lummi island wine tasting october 21, ’16
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads
Rosemary Olive Oil- made with bread flour and fresh milled white whole wheat, olive oil makes for a tender crumb and loads of garden fresh rosemary adds great flavor. This bread has a nice crisp crust and delightful soft crumb. It’s a great all around bread and makes fantastic toast – $5/loaf.
Buckwheat Rye – full of hearty whole grain goodness. Made with bread flour as well as fresh milled rye and buckwheat flour and just a little honey to help balance the flavor of the whole grains. A hearty artisan bread that will go well with meats or cheese – $5/loaf.
And for pastry this week…
Rum Raisin Brioche: A truly delightful pastry made with a rich brioche dough full of eggs and butter, chunks of almond paste, golden raisins soaked in rum, and a hint of fresh lemon zest for a nice zing. Then topped with a chocolate glaze before baking. These are my personal favorites. Quantity is limited so don’t wait to order – 2/$5
Cowboys of the Camargue
At Arles, the Rhone River divides into two branches, one flowing SSE and one flowing WSW. The two branches and the Mediterranean shore form the boundaries of a triangular estuary which is the Camargues, a river delta that covers nearly 360 sq mi. It is a wetland of grasses, etaings (lagoons), canals, and marshes, with a widely diverse ecosystem of over 400 species of birds as well as indigenous white horses and black bulls, both of which live sometimes on ranches, sometimes free to roam. While barging slowly through the Camague it is not unusual to see groups of white horses or bulls grazing the brush along the canal.
This vague sort of ownership is managed by the Gardians, a lineage of riders who live in traditional cabanes– thatched, windowless structures with bull horns over the door to ward off evil. The gardian’s traditional tools for herding have been a trident and very skillful riding. The Gardians, the horses, the bulls, and the Camargue form a cultural ecosystem that has survived more or less intact for hundreds of years. There is now a Musee de Camargue which chronicles their mutual and fascinating history. Read more
Decision 2016
At this point we are all super-saturated with Analysis of the Candidates and their Positions. All those with actual Brains made up their minds a long time ago how they would vote, at least for President. So you have to ask yourself, what kind of person is unable to make useful distinctions between or among Candidates? Curiously, listening to them suggests not that they are Morons, exactly, but that they are somehow trying Really Hard to Make Sense of their Choices, and can’t quite Distill what they are seeing and reading into useful Data.
One recent conversation in our household explored the “WTF” observation that Their Confusion might be best explained by CBS top exec Les Moonves on the media Over-Coverage of All Things Trump over the past Year: “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS!” If we extrapolate that rationale to the rest of the NewsSphere, we find ample motivation to spend more and more Air Time on Outrage and less and less time on Facts. Which is to say although we have all seen it coming for decades, this year we Crossed a Line in American News Coverage. Now there can be no doubt that the Main Function of “News” is not to provide, as Fox News so ironically promised) “Fair and Balanced” reporting, but rather, Which of Today’s Molehills Shall We Make Into a Mountain of $$?!
Stay Tuned; though now fully disgraced and discarded, Trump still has Full Media Attention, and Nation or no, Future or No, isn’t he still Just Their Dearest Boy…?! Read more
On the matter of Tea
A few years ago we attended a monthly Tea Tasting. It was held at the Lynden Library (I am not making this up!) by a charming young couple with a lot of knowledge and interest in Tea. Each month they would pour four or five different Teas, describing in detail where each one came from, its characteristics, and where it fit into the Vast Spectrum of Tea. It was interesting, engaging, and enjoyable. And, unfortunately, a Long Commute.
We were at it long enough to learn that Tea has its own Ancient Vocabulary; as with Wine, the study of Tea inevitably explores the relationships among each particular tea, location, season harvested, treatment after harvest, cutting technique, ageing process, and so on and so on. Cultivation of Tea goes back Millennia, maybe even further than Wine. Like wine it is Subtle and Complex, with layers of nuance most of us Westerners are untrained to distinguish.
So. We are interested in branching into the World of Tea here at the wine shop. At present we are thinking about a small group, maybe once a month, getting together to begin an Exploration of the Vast World of Tea. We don’t know what that will look like exactly. But we would like to know if any of you are interested in participating in this exploration. Please let us know by email or in person at the shop. If there is interest, we would like to kick this off sometime next Spring. Let us know if you are interested, thanks!
This week’s wine tasting
Ronan by Clinet Bordeaux Blanc ’14 France $15
80% sauv blanc, 20% semillon; fresh and appealing aromas of yuzu, grapefruit, white flowers, and passion fruit; flavors of citrus, white fruits and warm spices are fleshy yet crisp and clean.
Mas des Bressades Rosé Cuvée ’15 France $14
Spicy aromas and flavors of ripe red berries, orange, and pungent flowers; Nicely concentrated and supple, gaining weight with air, picking up bitter cherry and melon notes and a lingering red fruit liqueur quality.
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.
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!
Pomum Red ’11 Washington $19
Bordeaux blend; aromas of red fruit and exotic spices; On the palate, it shows black cherry, red cranberry and garrigue, fine elegant tannins and a long finish.
lummi island wine tasting october 14 ’16
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads
Whole Wheat- made with about a quarter of fresh milled whole wheat and handful of fresh milled rye flour as well as bread flour. In addition to being made with a levain it benefits from a long overnight ferment before being shaped and baked. A nice hearty whole grain bread – $5/loaf.
Pain Normand – something new this week, a bread that brings in the flavor of french Normandy region which is known for its apples. Also made with some fresh milled whole wheat and rye flours as well as bread flour it is then mixed with apple cider as well as dried apples. A delicious artisan bread – $5/loaf.
Pastry this week is also something new –
Morning Buns. Based on a pastry from Tartine Bakery in San Fransisco and has been described as a cross between a cinnamon roll and a Breton kouign-amman. Made with the laminated pastry dough that is used for croissants, then rolled out and spread with a brown sugar cinnamon filling, rolled up and sliced into rolls and baked. Yum, Yum! Quantity is limited – 2/$5
St. Gilles
You will all be interested to know that about a thousand years ago (late 1190), Guy de Foulques or Guy Foulques — yes, there is a surprising resemblance to “Guy Fawkes,”, n’est-ce pas?…Coincidence…?) was born in St. Gilles, France, son of a successful lawyer. At nineteen, he enlisted to fight the Moors in Spain, then studied law and rose to a position as secretary to King Louis IX, married, had two daughters, and, we presume, something of a career as a monarchist civil servant. Upon the death of his wife, he followed his father’s example and entered the Church as a priest…but, apparently qualified for a somewhat, um, “special track”…?
To wit, he became pastor of the Cathedral at Saint-Gilles in 1255. He was appointed Bishop of Le Puy in 1259, and soon after became Archbishop of Narbonne. His meteoric rise continued swiftly to make him a Cardinal in December 1261, and then on to become Pope (Clement IV) very shortly thereafter. Back in those charming medieval days, as Feudalism was struggling toward something like Nationalism, Church and State were Dancing the way Corporation and State Dance now, and this guy seems to have been, shall we say, something of a Player.
These days, St. Gilles, located in the Rhone Delta, is a quiet town on the canal route from Aigues-Morte to Beaucaire. A short distance from Arles, but definitely a bit remote like Maguelone, it seems a strange place to build a big cathedral. However, considering the Feudal times, perhaps the Camargues provided a network of natural Moats, and afforded protection for the Medieval Church and its Holdings. In any case, these days St. Gilles is quiet and a bit soothing, a smallish town on the border between the vaguely wild estuary that is the Camargues and the faster-paced Costieres de Nimes to the north, and Marseilles and Provence to the east.
This week’s Rosé
It all began innocently enough. I mean, like most of the other wine shops on the Planet, we have been carrying Bodegas Breca’s Garnacha de Fuego for many years. You all know it as a mouth-filling, almost chewy, rich and flavorful wine made from what must be a vast area of old vines Garnacha. And it always way over-delivers for its modest price. So it is a wine we tend to keep in stock or at least revisit on a regular basis. And since we were down to one bottle, I ordered more. As one does.
So today it was something of a surprise to find that somehow the order had gone off track, because today’s delivery accidentally brought a case of Garnacha de Fuego Rosé! Huh? They make a rosé? Who knew?
Ever adapting to the Flow of Reality, I thought, hmm, could be interesting, so okay, we’ll keep it and see how it goes. A little research revealed that this little rosé, made from Old Vines Garnacha like its deep and dark sibling, earned 90 points from Parker’s Wine Advocate, which called it “Absolutely spectacular.” Okay, it has my full attention, and we are looking forward to tasting it with you all this weekend! Who knows, might be Awesome!
Meltdown at the Not-So-OK Corral
For those of us of a Certain Age, if we look deeply, we find a certain amount of Confusion about, you know, Frankenstein. Because, as we all know, somehow it was the “Monster,” brought back from the Dead, a little confused, a little retarded, yet with a certain clumsy Sweetness, who was targeted as the Villain. I mean, does Anyone remember what happened to Dr. Frankenstein, he whose unbounded Hubris loosed the hapless Monster on the World? We are left only with the image of Long Lines of People With Torches on Dark Hillsides, Bent on Revenge for Violations they, like the Monster they pursued, could only Dimly perceive.
The Relevance of Mary Shelley’s creation for Our Moment is that here we are 200 years later, still unable to distinguish between the Scientist who created the Monster and the Monster itself, who throughout the story maintains a certain Tragic Innocence.
In a sense the the current– and Long, Long, Long Overdue– Meltdown of Donald Trump as a Candidate for (arguably) Leader of the Free World has a certain Poignancy, putting us collectively in something of a Dilemma. After all, he now represents BOTH the Scientist and the Monster. Should we Lament the Hubris of the Egocentric Creator of this bit of Global Theater, or should we feel Compassion for the Child-like Innocence of his Catastrophic Ignorance? However it turns out, it is High Theater. High Theater Indeed…!
This week’s wine tasting
Garnacha de Fuego Rose ’15 Spain 90pts $9
Absolutely spectacular rosé; light, almost neon-pink color and delicate strawberry and cranberry fruit notes, with a hint of pomegranate. It is fresh, lively, ripe, medium-bodied, and has more texture and length than one usually expects in a rosé.
Nera La Novella ’15 Italy $15
This unusual white (Nebbiolo, Rossola, Chardonnay, Manzoni) offers surprising complexity; fruity and intense, typical of Nebbiolo grapes; dry flavor with hints of exotic fruits; engaging, tasty, and persistent.
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.
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.
Tres Picos Garnacha ’14 Spain 92pts $15
Heady, exotically perfumed bouquet of ripe berries and incense, with a smoky minerality and spice. Vibrant flavors of raspberry liqueur and cherry-cola show power, depth and finesse with velvety tannins.
lummi island wine tasting october 7 ’16
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
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
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
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.
2072 Granger Way