lummi island wine tasting december 30 ’16
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Friday Breads
Seeded Country Hearth- a portion of the flour is pre-fermented overnight in a poolish which allows for a jump start on the enzymatic activity. Made with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Then loaded up with pumpkin sunflower and poppy seeds A nice hearty bread that is a great all around bread -$5/loaf
Levain w/ Pecans and Dried Cherries – made with a levain, also known as sourdough, a nice mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Then toasted pecans and dried cherries are added for a nice crunch and sweetness. The addition of dried fruit makes this a great pairing with cheese – $5/loaf
And a special Holiday pastry…
Gibassier – A traditional Christmas time french pastry that includes the sunny flavors of Provence. Made with a rich dough full of eggs, butter and sugar, and then olive oil, orange flower water, candied orange peel and anise seed are added. Ooh, la, la! Quantities are limited so get your order in fast so you don’t miss out – 2/$5
Holiday Chocolate!
If you are looking for last-minute stocking stuffers (or treats for yourself!) note that we have restocked our chocolate shelves with more offerings from Theo, Seattle’s Premier Chocolatier, and more of the super-refined bars from “Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate,” an innovative and refined chocolatier in Eureka, California, including their Truly Delicious, hedonistic, and Deeply Comforting Drinking Chocolate, both the Regular and the Peppermint.
With the New Year Looming, now is the time to make that Resolution you have been Waffling about for Decades: A Day Without Chocolate Is a Day Without Meaning!”
2016: Year of the Monkey
According to the Astrology Club , The Monkey is an inventive and independent problem solver who symbolizes irrepressible curiosity and creative energy. Intelligent, hyperactive, and sociopathic, the Monkey is free from inhibitions and guilt, not hesitating to test his theories on an unwitting audience. His innate problem-solving tendencies can turn the Monkey into a tricky, opportunistic, and deceptive tactician, whose unscrupulous and adolescent fantasies can both entertain and lead to Disaster.
As I said a year ago when I posted this paragraph, Hmm…I’m getting a bad feeling about this…!
So The Thing that is Now on All Our Minds is, um, now that the Monkey is In Charge, what about (cringe) 2017?
2017: Year of the Fire Rooster
The Rooster is one of three Chinese astrological signs that are energetically unbalanced, in this case the Fire side of Yin, which on the one hand can be sort of warm and fuzzy, hearth-like if you will, not at all a bad thing. It also suggests rewards under this sign will come more from hard work and patience than by chance. In general terms the 2017 combination of Fire with Metal (in each 12-year cycle the Rooster aligns with a different one of the Five Elements) will make for complications and tensions that make problem-solving even more challenging. So even though generally people will be more polite and less stubborn, they will be pragmatically oriented toward a sort of muddling through until things get better, which might take Awhile.
One possible Takeaway from this is something like “keep your eye on the ball, be kind, and stay focused on creating the conditions for things to get better a little down the road.
As I write this, the phrase comes to mind “Muddling Through Mediocrity,” which rings a bell as a book I read many years ago, but to which I can find no reference. Puzzling. Yet this is where this little toy thought train comes into the Station on the “Year of the Fire Rooster”…not so much in the Realm of Ultimate Disaster, but more that of “Keep Your Head Down till it all Blows Over…”
Twelfth Annual “East Coast” New Year’s Eve
Please join us for our annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” from 7- 9pm on New Year’s Eve! We provide the wine, and You bring Something Delicious to Share. When the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we all hoist our glasses, belt out Auld Lang Syne, and toast the New Year! We welcome this annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support during past year, and toast to even more fun in Aught-Seventeen! Arrrr, lads and lassies, mark yer calendars now ‘n’ start planning yer finger food!
NOTE: The shop WILL BE OPEN Friday, Dec 30 as usual from 4-7, but only open on New Year’s Eve for The Party from 7-9!
Prizes! We will again this year have a Secret Operative sampling the dishes and Assigning Points! Yummiest Dish wins a $25 credit, and Yummiest-Looking Dish wins a $15-dollar credit! So make ’em Good an’ make ’em Pretty!
Another good week for The Coopster!
Coopie’s blood test last week showed his red cell count had increased from a barely alive 17 after his transfusion to 24, meaning he is making red cells faster than he is losing them. He has had good energy and a great appetite this week, and is enjoying being Himself. Though I realize I am probably not being entirely objective about this, it is becoming increasingly clear that yes, he is, indeed the Best Dog Ever, totally tuned in to what is going on around him in every moment.
As you know there are dogs that people love and leave alone all day while they are at work; then when they come home the dog has a vague look of “Have you been Gone?”
Herding dogs in general and Cooper in particular are more of the cloth of looking you directly in the eye as if to say, “You have Abandoned me for four hours and thirty-five minutes; how are you going to make it up to me?” In short, he has a Strong Presence and a Charismatic Personality, an Admirable Being in every respect, who stands Squarely on His Own Four Feet.
On a practical level we are getting better at administering his herbal supplements– turkey tail mushroom capsules to boost his immune system, and yunnan baiyao, a Chinese herb blend invented a century ago that is quite effective at reducing bleeding, either internally or from wounds. Hiding capsules in food is still hit or miss, but the easiest method of administration. However he is a smart guy and if he detects the capsule before he swallows its tasty wrapping he is adept at separating it from the good stuff and leaving it on the floor. At that point we resort to the more direct method of open the and getting better with practice. Still, though, it is So much Easier for All Concerned when pill is embedded in a nice piece of sausage!
This week’s Wine Tasting
Waitsburg Cellars “Three” white ’15 Washington $16
Outstanding blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Picpoul; Medium-bodied, pure, clean and lively, with lots of apple blossom, buttered citrus and hints of tangerine on the nose. Rich and fresh with hint of bitters on the finish.
Virginia Dare Pinot Noir ’14 California $17
Uncomplicated but entirely engaging with notes of blackberry, ground black pepper, and black olives along with typical Russian River notes of strawberry and pit fruits.
Gilbert Pilgrim Red Washington $17
Malbec, grenache, pinot noir; nose of dried cranberry and pomegranate with white pepper and mint notes; flavors begin soft, round, smooth and balanced.
Tommasi Poggio Al Tufo Rompicollo ’12 Italy 93pts $18
Opulent, with a raisiny nuance to the ripe, soft red cherry, sweet spice, and herb aromas and flavors. Velvety, opulent, well balanced and smooth, with long, with lush, smooth tannins. Terrific buy!
La Quercia Montepulciano Riserva ’12 Italy $18
100% organic montepulciano from low-yield vines; rich, port-like nose of candied cherries that carry through on the expressive, rich, earthy palate; nice balance of fruit and acidity.
lummi island wine tasting dec 23 ’16
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads
Pre-ordered Stollen will be available for pick-up on Friday in addition to your orders for:
Pain aux Noix- a delicious bread from fresh milled white whole wheat, milk, and butter, with lots of toasted hazelnuts, a traditional holiday bread. Shaped into a 4-strand braid. A delicious, refined bread that makes great toast or better yet, french toast. -$5/loaf
And for a bit of pastry…
Brioche au Chocolate – Made with a rich brioche dough full of eggs and butter. The dough is rolled out, spread with pastry cream and covered with chopped bittersweet chocolate, folded over and cut into strips. Yum, Yum! – 2/$5
Dick Taylor Drinking Chocolate!
Let’s face it, Life is often challenging, and at those times we all need a little help, a little boost. The downer you are, the bigger boost you need, and that’s where Chocolate comes in. Chocolate is there for you. It doesn’t criticize; it’s never passive-aggressive; it doesn’t make judgments. It’s There for you in the deepest possible way: sometimes it’s your Only Friend. Yes, yes, Sad but True. Because we never know when Life’s Delivery Person is going to show up with something indigestible, we all need to keep a little secret stash of Chocolate tucked away. File it under “Emergency Preparedness;” when the worst happens, you don’t want to be without it.
For all these patently Sensible reasons, we have restocked our chocolate shelves with more offerings from Theo, Seattle’s Premier Chocolatier, and more of the super-refined bars from “Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate, ” an innovative and refined chocolatier in Eureka, California. More important for right now, with so many Cold days and nights, we have stocked up with their Truly Delicious, hedonistic, and Deeply Comforting Drinking Chocolate, both the Regular and the Peppermint. It goes fast; don’t miss it!
Twelfth Annual “East Coast” New Year’s Eve Gala Extravaganza!
Please join us for our annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” from 7-9pm on New Year’s Eve! We provide the wine, and You bring something delicious to share. When the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we all hoist our glasses and belt out Auld Lang Syne and toast the New Year! We welcome this annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support during past year, and toast to even more fun in Aught-Seventeen! Arrrr, lads and lassies, mark yer calendars now ‘n’ start planning yer finger food!
NOTE ON HOLIDAY HOURS: This year both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on Saturdays, when we would ordinarily be open from 2-6. Because so many people have other plans for these days, however, the wine shop will NOT be open for regular business on either day. The shop WILL BE OPEN both Friday, Dec 23 and Friday, Dec 30 as usual from 4-7, but closed all day on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve except for The Party from 7-9!
Important Note! Speaking of Finger Food, we will again this year have a Secret Operative sampling the dishes and Assigning Points! Yummiest Dish wins a $25 credit, and Yummiest-Looking Dish wins a $15-dollar credit! So make ’em Good an’ make ’em Pretty!
Doh! It was Never about Chads!
The movie was a long time ago, probably mid-fifties. I think it was “Abbott and Costello meet Captain Kidd.” The schtick is that they are Pirates, and in this particular scene they are dividing up The Spoils. So the straight guy (Abbott) is counting shares and he starts two piles of coins in front of him…
“There’s one for you…and one for me…
“And here’s two for you (one coin), and here’s one, two for me (two coins)…
“And here’s three (one coin) for you, and here’s one, two, and three (more) for me.”
The point is that the people who make the rules have a lot of power. We saw that in the 2000 election, when a Republican Secretary of State, with the help of the Supreme Court, got “W” appointed as President over Gore, who had won the popular vote. And we see it again now, before our eyes, with probability-defying results all over the map, including especially Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. among others. And we find that any attempts at conscientious recounts are effectively blocked. Our country has been Stolen from us. We Know it. We can Feel it. As one headline from the Bush era put it, they intend to “Roll Back the Twentieth Century.”
But hey, don’t Despair…since most of our members are Leftist Radicals, the Good News is that Wine Sales should be up for the next several years, or until the Collapse of Civilization As We Know It, whichever, you know, comes first…
A good week for Coopie
Cooper has done much better since his transfusion last Thursday. His red cells are still pretty low, but he has had better appetites for important things like food, walks ( sniffing and sending p-mail to other dogs plays a major role), snacks, snuggles, going in and out the flip-flop door, and of course his evening Greenie– in other words being pretty much Himself. Therefore we too have had a good week, are deeply grateful for it and hoping for a lot more!
Tomorrow he goes back to the vet for a numbers check– let’s all keep our paws crossed for good news!
This week’s Wine Tasting
Chateau L’Ermitage ’15 France $10
Roussanne, grenache, and viognier. Light gold in color with aromas of peach, flowers, and honey; the Grenache provides the richness and the Roussanne the balancing acidity.
Renegade Red ’13 Washington $11
Nicely crafted blend of Cab, Merlot, and Cab Franc; shows lots of red and black fruits, scents of loamy minerality, and fine grained tannins that are matched with balanced acidity.
Anciano 5-Yr Tempranillo Riserva ’08 Spain $11
Aromas of damp earth, mocha, tobacco, and black cherry. On the palate it is sweetly fruited, easy-going, and nicely balanced leading to a seamless, fruity finish.
Chapoutier Bila Haut Roussillon Villages ’15 France $14
Grenache, carignan, syrah from schiste, gneiss, and clay soils; exhibits distinctive pepper and spice of Syrah, but are bigger and rounder in the mouth, with great complexity coming from the Carignan and Grenache.
Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico ’14 Italy $18
Fermented with ambient yeasts and aged in cement for up to eight months to rest and lock in its fruity freshness; easy palate of bright berry; silky and seductive mouthfeel.
lummi island wine tasting december 16 ’16
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Friday Breads
Challah- A traditional celebratory bread. Made with bread flour, plenty of eggs, a bit of sugar and vegetable oil – no milk. Shaped into a 4-strand braid. A delicious, refined bread that makes great toast or better yet, french toast. -$5/loaf
Cinnamon Raisin Bread – For your whole grain loving guests. Made with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat, rolled oats and milk and honey for a tender crumb and some sweetness. Unlike other cinnamon breads the cinnamon and raisins are mixed throughout the loaf. This is a nice rustic bread that also makes great toast.- $5/loaf
And for a bit of pastry…
Palmiers (a.k.a. ‘Elephant ears’) – Made with a buttery puff pastry that is rolled out, spread with sugar then folded over and sliced. When baked the sugar on the outside gets caramelized into a crisp, crunchy delightful crust. Di says these are one of her favorites! – 4/$5
Long Day
It’s been a tough week for all of us. Coopie did not bounce back from his chemo last week. Quite the contrary, gradually but rapidly losing his appetite and strength despite the barrage of remedies we forced him to take and a parade of favorite foods that he turned away from. If you have not been through this, it is a challenge learning to dance between a need to make sure he takes all the stuff we Hope is Good For Him and the Inner Voice that keeps telling us to Trust His Inner Wisdom.
There is an old Zen saying, “The Three Realms are just like a Burning House…No One can Remain There for Very Long.” My sophomoric take on that is that Consciousness is embedded in the Illusion of Continuity among Past, Present, and Future, an illusion to which we become understandably–even Necessarily– Attached. With all our hearts we want our Future to have Cooper in it for The Duration, and that is hard to let go of.
This morning we found him unable to stand up, his gums a ghastly white, indicators that his cancer had Spent his red blood cells trying to repair the Damage it was continually inflicting. The day evolved to his getting a transfusion of Fresh Young Blood from a Healthy Young Dog, which has miraculously brought him Back From the Brink for a Little While, whatever that means. Yes, every Stay of Execution draws an inevitable Sob of Relief, which is necessarily followed in the Very Next Breath by the Sobering Reality of its Fleeting Nature.
So. Coopie is home tonight, running at about 50% of Healthy, and we are Deeply Grateful for this Blessed Reprieve. As everyone who has lost a beloved companion animal knows, each moment is an Ephemeral Blessing to be Cherished, alongside a Raging Anger at our Inability to Protect Them from Harm. Seems All Wrong somehow, but we are wired to cherish and protect those we Love.
Twelfth Annual “East Coast” New Year’s Eve Gala Extravaganza!
Yes, our annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” is now an Established Tradition; from 7-9pm on New Year’s Eve we provide the wine, you bring something delicious to share, and when the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we all hoist our glasses and belt out Auld Lang Syne and toast the New Year! We welcome this annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support during past year, and toast to even more fun in aught-seventeen . Arrrr, lads and lassies, ye best mark yer calendars now ‘n’ start planning yer finger food!
Important Note! Speaking of Finger Food, we will again this year have a Secret Operative sampling the dishes and Assigning Points! Yummiest Dish wins a $25 credit, and Yummiest-Looking Dish wins a $15-dollar credit! So make ’em Good an’ make ’em Pretty!
Also, please note that, as in 2011, both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on a Saturday, when we are usually open from 2-6. Our People have been talking to Our People about how to handle this; current inclination is to be open Friday, Dec 25 and Friday, Dec 30 as usual from 4-7, but closed all day on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve except for The Party from 7-9! Stay tuned!
This week’s Wine Tasting
Maryhill Viognier Washington $10
Vibrant aromas of orange zest, honeysuckle, and pink grapefruit; flavors of lemon, pear, and white peach. The mouthfeel is delicate, yet full-bodied, with lingering notes of fresh flowers.
Marchetti Rosso Conero ’14 Italy $10
Rich and inviting aromas of blue florals, plums, brown spices, and hillside brush. On the palate, dry and round textured with red and black cherries, ripe blackberries, cocoa and spice. Culminates in a satisfying, lengthy finish.
Writers Block Cab Franc ’13 California $15
A perennial favorite here, with aromas of red cherry, raspberry, plum, and licorice. Flavors are of red fruit, raspberry, and plum with smooth acidity, followed by soft tannins.
Porca de Murcia Douro Tinto ’13 Portugal
Dark, ripe, and tannic wine with a nice sense of balance between structure and rich, chewy, and full-blown blackberry fruit.
Betz Clos de Betz ’13 Washington 94pts $55
Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauv, mostly from Red Mountain; sexy, supple, perfumed and beautifully complex, with notes of currants, dried flowers and and garrigue; a full-bodied beauty impossible to resist.
lummi island wine tasting december 9 ’16
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads
Le Pave d’autrefois – which translates roughly as “old paving stones.” This is a ciabatta-like bread which has a lot of hydration so it isn’t really shaped so much as simply divided into approximate squares – hence the paving stones name. Made with a mix of bread flour as well as fresh milled whole wheat, rye and buckwheat flours for a lot of hearty whole grain goodness. A great artisan bread -$5/loaf (or paving stone!)
Semolina with Fennel Seed & Golden Raisins – Made with about equal amounts of bread and semolina flours as well as a little butter for a tender crumb. The addition of fennel seeds and golden raisins make a bread that works well for toast and even better for an antipasto platter. – $5/loaf
And for a bit of pastry…
Brioche Tart au Sucre – a delicious brioche dough full of eggs, sugar and butter is rolled out, topped with more eggs, cream butter and sugar and baked. A scrumptious delicious treat. Quantities are limited so order quickly or you might miss out! 2/$5
Cahors
The French wine region known somewhat vaguely as the “Sud-ouest” (Southwest) includes a number of very old appelations, a number of varietals found elsewhere in France, and a number of varietals found nowhere else, often dating back to Roman times.
To the west of the very old city of Cahors lie most of he vineyards of the Cahors appelation, where the dominant grape is malbec. Yes it is the same varietal found in Bordeaux, and made world-famous and extremely popular in wines from Argentina and Chile. But the same grape takes on different characteristics depending on the soil and climate where it grows. One winery we visited while visiting Cahors in September was Clos de Coutale, and we will be pouring their blend of malbec and merlot for you this weekend. Wines from this area have a certain rustic strength of character that we find very appealing; our goal is to taste more of them with you in the coming months.
Cooper Update
Monday we took Cooper to Lynnwood to see a vet oncologist and get some blood tests. Today we returned for some scans, which, sadly, confirmed the the diagnosis of hemiangiosarcoma, a nasty and aggressive cancer of the blood vessels.
There are not a lot of options at this point except to try to slow its progress and buy him as much quality time as possible. He got a preliminary dose of chemotherapy (supposedly a lot less debilitating than the stuff we give to people), and continues on several Chinese herb and mushroom extracts that have proven quite effective in slowing down the progress of the disease. We have been learning that “cancer” can be thought of as the eventual cell replication errors when after a zillion successful replications, a mutation sneaks in which doesn’t get it quite right.
So…we clutch at Straws, and find ourselves making difficult decisions under conditions of Great Vagueness and Uncertainty as to the relative value of various therapeutic choices, striving to implement whatever adds comfort and eliminate interventions which do not. As we all do when loved ones are suffering…what hurts them hurts us.
Eleventh Annual “East Coast” New Year’s Eve Gala Extravaganza!
As the Fortunate Few well know, our annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” is now an Established Tradition. From 7-9pm on New Year’s Eve we provide the wine, you bring something delicious to share, and when the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we all hoist our glasses and belt out Auld Lang Syne and toast the New Year! The Young at Heart move on to the next party, and we old timers can get to bed at a decent hour! We welcome this annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support this past year, and to toast ahead to even more fun in aught-sixteen. Arrrr, lads and lassies, ye best mark yer calendars now ‘n’ start planning yer finger food!
Important Note! Speaking of Finger Food, we will again this year have a Secret Operative sampling the dishes and Assigning Points! Yummiest Dish wins a $25 credit, and Yummiest-Looking Dish wins a $15-dollar credit! So make ’em Good an’ make ’em Pretty!
Also, please note that, as in 2011, New Year’s Eve falls on a Saturday, when we are usually open from 2-6. We are having Our People talk to Our People about how to handle this; current inclination is to be open Friday, Dec 30 as usual from 4-7 but closed on Saturday except for the Party from 7-9. Stay tuned!
This week’s Wine Tasting
Finnriver Apple Abbey Belgian-inspired Craft Cider Washington $10
A silky, full-bodied cider. Lingering apple sweetness with tropical aromas of ripe banana and hints of pepper and clove spice. Nutty, bread-like finish.
Waitsburg Cellars “Three” white ’15 Washington $16
Outstanding blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne Picpoul; Medium-bodied, pure, clean and lively, with lots of apple blossom, buttered citrus and hints of tangerine on the nose. Rich and fresh with hint of bitters on the finish.
Clos La Coutale ’14 France $16
80% Malbec and 20% Merlot, creating an intense wine that juggles elegant rusticity with everyday drinkability.
Gilbert Cellars Allobroges ’12 Washington $22
48% Grenache, 27% Mourvedre, 25% Syrah; a delicious Rhone blend with lots of dried herbs, ground pepper, roasted meats and both red and black fruit nuances. Medium to full-bodied, ripe, and textured.
Quinta Seara d’Ordens tawny port
Starts with a minty hint, and finishes rich and sweet with a spicy finish; leans to the hedonistic while remaining rather sunny. Ultimately, it’s impossible to dislike just because it tastes so darned good.
2072 Granger Way