lummi island wine tasting april 15, ’16
(note: some photos may enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads (contact us to get on the pre-order list!)
Rye Levain – Wheat flour starter fed with equal portions of wheat and fresh milled rye before making the dough. The final dough incorporates bread flour as well as fresh milled whole wheat and rye flours. Cracked rye and toasted sunflower seeds are added to make a nice crusty loaf with great flavor. A great artisan loaf that pairs well with meats and cheese – $5/loaf.
Walnut Raisin Levain – Also made with a wheat starter but fed with bread flour and freshly milled whole wheat, then made up with bread flour, freshly milled whole wheat, and just a touch of some freshly milled rye flour and loaded up with raisins and toasted walnuts. Makes great toast!- $5/loaf.
And, ever popular….
Bagels are back!! Yes! delicious bagels that also have a long, slow, cool fermentation overnight in the fridge before being boiled, topped with seeds and baked. Each bag contains a mix of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, mixed seeds and plain -bakers choice only – sorry I can’t take orders for specific toppings. – 4/$5.
Poggio Al Tufo Rompicollo
Last week we mentioned our recent visit to the charming little town of Silverton, Oregon. Walking around the old downtown area is like stepping back into the fifties or sixties. Many of the shops and restaurants retain much of their original decor and architectural style, and anyone around retirement age who grew up in a small town will find much that feels familiar and therefore comforting.
So it was with Silver Grille, a welcoming restaurant with lots of nooks and crannies, old-fashioned high ceilings, delicious food, and a great wine list. We were there with neighbors and wine shop regulars Mike and Diane, who were returning from a road trip to California. On a whim Mike ordered a bottle of one of the “glass pour” wines– the Tommasi Poggio Al Tufo Rompicollo, a blend of sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon from Tuscany, and we all loved it. When we got home I tracked down the distributor (turns out to be Lummi’s own Judy A), and hopefully it will arrive by opening time. I ordered two cases, cuz I think this stuff is gonna be a big hit. Just sayin’…
Curiously, Parker’s Wine Advocate, notorious for giving astronomical ratings to some pretty ordinary wines, gave it a modest 88 points, while Vinous, which took over wine critic Stephen Tanzer’s more restrained reviews, gave it an astonishing 93 points. Pretty wide spread there, especially considering the sources. Like, it would make more sense if the ratings were vice versa. All you need to know is that it’s way better than 88 (think “solid B”), but maybe not a 93 (think “solid A”).
Hay Rakes
There’s an old Maine story about two farmers (that’s pronounced “fahmahs”) talking. One of them has just heard a speech about Socialism and was very inspired. Their conversation went something like this:
Jed: Okay, Enoch, so yoah tellin me that if you had two fahms, you’d give me one o’ them?
Enoch: Ayuh, if I had two fahms, Jed, I’d give you one o’ them.
Jed: Hmm. And if you had two hosses, Enoch, would you give me one o’ them?
Enoch: “Yessuh, Jed, if I had two hosses, I’d give you one o’ them.
Jed: Hmmmm. Very interestin’…well, then, if you had two hay rakes, Enoch, would you give me one o’ them?
There was a long pause before:
Enoch: DAMN you, Jed, you KNOW I got two hay rakes!
I first heard that story nearly 60 years ago, and in all these years I never had Any Idea what a “hay rake” was. So finally I looked it up. Turns out they have quite a history…Read more.
Rosé Season Approaches!
We are starting to get more sunshine. El Niño is about spent, and the Big Weather People are saying there’s a strong possibility that it will slide into a pretty big La Niña, which probably means “Drier Than You Are Used To” here in the West. Whatever those niños and niñas are up to, it is still inevitably and gloriously Springtime, and that means it’s time for us to start building up our Rosé Shrine. Next month at this time we should have eight to ten rosés waiting for you as you come up the stairs, and each week from now through the summer we will be changing our typical tasting list from one white and four reds to one white, one rosé, and three reds.
At the moment we are just building up our supply. This weekend we will feature Renegade Rosé. Many of you have enjoyed the Renegade Red from the same winery (Sleight of Hand) in Walla Walla, under the hand of playful winemaker Trey Busch. Though this rosé is new to us, it has received rave reviews from regional critics for several years. Come by and check it out!
This week’s wine tasting
Kermit Lynch Vaucluse Blanc ’14 France $12
Think crème brûlée and honeysuckle; this viognier-chardonnay blend is round-bodied, yet with tart, stony crispness and knockout aromas of pear, sun-baked apples, and spicy hints of anise.
Renegade Rosé ’14 Washington $11
50% Syrah, 21% Cinsault, 18% Grenache, 6% Counoise, and 5% Mouvedre. Wonderful aromas of fresh pomegranates and citrus, some sweet red berries, and even rhubarb.
Verso Nero d’Avola Terre Siciliane IGT ’14 Sicily $12
Unctuous style with “the structure of Trapani, the aromatics of Siracusa, and ripeness of Palermo.” Plus: 10% of the grapes are raisined, yielding rich notes of cranberry, black fruits, and sage.
Tommasi Poggio Al Tufo Rompicollo ’12 Italy 93pts $18
Opulent on the nose and in the mouth, 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!
Terra d’Oro Zinfandel ’11 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 april 8 ’16
http://www.pahaque.com/(note: some photos may enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads (contact us to get on the pre-order list!)
Multigrain w/ PFD – Made with a portion of dough pre-fermented overnight, then mixed with fresh milled whole wheat and rye flours plus flax, sunflower and sesame seeds; goes well with meats and cheese – $5/loaf.
Rosemary Olive Oil – also made with a portion of the flour pre-fermented, then mixed with some whole wheat flour, with olive oil added to make the crumb tender and rosemary for great flavor. – $5/loaf.
And, for a bit of sweet…with a catch!
Berry Kuchen, Banana Walnut Muffins, Danish Braid with sweet cheese filling and Dried Fruit Spice Buns BUT only available if you come to the island clean up and give our island a bit of spring cleaning spruce up and help pick up from the winter winds. Clean-up sign in starts at 9:45, come early and get a treat and have a cup of coffee.
Silver Falls
We just got home this evening from a brief trailer trip to Oregon’s Silver Falls State Park, a few miles south of the charming town of Silverton. Both are located about 25 miles east of Salem in the foothills of the Cascades. This is an area of sometimes steeply rolling landscapes, evergreen and deciduous forests, open farmland (Christmas tree farms abound), and an all-around peaceful and nourishing feeling. Rumor has it that a few modern pioneers are experimenting with developing vineyards in the area. Hmm. If we were twenty years younger, it would be mighty alluring to find a few acres and make some wine there!
Silver Falls is justifiably billed as the “Crown Jewel” of Oregon State Parks. With miles of moderate hiking trails, rocky forested canyons, ten breathtaking waterfalls (some nearly 200 feet tall), several campgrounds, a conference center…it is all in all a very alluring area. Click website for more info…
The Sun did break through there as here, leading to temperatures in the mid-70’s, almost Unbearably Hot to our perpetually-perfect-wine-temperature Lummi Island. The unexpected Warmth invited a comforting sense of Nourishment and Lack of Concern that is the Hallmark of Well-being…a rare and Wonderful Gift! Ahhhhh!
The Visor
As we have reported in these pages, three years ago we bought our little “T@da” trailer, a retro update of the “breadbox” trailers of a bygone era, and have been enjoying occasional road trips ever since. And while the “curvy breadbox” look has a warm and cozy ambience, it also has a drawback or two. In particular, the rounded ends render Impractical the roll-out awning featured on the much more Ubiquitous “White Boxes with Bold Swirly Graphics” trailers that dominate today’s RV market and campgrounds both public and private. Given that there is actually a Grain of Truth to the notion that so-called Free Enterprise can under certain circumstances allocate resources efficiently (a complicated economic concept reduced to meaningless gibberish by a generation of Republican “Jaba-the-Hut” Wanna-Be’s), it is reassuring that a little company has found an Opportunity in these little trailers.
Although the shape of the trailer precludes the installation of a standard roll-out awning, for unknown reasons its design Does include an odd little Track where the outside wall meets the rounded roof. Seeing an Opportunity, some folks at “Pahaque” came up with “the Visor.” On one edge is a ropy track that slides into the aforesaid Track, and then, supported by a couple of guy lines, it keeps both Sun and Rain at Bay. We have sent it back twice for adjustment (long story). The latest correction arrived recently and performed admirably the last few days. And, of course, it Does look like a Ball Cap Visor, doesn’t it? The difficulty is in getting the metal rod that shapes the visor curve to be just the right tension. Too much (we have been there!) and it curves way too sharply upward; too little (we have been there, too!) and it just flops down with the first breeze or rain shower.
The current version worked pretty well the last few days, and will be even better when a couple of newly designed reinforcement poles arrive. Folks…we are a Species of Tinkerers. No more, no Less. Just sayin’…!
This week’s wine tasting
Domaine Girard Chardonnay ’14 France $13
Medium- bodied with fleshy notes of fresh-picked apples and pears; no oak, but spends time on the lees to give it richness; clay soils at a higher elevation impart a delightful freshness.
Coopers Creek Marlborough Pinot Noir ’10 NZ $17
Mid-red, going slightly brick on the edge. Dark cherry and strawberry on the nose, but with definite savoury, earthy, forest floor complexities showing. Medium bodied, with tannins still very much there, but beautifully velvety.
Lagone Aia Vecchio ’12 Italy $14
“Super-Tuscan”blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Cab Franc. Rich and expressive, with aromas of cherry, vanilla, raw beef, and herbs; structured palate of plum, wild berries, and hints of spice, with a long finish that begs for food.
Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec ’13 Argentina 89pts $14
Aromatic and fresh, with notes of violets, ripe plums and a touch of brown sugar, quite showy, with the profile of a cool vintage, the sweet tannins of the Malbec, some sweet spicy flavors, and good length.
Lost River Nebbiolo ’12 Washington $22
Lighter than its famous Italian counterparts barolo and barbaresco, yet showing classic nebbiolo notes of violets and tar on a smooth frame of cherry and strawberry…absolutely delightful!
lummi island wine tasting april fools day ’16
(note: some photos may enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads (contact us to get on the pre-order list!)
Whole Wheat – Jump started with a portion of overnight pre-fermented dough , which adds flavor and digestibility. Then blended with fresh milled whole wheat and a little honey, yielding a full flavor bread with a lot of substance. – $5/loaf.
Buttermilk Dried Currant – Another hearty whole wheat bread, with some coarsely milled for texture and the rest finely milled, and a portion of each fermented overnight. Buttermilk is then added to tenderize the crumb, plus currants, honey and rosemary to round out the flavors. – $5/loaf.
And, for a bit of sweetness…
Chocolate Babkas – Yummy sweet rolls rich with eggs and butter, rolled out and spread with chocolate before baking. – 2/$5.
More Concerted Effort!
Our post about our recent concert and our plea for more musicians to drop in and play a set for us attracted the attention of our friend Paul, one many Vancouverites with second homes on Lummi, who came by last Saturday afternoon and played to small band of neighborhood regulars. He has been in numerous times before with his guitar to play and sing lots of familiar tunes…so familiar that a few of us old-timers sometimes can’t help singing along.
Fortunately, he arrived just as a potentially heated political debate was about to get underway, exploring the twisted logic of Neoliberalism dating back to Adam Smith in the 18th century. Paul’s soft and soothing music melted any hard edges in the room, making for a most pleasant afternoon in the wine shop!
One nice takeaway from the afternoon is that we are actively seeking musicians to join us either for a Saturday afternoon “background” gig (adulation and a free wine tasting!), or for a Sunday afternoon “foreground” gig, which should draw a few people and maybe even a few dinero. Okay, okay, we don’t offer much but wine and gratitude, but you could do worse!
Crazy Fridays, Easy Saturdays
Let’s face it, folks, Janice and her Bread have transformed this place, Put in On the Map, and driven Friday night background Noise completely Off the Scale. By the time bread arrives just after 4 pm each Friday, a small crowd has already gathered around the bar for wine tasting, and more arrive by the minute. By four-thirty the place is full, cheerful, alive, and oh, BTW, Loud!
As always, the arrival of about the twelfth or thirteenth visitor evokes, through some ancient law of Something or Other, a Quantum Leap in the Noise Level. One minute you can actually converse with someone up to five feet away, and then suddenly, yes, you can still talk, no problem there, but you can’t hear what anyone more than one foot away is saying. We are actively looking for a way to neutralize these acoustic reverberations. Suggestions welcome.
Meanwhile, the more Fridays keep unfolding as they do, the more quiet Saturdays become, and the more they continue to evoke pleasant and meandering conversations at the bar. A certain intimacy, a certain casual comfort, a certain camaraderie. Quite reminiscent of our first few years with the shop, when we were only open Saturdays from one to five, and hey, one to five people coming by in an afternoon, while not great for sales, was great for meeting and conversing with both visitors and our little band of early “regulars.”
Anniversary
This past week we have all been basking in the Return of Sunshine. Mornings have still been Chilly, but a bit after noon the radiant heat of the Sun gets luxuriously warmer. Coupled with the emergence of poignantly sweet and fragrant Blossoms (as on these beautifully intertwined young quince and cherry trees at left), the warm radiance of the midday Spring Sun is Delicious and Nourishing beyond words.
This was particularly noticeable this morning at Constance’s weekly yoga class at Ann Morris’ studio. As each day of Sunshine this week has added additional warmth, we have become increasingly nostalgiac, because on April 2 sixteen years ago, on a day very much like today we celebrated our wedding in that very same studio, followed by a wonderful reception at the Beach Store Cafe. Surrounded by dear friends and a beautiful Spring Day like today we felt happy and lucky to be part of this community. And we still do. For whatever Good Fortune brought us to this little Island, we are continually grateful!
This week’s wine tasting
Linen White ’14 Washington $11
Crisp, refreshing and delicious! Aromas of pineapple, mango and a hint of papaya lead to flavors of pear, peach and apricot with an undercurrent of zesty citrus, and bright, crisp finish of fresh grapefruit and tangerine.
Anne Amie Rosé ’14 Oregon $14
Fermented in neutral oak barrels; dry and deeply fruity, with aromas of raspberry, cigar box, and blood orange, with flavors of strawberry, chai spice, white pepper, and Rainier cherry, with a long, clean, mineral finish.
Corte Gordoni La Fontane Bardolino ’12 Italy $14
Bardolino is made from a blend of 60% Corvina for structure, weight and a sour-cherry aroma, and 30% Rondinella for the wine’s appealingly fresh, herby flavor, yielding a polished, beautifully scented and silky wine with pure red-berry flavors and a mildly spicy finish.
La Grange de Lascaux ’12 France $14
Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre from limestone soil (aka “Lascaux”)– imparting zesty minerality, aromas of lavender, oregano and thyme (“garrigue”) flavors of briery fruit, and silky tannins.
Betz Besoleil ’13 Washington 92pts $45
Good dark red. Musky aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, plum and coffee, with earthy and floral notes. Wonderfully smoky and sweet on the palate, offering a plush, seamless texture and noteworthy density.
lummi island wine tasting march 25, ’16
(note: some photos may enlarge when clicked)
Friday Breads (email us to get on the preorder mailing list! )
Pain Meunier – Incorporates all parts of the wheat berry into the bread. It’s made with bread flour, whole wheat flour, cracked wheat and wheat germ…makes the best toast ever! A nice all around bread – $5/loaf.
Buckwheat, Walnut & Dried Apricot – Ferments a portion of the flour (buckwheat in this case) overnight before making the dough. The walnuts are toasted and the apricots are soaked in some white wine. This is a great flavorful bread – $5/loaf.
And, for a bit of sweetness…
Rum Raisin Brioche – These delightful pastries are made with a rich brioche dough that is full of eggs and butter. Golden raisins are soaked in rum and added to the dough along with pieces of almond paste and some lemon zest to brighten the flavor and then topped with a chocolate glaze before baking. — 2/$5.
Concerted Effort
About a dozen people came out for our concert last Sunday with Robert Sarazin Blake. As expected the acoustics of the space were a great venue for Robert’s resonant voice and energetic guitar style. A good time was had by all, and we are now actively on the lookout for more acoustic performers. So call us!
Learn more about Robert’s music here.
Trebbiano di Lugana Revisited
As we mentioned last summer, Italy produces more distinct grape varietals than any other country, with about 350 officially authorized in at least one region, and another 500 that exist but remain pretty obscure, and sorting out genetic relationships among them can be a full time job.
Trebbiano accounts for about a third of all white wine made in Italy but has many faces, names, and characteristics. A recent DNA study concluded that at least seven grapes known as “trebbiano” are actually genetically distinct and do not share a common ancestor. It also found that Trebbiano di Lugana has a 97% DNA matchup to verdicchio. Which is to say you can expect the Trebbiano di Lugana (aka Turbiana) we are pouring this weekend to taste a lot like Verdicchio: clean, crisp, and minerally with notes of citrus and white peach. Most important, this wine was very popular when we poured it last summer, so let’s keep our fingers crossed for a warm weekend!
Political Divisions
This is Caucus weekend here on the Island. Democrats have to decide between two pretty strong candidates. Out on the Republican Planet, Trump threatens Revolution, Cruz courts the Dark Arts, and Kasich thinks it’s still 1983. My fantasy is that Republican households (I don’t actually know any Republicans well enough to be able to fact-check this) are happy to just go along with the view of their Dominant Male. Democratic households tend to be more complicated. Like ours. And if you are a Republican, don’t worry, we are still confident that Paul Ryan will emerge as your Final Candidate. I hate his positions, but at least he’s, you know, Respectable.
It has also become more and more obvious this year that the divide between Republicans and Democrats is no longer along a liberal-conservative continuum– maybe it never was. Now it is clearly a division between Authoritarians (the Biggest Bullies get to make the rules) and little-D democrats (the People get to make the rules). If you think about it for a few minutes, you realize that this whole liberal-conservative thing has been a Hoax from the very beginning, just a control mechanism to distract the populace from the pillaging of everything they hold dear by the Ruling Class. As Oglala Lakota Chief Luther Standing Bear put it long ago: “Nothing is holy to the white man. Little by little, with greed and cruelty unsurpassed by the animal, he has taken all. The loaf is gone and now the white man wants the crumbs.” Or as Leonard Cohen sings, “the Poor stay Poor and the Rich get Rich, that’s How it Goes, and Everybody Knows.”
Here at home, for months now it has been clear that I “feel the Bern” while Pat is a staunch Hillaryite. Broadly speaking, I LIKE the idea of revolution, not the armed uprising kind, but rather the paradigm shift kind. She wants change, but needs it to happen at a controlled and digestible pace, and fears Bernie will either try too much too fast, or be hogtied by a hostile Congress. Also, of course, she has long been a strong Feminist, another point for Hillary. And we both feel that Hillary has borne the longest, most virulent, and most relentless media attacks we have seen in our lives. WTF is that about? And there are reports that some Bernie supporters have also been virulent and divisive Hillary critics.
So. Being little-d democrats, we both will be part of the Process this Saturday. Fortunately, we have the luxury of having to choose between Good and Better (however you define that), which is way better than the Republican current choices of LOL, OMG, and WTF…! However bad it gets, you’ll feel better if you come on by for wine tasting Saturday afternoon!
This week’s wine tasting
Ottella Lugana Bianco ’13 Italy $16
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.
Pugliano Treggiaia Italy $11
A smooth and satisfying blend of sangiovese, canniolo & cab, showing bright fruit, food-friendly acidity, aromas of cherry and herbs, and an easy, friendly mouthfeel. A long-time favorite here.
Linen Red ’13 Washington $11
Syrah-cab blend. Opens with charcoal, blackberry and spice on the nose, with flavors of plum, cassis, and cedar in the
turning to blackberry and peppery black fruits on the finish.
Orowines Bluegray Priorat ’11 Spain $16
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.
Peneca Sparkling Rebula Slovenia $15
Floral and slightly honied with intense meyer lemon aromas, gorgeous bubbles, and a pleasing earthiness. Delicious– and just in time for the holidays!
2072 Granger Way