a honey glaze after baking. – 2/$5
Another Fall Equinox
Here is Sunset from our place on a past Autumnal Equinox. Equinoxes being what they are, corresponding Sunsets appear more or less in the same spot near the horizon every year. At the Moment of Equinox someone at one particular place on the Equator can experience looking straight up at the Sun at Local Noon. That’s right…the Equinox happens in a Single Moment over a Single Spot on Equatot.
For those non-Navigators our there, “local noon” is the moment on any day when the Sun is directly South of you in the Northern Hemisphere, or directly North of you in the SH. One Very Cool thing about this “Local Apparent Noon” (LAN) is that at Sea you can always tell your Latitude by observing the angular elevation of the Sun over a period near noon. You can observe it increasing to a maximum and then start decreasing. The maximum elevation always occurs when the Sun is on the same North-South Meridian as you are and it is a relatively easy matter to compute your Latitude from this One Observation. That also explains how, by the way, Joshua Slocum (author of the Classic “Sailing Alone Around the World”) was able to navigate Around the World back in 1898 using a wind-up clock that had lost its minute hand…!
Tator Talk
Tator has been continuing her very slow Recovery. She is now able to stand up on her own from most positions, with soft cushions (otherwise Two Dewclaws Up!) and slippery floors (Never a Canine Favorite) being the most challenging. She can also make her way to the Flip-Flop Door to let herself out As Necessary, another Big Step Forward, although getting herself back in is still a Challenge.
She has developed a fondness for lots of milk and a bit of yogurt in her kibbles, while showing varying levels of Disinterest in Dog Food. A bit of the Fussy Princess we suspect, but it is a Comfort to see her eating with Intention and Enjoyment.
We are also beginning to see some positive signs that she is Rebuilding a bit of Muscle Mass (Yay!). We still have No Idea what caused all of this in the first place, so are Keeping an Eye to Weather on her progress. For now all the Signs continue to be Positive, and we are doing Our Best to let a Little Optimism in! You know, As One Does in these Situations…it’s a Long Road Back!
End of Another Drydock
Annual Drydock is hard to explain to people who do not live on an Island served by A Ferry. Let’s just say that for 49 or 50 weeks a year our trusty, 50+ years-old Whatcom Chief plies Hales Passage some 35 round trips a day ferrying passengers and vehicles between mainland and Lummi Island. About 100′ long, the Chief makes the one-mile crossing in about 6 minutes. Add another 4 minutes on average for loading and unloading, and under ideal circumstances, the Chief can move about 60 cars per hour from the busy side (AM –> mainland) to the less-busy side (AM –> Island).
Once a year this Old Boat undergoes Annual Maintenance. In the last fifteen years this has usually happened in September, beginning mid-week right after Labor Day, and extending for two or three weeks. While the Chief is in Drydock, a passenger-only boat transports people between Island and Mainland. The Good News is that it is Very Quiet on the Island for a few weeks, with Fewer People and many fewer cars. As a result it is Quiet, laid-back, and a great time for Walking!
Mar a Lago Update: Oh…THAT kind of Bull in the China Shop
Here we are Eight Months Into The Tweetster’s Alt Reality, and it is almost (OMD!) starting to Feel…I can’t believe I’m saying this…Normal. Most of the Destruction of Everything We Hold Dear is happening Quietly at the Cabinet Level; Chief of Staff Kelly seems to have Tightened Discipline a bit and had some success holding both Staff and Tweetster to a Few Minimal Standards of Professionalism.
Meanwhile, an Unprecedented Series of Hurricanes has successfully Diverted Attention from the so-called Administration’s Epic Incompetence. Well, for a few days, anyway. And Of Course their Unprecedented Magnitude has Nothing to Do with so-called “Global Warming.” As some Existential Road Signs in the Mountain West declare, High Winds May Exist.
Then, as we all know, the Tweetster did his UN Thing, which has the Entire World in various stages of forehead-slapping OMD’s, WTF’s , and Is This Really Happening? Meanwhile the Tweetster and the Mitchster are Digging In for a Siege and Sharpening their Nails for a Showdown at the Not-So-OK Corral. And All of That is Not to Mention…Rocket Man, as the Tweetster calls Kim Jong Un. Our view after listening to These Two is that the Best Thing That Could Happen is for These Two (Tweetster and Unster) to meet and Trade Haircuts! That would be Awesome! Everyone would Immediately Feel Better! Am I right? Am I right? Of course I’m right! Haircut Trade! Haircut Trade! Bumper Stickers Available Soon!
This week’s wine tasting
Bernier Chardonnay ’16 France $10
Lemon, herbs and lees on the nose. Full-on minerality, with a touch of lemon curd. Crisp, elegant, steely, mineral, and citrusy personality. Classic Old World style that will drink beautifully with light fish dishes, or served as an aperitif.
Chapoutier Belleruche Rosé ’16 France $13
The Grenache in this food-friendly Provencal-style rosé adds bright red stone fruit flavors; the Cinsault brings its delicate strawberry aroma; and the Syrah adds body, making for a great pairing even with the intense flavors of seafood.
Ramirana Cab Reserva ’15 Chile $12
Expressive notes of red and black berries, with notes of black pepper, chocolate, and tobacco. Nicely balanced body, acidity, and tannins, with a pleasing finish.
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.
Chateau la Croisille ‘Silice’ Malbec ”15 France $19
Plots located on the Luzech limestone plateau, more precisely on terroirs made of iron-rich siliceous red clays, aged one year in neutral oak, yielding a wine that is both rustic and polished.
lummi island wine tasting september 15 ’17
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Bread this week
Buckwheat Walnut & Honey – a nice flavorful artisan bread. Made with a poolish which takes some of the flour, water and yeast and ferments it overnight before mixing the final dough with fresh milled buckwheat and bread flour. A little honey to balance the earthiness of the buckwheat and some toasted walnuts for a nice crunch. This bread goes well with meats and cheeses – $5/loaf
Sweet Corn & Dried Cranberry – Made with polenta and bread flour, then enriched with milk, butter and honey before being loaded up with dried cranberries. Has great corn flavor but is not a traditional quick cornbread. A delicious bread that makes great toast – $5/loaf
And for pastry this week…
Brioche Tarts au Sucre – aka Brioche Sugar Tarts. A rich brioche dough full of eggs and butter is rolled into a round tart and topped with more eggs, cream, butter and sugar. – 2/$5.
Tator Talk
Today was a big milestone for Tator. Just within the last hour or two she managed to get herself up from the floor, from lying to standing, the first time she has been able to do that in almost a month! Mes amis, it would be hard to overstate what a Big Deal that is for us, especially since I made a special trip into town today to pick up a Rx for some pain meds for her. We are hoping this marks the Turning of a Corner on her Road to Recovery.
At this point we still have No Idea what is going on with her beyond her bout with Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia ( IMHA).. Her ultra sound exam last week showed no likely candidates for causing her condition, so it is all a Puzzle. All the more Reason why these little steps Forward are So Encouraging. Which leads us to Wonder on behalf of our Four-Footed Friends…is Progress measured in One Step At a Time…? Or Two, Three, or Four…? All you need to know is that Yes, she Got an Extra Greenie for standing up on her Own Four Feet tonight! Yay!!
Getting Off-Of Track
It probably comes as a Surprise to Those Who Labeled Us that It Isn’t Easy being Coastal Elites, at least by current standards. That is, I always thought of Elites, Coastal or Otherwise, as being characterized mainly by their Wealth, not by their Liberal Views or penchants to sip Lattes. Of course No One likes a Snob, or to be thought of as a Snob. Which brings us Right to Today’s Point: is it Elitism to expect today’s Communications Professionals to use Proper Grammar? To wit, in the past week I have heard numerous Otherwise Reputable Reporters commit the Same Grammatical Error: using “Off of” (a double preposition) when the rules of English grammar dictate using simply “Off.” It’s pretty simple. As in “we’re getting Off Of track,” say…the “of” simply adds confusion.
I imagine that my High School classmates (oh yes, from a Very Long, Long Time Ago) would still agree that our English Teacher Miss Fraser (a weird part of the Old Days was that unmarried women of all ages were burdened with the Title “Miss,” which in retrospect conveyed a vague but ongoing Under-the-Breath and Eyebrows-Raised sense of Shame that a Normal Adult Woman could somehow remain Unmarried) was Very Particular about the Rules of English Grammar, and did her Best to Instill that concern in us as well. The Big Takeaway was that if Language is allowed to be Imprecise, Meaning Itself falls into Question…which is Really Scary! And Since we are now Living in a Time when Proven Facts are constantly weighed against Uninformed and Manipulated Public Opinion, Linguistic Precision looms as a Critical Bastion to be Defended.
So the Question arises: Who Are Today’s “Elite?” And how does One Become One of Them?
Mar a Lago Update: The Tweetster, Chuck, and Nancy
It is possible the term “Strange Bedfellows” was coined in reference to this Very Situation. Here we are, eight months At Sea, yet to Set a Course, Gale Force Winds, No One on the Bridge, and the Captain in Steerage watching Fox News to see Where the Ship is Going. And Lots of Rats are Abandoning the Ship Every Day…Republican Rats for the most part.
So it seems Natural and Inevitable in a way that the Tweetster would Hook Up with Chuck and Nancy. After all, Paul and Mitch have been Dissing him Something Awful, and he’s a Sensitive Guy, right? Right? Am I Right? Of course I’m Right.
It is possible that Stranger Things have happened, somewhere, sometime, when the Party’s Candidate had no Real Loyalty to Anyone but His Public, and was Therefore Always Available for a Better Offer. So it is in some Sense Refreshing that the Tweetster has found Common Ground with Chuck and Nancy. And in the Longer Term, unlikely as it may seem now, it is Conceivable that, in exchange for the Adulation he Craves, the Tweetster would Support things like Dreamer Protection, tax cuts for the Middle Class, and even Single-Payer Health Care. You know, like Only Nixon Could Go to China…!
This week’s wine tasting
Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino 201 Italy $13
Pale golden-tinged straw color; Botanical herbs and white stone fruit on the nose and palate, with good length and freshness;, finishing clean and medium-long.
Barnard Griffin Rosé of Sangiovese ’16 Washington
Mouthwatering raspberry, orange and pomegranate flavors are balanced by the perfect amount of juicy
acidity. Dry, tangy and vibrant! Just a touch of lime and mineral notes checks in on the long finish.
Quinta des Aves Noctua Syrah ’14 Spain
Bright cherry red with purple hints. Deep and long-lasting aroma of red fruits and crisp, spicy strawberry; soft and fruity, silky and long on the finish.
Orowines Bluegray Priorat ’14 Spain $17
Named for the licorella slate of Priorat, which yields intense, terroir-specific wines from the harsh soils that challenge local varieties like Grenache and Mazuelo to the utmost, yielding tobacco and spice notes to the raspberry jam flavors. Rustic, earthy, spicy, and wildly aromatic.
Syncline Subduction Red ’15 Washington $18
Syrah dominant Rhone blend; perfumed aromas of fresh blue and purple fruit, spice, and herbs lead to rich fruit flavors and a plush texture that persists effortlessly through the finish. Delightful!
2072 Granger Way