lummi island wine tasting october 7 ’16
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Friday Breads
Fig Anise-Quite a hit earlier this summer; so it is making another appearance! Using bread flour and fresh milled white whole wheat it brings in the sun-drenched flavors of Provence with the addition of honey, dried figs, and anise seed. Great with a glass of Rose and a cheese platter as the last of summer winds down. – $5/loaf.
Poolish Ale – Prefermented in craft ale to add more flavor to the final product. The final mix includes more bread and fresh milled whole wheat flour for a delicious artisan bread. A great all around bread – $5/loaf.
and pastry this week:
Gibassier – A rich dough full of butter, eggs, and sugar. Additions of olive oil, candied orange peel and anise seed bring in the flavors of Provence for a delightful pastry that is brushed with more butter and sprinkled with sugar after baking. Boy oh boy are these delicious. – 2/$5
The Bogle Deal
The reason we put the words “Artisan Wine” in our name is because we like small wineries, the kind of place where fairly often the person who makes the wines actually pours them for you and talks with you about the land, the vineyards, their vision, their art (Rich’s theorem: every good winemaker is a talented artist in at least one other medium). So at some level we have had a bias toward smaller wineries that make less than about 10,000 cases per year total production. That doesn’t mean we don’t carry any wine from big producers, but in general we prefer to represent smaller ones.
From time to time, for one reason or another we deviate from this informal policy– don’t want to become habitual, n’est-ce pas? Last weekend Judy A came by with a Promotional Deal from California winery Bogle, which started in the late 70’s producing 4000 cases of wine in Clarksville (near Sacramento)(artisans!). By 2011 they were ranked the 14th largest winery in America, producing more than 1.2 million cases of wine from facilities throughout Northern California…pretty Big Players, specializing in wines you see in most grocery stores across America. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, they gotta be doing something right. Right?
Anyway, we got a good deal on a few cases of their Essential Red, a yummy little Fruit Bomb, and the Promotional Reward, a Jeroboam, aka double magnum, aka 3-liter bottle of their somewhat higher-end red blend called Phantom, a blend of zin, syrah, and mourvedre. At this point we anticipate putting that baby to good use at our annual New Year’s Eve party. Stay tuned!
Rant: Wake Up Alarm
Recently a friend sent me a link to this story about the current U.S. relationship with Russia and its current CEO, Vladimir Putin. Okay, so nobody likes Putin. Nobody really liked Stalin, or Al Capone, or Dick Cheney, for that matter, but they all played their various roles. And whatever Putin’s role, why is Media is making it Such a Big Deal? Of course– it Is an Election Year, and we Always get to this point about now: the Republicans stake out their usual Position that we are Surrounded by Enemies, and Only They are Tough and only They can make it Better.
The story linked above may be a KGB plant for all I know. But that doesn’t mean it lacks a valid point, which is to ask Why can’t the US and Russia figure out a way to stop the Horror in Syria? Why is Political Posturing always preferred to the hard and exhausting task of reducing Suffering and Making the world a Better Place? Why do we so often wind up jumping up and down waving clubs like our primate ancestors, beset with Outrage and Ego, Bent on Violence, and Incapable of working toward a Common Good?
As human population has grown, every system on Earth has become stressed: the atmosphere, the oceans, the biosphere, the climate…all the systems upon which our very existence depends. Back in the ZPG (you young folks can look it up) days it was widely recognized that human beings were reproducing beyond the planet’s capacity to support them. Modern Geopolitics does a continual Dance around the growing Battle for Resources, making and breaking alliances, brandishing weapons, claiming the Next Fantasy Moral High Ground. And I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel like Screaming at our so-called Leaders: “Awake! Awake! Time Flies Like an Arrow! It Will Not Wait For You!”
Maguelone Cathedral
Our first stop on our canal trip through the Camargue was a short distance from the Cathedral at Maguelone, only a few miles southwest of Montpellier. For being in such an historically remote area, i.e., on a small island in an estuary, accessible only by water, it has a long and varied history. Around 533 AD, shortly after the fall of Rome, the Catholic Bishoprie of Maguelone was first established. In 719 it was taken over briefly by Saracens from Spain. In 737 the existing cathedral was destroyed by the Frankish and Burgundian army of Charles Martel in the Battle of Poitiers, which is widely recognized as a turning point in the Christian struggle against the intrusion of Islam into Europe.
A new cathedral was begun in 1030 (a thousand years ago!) which provided sanctuary to Pope Gelasius II and Pope Alexander III in the 12th century (you have to wonder What they were Doing there!). Later, in the early 13th century, papal legate Pierre de Castelnau was found murdered in St. Gilles (more on St. Gilles next week!), which intensified attacks against the Cathars, ultimately resulting in their complete extermination. The Cathedral fell into decay for several hundred years after that, until restoration efforts began in 1852. The old bricks, made from local mud, have deteriorated over centuries to reveal the rich trove of fossil shells in the local clay.
Supposedly at some point the cathedral had windows of alabaster, which would definitely be something to see! However, close examination suggested that all the original windows were long gone. Curiously, some small windows were apparently single-pane, but backed by curved plastic windows set in over them. These are visible in several photos of the windows.
This week’s wine tasting
J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux Rose France $15
A longtime favorite here at AWG–Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Pinot Noir; shows a gentle yeastiness, effusive effervescence and rich, tangy, mouth-filling fruit. Makes just about anything Festive!
Conundrum White ’14 California $21
Blend of Chardonnay, Sauv Blanc, Viognier, and Muscat Canelli. Nose of citrus orchard in bloom. Tastes sweet without being cloying, showing fig, apricot, exotic spice and melon flavors. Ends clean and pure.
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.
Bogle Essential Red California $10
Old Vine Zinfandel, Syrah, Cab and Petite Sirah delivers flavors and aromas of dark berries and black plums with hints of juniper and dried herbs. Very fruit forward, with spicy cedar and hints of pipe tobacco and cocoa. Lovely little Fruit Bomb, easy to drink.
Robert Ramsay “Le Mein” Red ’12 Washington $30
Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise and Cinsault; rock-solid aromas and flavors of lavender, leafy herbs, flowers and black berries; Medium-bodied, round, ripe, and supple, with a lovely,fleshy mouthfeel.
lummi island wine tasting sept 30 ’16
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Friday Breads
Pain Meunier- “Miller’s Bread;” uses all parts of the wheat berry to make a flavorful and hearty artisan bread. A portion dough is fermented overnight before adding fresh milled whole wheat, cracked wheat and wheat germ. – $5/loaf.
Italian Walnut, Golden Raisin & Honey – Uses an italian “biga” pre-ferment overnight before adding more bread and fresh milled whole wheat as well as a healthy portion of toasted walnuts, golden raisins and honey. – $5/loaf.
Pastry this week – Brioche au Chocolat – A rich brioche dough full of butter and eggs, spread with pastry cream, and loaded with chocolate before being folded up and sliced. Ooh la la! – 2/$5
Ripasso
The wine known as valpolicella is made from a blend of the Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes grown around the city of Verona. The grapes are harvested, crushed, fermented, and made directly into a tasty, medium bodied, dry red wine with good acidity and a soft fruitiness that goes well with the local cuisine.
Back in Roman times the region produced a sweet wine the Romans prized and called Retia– likely the ancestor of a modern sweet wine called Recioto. Until recently it was hit-or-miss to try to make a sweet wine, because it was difficult to stop fermentation and leave “residual” sugar in the wine. One old technique for making sweet wine is to let the grapes raisin before pressing, concentrating the sugar. Such is the case with the modern dry wine Amarone, in which the best grapes are left to ripen into winter, then picked, dried, pressed and fermented dry. The resulting much-prized wine is rich but not sweet. There is some suggestion that amarone was first made by mistake due to secondary fermentation in what was intended to be a sweet wine.
Ripasso is a process in which dry valpolicella wine is “passed over” the raisin-must from their first pressing (to make amarone), adding to the “simple” valpolicella hints of the rich texture and flavor of amarone, and therefore sometimes called “poor man’s Amarone.”
The Wealth Horizon
Maybe this is the place where economics meets Relativity. Or maybe it’s the place where Reality itself meets Relativity. We are talking, of course, about an Event Horizon at which the ordinary laws of economics are turned upside down. We all grew up with the Common Wisdom that anyone who works hard, plans ahead, and Follows the Rules will achieve Economic Success. Okay, so let’s look at that. Since 1980 on average everyone whose primary source of income was their own labor has seen the purchasing power of their income fall.
On the other hand, since 1980, people whose primary source of income has been earnings on capital (stocks, bonds, land, factories) have seen their incomes grow exponentially. Take Donald Trump for example (please!). He started out with millions of dollars. Over the years, despite a half-dozen bankruptcies, he has accumulated billions. Yet here he has stood before us daily for the past year to demonstrate that whatever wealth he has accumulated has nothing to do with the above Common Wisdom. Rather, he has accumulated vast wealth Despite his obvious inability to string two consecutive thoughts together into an actual Idea. So, obviously there is something Wrong with our Theory of Wealth.
We hypothesize the existence of a Wealth Horizon, a sort of Wealth Discontinuity. On one side of it the laws of economics hold: those who live by selling their labor can get ahead– up to a point– with hard work and perseverance. But on the other side, the Gravity of Accumulated Wealth becomes so Yooge that it Sucks wealth from the other side at a faster and faster rate. It is so Powerful that no amount of stupidity, bad luck, or incompetence will make the slightest difference– the wealth keeps streaming across the Wealth Horizon at an ever-increasing rate until the Entire System Collapses into an Incredible, Unbelievable, Economic Black Hole. So stay tuned. Seriously. And don’t worry, we have people looking at this. Our People will be looking at this.
Cutest Villages Ever
There is an actual designation for places that make the cut as “most beautiful villages in France.” I’m not making this up! We have been to several over the years. They are So Cute you want to bring the whole town home with you. It’s not that you actually want to live there, as maybe you just want here to be a little more like there. Maybe it’s a sense of History, or Tradition, or just plain Precious Cuteness. Or something in our Common Heritage. Hard to say. Anyway, here are a few photos of some pretty cute French villages. See what you think!
This week’s wine tasting
Ottella Lugana Bianco ’15 Italy $12
Trebbiano di Lugano (Turbiana). Intense straw yellow color with green tinges. Exotic notes of candied fruit and citrus, warm and very deep on the nose. Widespread expressive finesse, with rich and persistent texture.
Tintero Elvio Rosato ’15 Italy $10
Mostly Barbera; lurid pink. Lively red berries and floral cherry on the nose; fleshy raspberry and bitter cherry flavors pick up a hint of anise with air. Can stand up to o strong cheeses and spicy charcuterie.
Montfaucon Cotes du Rhone ’13 France $13
50% Grenache co-fermented on skins with syrah, cinsault, carignan from 40 yr old vines; matured in concrete tanks. Good ripeness and lots of minerality along with fleshy plum, blackberry and licorice notes. A floral hint adds charm on the finish. (read more)
Sant’ Antonio Monti Garbi Ripasso ’13 Italy $17
A gorgeous, expressive, tasty Valpolicella; floral notes give lift to the expressive, beautifully centered palate and a long, polished finish.
La Baronne Piece de Roche ’12 France $30
From 120-year-old Carignan vines in alluvial soil; concentrated and energetic, with layers of dried blueberries, cassis, and bitter huckleberries, a black powder-like pungency, and a brash brightness and salty tang on the finish.
lummi island wine tasting sept 23 ’16
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Friday Breads Reminder: NO Bread This Week!
Madame our baker is off on a cruise to Alaska, so no bread this week. 🙁
However, be of good cheer…she will be back in time to process your orders for next Friday!
Il Casolare Rosso
The Italian wine region of Le Marche stretches east from the spine of Italy to the Adriatic. It is one of about twenty Italian denominations in which Montepulciano (the grape) is permitted in blends, usually with sangiovese in various proportions. It is not to be confused with Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, which is from a particular region. After sangiovese, it is Italy’s most widely grown indigenous varietal.
We were away when this wine was poured on Labor Day weekend, and while we usually try not to pour any particular wine more than once in a few months, the fact is that we had not tasted any of the wines our visiting wine representative Elaine chose for Studio Tour weekend while we were away. Fact is, we are trying it right now as we write, and finding it pretty tasty!
We’re Back!
Been home about 24 hrs, nice place you all have here. Nice to be home and looking forward to seeing you all this weekend. Hope you can make it by for a little schmooze in the Quiet of the Last Weekend of Drydock!
For the Birds
There is not a lot going on besides the scenery when motoring slowly along a canal in the Camargue. It seems as much a land of water as of land. On several occasions, birds (herons and egrets mostly) would be wading near the shore or standing on it as we went by, but would take to the air as we came abeam and fly a way on ahead of us. A minute later we would approach their new spot, and they would fly off again.
This is a sequence trying to catch three egrets that “followed” just ahead of us one day. Not great photos– too bright to use view screen– but they do give a sense of the scenery along a canal in the Camargue.
This week’s wine tasting
Maryhill Winemaker’s White ’14 Washington $12
Flavorful blend of pinot gris, chardonnay, semillon and sauvignon blanc; opens with clean, bright aromas of pear and apple with touches of tangerine, butter and lemon oil.
Palama Arcangelo Rosato ’14 Italy $11
100% Negroamaro from Puglia at the hot dry heel of the Italian Boot; big for a rosato– bright, lush, and succulent, with aromas of wild strawberries, crisp acidity, and loads of flavor.
San Lorenzo Marche Rosso Il Casolare ’15 Italy $11
Half Montepulciano, half Sangiovese; from sandy soils in aged on the lees in concrete tanks; fruity, juicy, balanced and food-friendly with notes of herbs and spice.
Sanguineti Cannonau de Sardegna ’14 Italy $11
This cannonau– a Sardinian varietal known elsewhere as grenache– offers dry and dusty aromas and flavors of cherry, pomegranate and plum that leave lingering, crisp, earthy and briny flavors that beg for food.
Terra d’Oro Zinfandel ’13 California $14
Vibrant aromas of clove and big, generous fruit lead to concentrated flavors of juicy plums and blackberries,all with a good dose of toasted oak.
Lummi Island wine tasting Sept 16 ’16
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Friday Breads (email us to get on the preorder mailing list! )
Prairie Bread – bread that was developed to honor all the elements of the prairie. Made with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat, as well as rolled oats and cornmeal. Then loaded with poppy, flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Makes for a flavorful loaf that goes well with everything- $5/loaf.
Buckwheat, Cranberry & Walnut – made with a nice mix of bread, buckwheat and fresh milled whole wheat flours. For something different, the liquid used is orange juice and a bit of olive oil then loaded up with dried cranberries and toasted walnuts. This bread would go well with meat and cheese – $5/loaf.
Pastry this week – Bear Claws! Made with a rich danish pastry dough full of cream, eggs, sugar and butter. Rolled out and spread with a cinnamon almond filling and topped with, what else – a honey glaze, because bears love honey! These are delicious and popular. Quantity is limited – 2/$5
Schedule this weekend Sep 16-17
We will still be away. Janice will be at the shop as usual for Bread Friday, but the shop will be closed Saturday Sept 17. We will be back for the Sept 23-24 weekend as usual
Travel Plan
Sunday and Monday we were in Gaillac and found some great wines made from a number of unfamiliar local varietals that date back to Roman times or even before. At present we are Sarlat where we have tasted some interesting wines from Bergerac, both white and red. Tomorrow we travel to Cahors, where malbec, known locally as Cot, is the predominant red grape.
Since this area also is home to some of the oldest examples of prehistoric art, yesterday we visited the painted caves at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac and today the meticulous reproduction of the caves and art at Lascaux II. These sites touch us all deeply with the depth of their antiquity, some 17,000 years. These “Cro-Magnon” ancestors were essentially identical to us in both form and intellect.
This week’s wine tasting (same as last Saturday)
Sella-Mosca la Caia Vermentino ’15 Italy $11
Pale yellow, elegant and supple, couples fullness of flavor with underlying acidity for a delicious and refreshing white wine.
Gassier Esprit Rose ’15 France $15
Very clear with shades of peach; floral nose with notes of pear, peach, and apricot; round and delicate on the palate with notes of peach, mandarin, and grapefruit.
Septima Malbec ’14 Argentina $11
Musky ripe aromas of currants, leather, chocolate and espresso; supple texture, soft tannins, and lingering finish.
Federalist Red ’14 Washington $16
Lavish use of oak brings out notes of smoke, black pepper, and spicy cardamom with lots of red fruit and a velvety texture.
Conundrum Red ’15 California $20
Essence of California, with lots of bright bold cherries, raspberries, and plum nicely integrated into a smooth, round, hedonistic palate. Easy to like!
Photos
the imposing Cathedral of St. Cecile in Albi
poster for the Toulouse Lautrec Museum in Albi…great exhibit!
folks you know…yes, drinking beer au pression in cafe settings…it’s been hot!
2072 Granger Way