Lummi Island Wine Tasting March 2 ’14
Harbingers of Spring
Around here we all know that Spring “begins to begin” on Groundhog Day (Feb 2), which heralds a parade of early Spring signs, including pussy willows, Indian plum, and daffodils. The pussy willows were right on schedule a few weeks ago; the Indian plum tendrils are a good inch long, and the relentless daffodils are already 6-8″ tall. It is deeply reassuring that these Spring harbingers have maintained their relentless harbinging right through a foot of snow (our first this year!) from a vagabond snowstorm that dropped in for a couple of days last week.
clicking on some photos will yield more detailed images
A touch of Winter
First, it snowed. Then it snowed some more. At our place it came to about 9 inches, not bad for the only snow this winter. The wind was so light the snow just piled up wherever it fell– roofs, railings, and of course trees. While we were taking the “road” picture below, it was still snowing, and every ten minutes or so there was a loud “CRAAAACK” as tree branches, limbs, or even whole trees gave in the the weight of the snow. As we would say in Maine, Yessuh, by Gawd, gonna be lotsa fiahwood foh next yeeah.
After the snow, glorious sun shining on snow, overwhelming our squinty Northwest mole-eyes. All in all, a bit of an adventure, lightened to casual nuisance by its occurrence amidst the unmistakable signs of Spring all around. After all, the pussy willows, the Indian plum, and the daffodils know what’s going on, and they’re certain that “Spring comes, the grass grows by itself.” Or at least it used to…will it always…?
Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, the Betting is now Closed…
There is a great deal more to Climate Change than ‘Global Warming.” The Deniers look at a Cold Day and Guffaw and Spit through their teeth and exclaim, “You Greenhorn! Why, you thick-skulled, hare-brained, half-witted, Greenhorn! (click for clip, sometimes it works) So it is important to note that “Climate Change” is the more inclusive term, the global-climate-equivalent of “I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more, Toto…” The Big Deal is not that the Planet is getting warmer. The Big Deal is that we are pushing the Planet out of Our equilibrium. But from the Planet’s perspective, it is Always in Equilibrium, and it is not concerned in the slightest with whether this or that species survives. On the contrary, it is up to each species to take its Best Shot, and just because it is our turn at the Plate doesn’t mean we have a Future.
Anyway, musing on our recent unseasonable snowstorm, along with the bizarre weather around the world this winter, I confess to an uneasy feeling that we may have abused our Mother Planet a bit too much. And planets are complicated Beings that take a Very Long View. “Oh yes,” She says, “those humans were SO promising at the beginning, especially that Darwin fellow, he was such a Dear…but yes, they have been quite a big Disappointment after all…”
About ten years ago there was a brief news clip about a Pentagon study that had looked at some unlikely but possible climatic change scenarios involving the Strategic Implcations of….wait for it...a Sudden Ice Age! So our “out of the envelope global weather this year” seems an appropriate cue for digging into the Archives to revisit that analysis. In the words of inspiring eco-spokesman David Suzuki when asked by a Bellingham audience member whether we should be concerned about Global Warming (please think “Climate Change”), said, “You should be shi%$ng your pants!” Although this article is somewhat heavy going (“scholarly”), it raises some interesting questions that are very much worth revisiting. Every day it becomes more and more clear that our political leaders are are unwilling or unable to deal with problems of this magnitude. In short either we have to change how we select our political leaders, or our species will likely perish, and probably sooner rather than later. link
This Week’s Tasting
Leonildo Pieropan Soave ’12 Italy $15
Well-balanced, lively, and tangy, with distinct minerality and appealing flavors of cantaloupe, pear, blood orange and ginger.
Atalaya Laya ’12 Spain $10
70% Garnacha and 30% Monastrell; superb bouquet of dark cherries, blackberry and incense, with layered palate of succulent black fruit ; supremely well-crafted for this price range.
Rio Madre Rioja ’11 Spain 90pts $10
Inky ruby. Spice-accented notes of black currant and cherry cola, dark chocolate and licorice. Concentrated and powerful on the palate, with a spicy note building with air.
Maryhill Zinfandel ’09 Washington
Full-bodied, with smokey aromas of dark ripe plum and candied citrus, with a hefty palate of black currant and leathery dried plum.
Palama Metiusco ’12 Italy $23
50% Negroamaro, 25% Malvasia and Primitivo; fermented and aged in stainless steel to preserve the essence of southern Italy’s terroir— medium-bodied, earthy and complex, with a velvety finish of black cherries, raisins and plums.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting Feb 21 ’14
Marx was Right…or was it Left?
The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them. — Karl Marx
Marx has been badmouthed by capitalists for about 150 years, but he had great insight about how capitalism would influence political economy— back in those days “politics” and “economics” were inseparable aspects of social structure. And not only was he right about a lot of things– as in the quote above, he also had a sense of humor! And for many decades now, there has been an official branch of American economics devoted to the study of Marxist ideas, the Union for Radical Political Economics. Their thinking is particularly useful for examining the distributional issues of economic policy, particularly in urban settings.
A brief look at recent history shows that in the last thirty years in general and the last 15 years in particular, productivity gains in the economy have gone almost entirely to increase corporate profits, while wages have stagnated. That means that as the Pie has gotten much bigger, the shares going to capital have gotten bigger and bigger, while the shares going to labor have gotten smaller and smaller. Recently, workers at VW-Chattanooga were pressured into voting against unionization by anti-union Republican politicians. It turns out, however, that VW considers Republican interference with the union vote contrary to its long-standing commitment to the principle of co-determination between management and labor, and is now (I love this!) less likely to expand its operations in the US South. Gee…by golly, kinda makes me proud to be a VW owner…!
The Art of Wine Continues!
Many of you have experienced it already. If you have, you KNOW you want to do it AGAIN! If you haven’t, you KNOW you MUST have the experience! Well, now you CAN!!! Ryan’s incredibly enlightening, enjoyable, informative, and FUN workshops on the Art of Wine are Back! This time you get to cover the Entire Planet of Wine in a mere Four Weeks! Is this even POSSIBLE?! The answer is Yes! Yes! Yes!!!
Read the announcement for details, and sign up soon, as space is limited!
Heron Fare
The standout feature of today’s walk was a Great Blue Heron flying away from us along the beach at Legoe Bay with a foot-long, vaguely reptilian shape in its beak. We caught up with it a few minutes later, standing at the shoreline, and for lack of a better term “managing” its catch. We could not get close enough to see what it was, but as it changed in shape from time to time, it seemed to be alive and giving its best shot at staying that way. The ensuing existential choreography involved long periods of no movement, interspersed with long minutes when the heron appeared to be trying either to kill the catch once and for all and/or to get it into position to swallow. At some point, this long, quiet battle ended with, as you might expect, the catch being swallowed head-first (I think) down, down into the heron’s gullet. And I think: this goes on all the time, moment to moment, creature to creature, predator and prey. And then I think….hmmm….if one has a choice, better to be a predator. And then I think…hmmm….maybe not…! As if, you know, we had a choice…!!
This Week’s Tasting
La Cana Albarino ‘ 12 Spain 91pts $14
From vines perched on blustery and wet Atlantic coast of Spain, just north of Portugal. High-pitched aromas of lime zest, lemongrass, and jasmine; energetic citrus and orchard fruit, finishing with lime and pear skin notes. read more
Jordanov Merlot ’11 Macedonia $10
Macedonia is possibly the birthplace of the cultivated vine in Europe 4000 years ago. The fruit for this wine comes from Tikves, an area with limestone and sandy soils, ideal for growing wine grapes. Notes of blueberry and densely concentrated fruit with a dusty, rich, long finish of cherry and cherry pit minerality. read more
Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon ’10 Chile 90pts $10
Colchagua Valley, at 34°S, is closer to the Equator than any European vineyard, but cooled by the Humboldt Current; the region is characterized by steep slopes of well-drained granitic soil, irrigated by the Tinguiririca River flowing from the Andes. This rich red leads with distinct earthiness to dark cassis, plum reduction and kirsch notes, gaining traction with layers of woodsy spices, maduro tobacco and licorice on the long finish.
Andrew Murray Elleven Cabernet California $16
From south-facing hillside vines on the mineral-rich, clay-loam soils with interspersed cobbles of the new Happy Canyon AVA of Santa Barbara, this wine shows concentrated and complex notes of graphite, forest floor, flowers, and bright cherry.
Vignavecchia Chianti Classico ’10 Italy 89pts $18
Fermented in 100HL cement tanks for two weeks, then 30% aged in wood (90% sangio, 10% merlot) Old-world aromas of redcurrant, cherry pit, violet, tobacco, and horse blanket lead to intense flavors of redcurrant, bitter cherry, spices, and merlot-derived nuances of cocoa and coffee.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting Valentine’s Day Weekend ’14
Yes! Valentine Truffles!
Yes, we have Truffles!
Fresh from the tempering machine, Pat’s latest batch includes three nuanced flavors, all enrobed in Valrhona 72% Dark Chocolate:
— Classic: Dark French chocolate inside and out;
— Cappucino: Milk chocolate/espresso ganache under dark French chocolate;
— Cranberry: Cranberry-infused white chocolate ganache under dark French chocolate.
Please note: NO pre-orders this time– it’s first-come, first-served beginning Friday night. Truffles are $1 each; treat yourself and your sweetie! Each order tidily bagged and tied, suitable for on the spot gratification or taking home as a Valentine treat! Repeat after me: “YUM!”
Wine without a Home
The Universe is a mysterious place, but there is order to it. Summer comes, grapes ripen by themselves. Grapes are grapes; wine is wine. So at some level if it looks like wine, smells like wine, and tastes like wine, it is probably “wine.” So this weekend we are offering for your tasting pleasure a very modestly priced California zinfandel (see notes, below) that offers a ” deep red hue, rich nose of dark cherries and ripe plums with hints of spice and coffee, and a pleasing palate of blackberry and dark cherry.” And it’s really cheap: $6 a bottle!
Wines like this serve a market need. They are affordable, drinkable, and even enjoyable. They are generally the product of mega-wineries that have tons of juice left over after skimming off their stable of higher-end niche wines to a high standard which typifies their particular place of origin. The deselected juice is then blended and sold under a number of “branded” lower-end labels aimed at lower-priced markets. These wines by their nature have a bigger, County-wide or even California-wide “footprint.” They typify a marketing strategy more than they typify any particular place.
There is a kind of Darwinian market process going on here. The very best fruit finds it way to a small number of the best wines, and all the rest sorts itself out according to its market station. Modern winemaking technology makes all this plonk more or less palatable, and modern marketing gives us countless labels for basically the same wine. The big loss in all of this is that tasting them will not tell you a story about any particular place. So this is probably a good time to say that one basic characteristic of an “Artisan Wine” is that it has a story to tell about where it came from and who made it.
It’s the Carbon, Stupid!
kids sledding by simpleinsomnia via openverse
Snow isn’t a big deal when you’re used to it. As a child in Maine in the 50’s (yes, a long time ago!), snow was a familiar and enjoyable part of winter life. Our little residential street had a steep hill on one end, which was generally blocked off at the top for much of the winter, with little wooden barriers and the canteloupe-sized, black, round, flaming pots of oil that were used to mark road hazards in those days. You could pull your sled (they had a short line on the front) to the top of the hill, jump on (head first most of the time, with your hands on the steering bar), zoom down the hill, and coast about a block and a half! So snow can be fun, and if your community is capitalized for it, with plows and sanders and removal plans, it’s pretty easy to live with.
The trouble with Climate Change is that No One is Ready. Not humans, not animals, not plants, not anything that is place-habituated. Those polar bears can swim, but not, you know, 24/7. Those salmon can swim out in the Ocean for a few years and have a great time, but they expect streams and rivers still to be there when they come back to spawn. And those phytoplankton expect the basic salinity and acidity of the ocean to be more or less in the ball park of where it has been for hundreds of millions of years. All I want to say about that is that a few years ago David Suzuki gave a talk at the Mt Baker Theater over there on the mainland. After the talk someone asked if we should be concerned about climate change. He said, “you should be sh*#*ing your pants!”
About thirty years ago as a research fellow on the economic impacts of possible climate change I wrote a paper summarizing the then-current thinking and the likely effects on global fisheries. All you need to know is that the only mistake climate scientists have made is to underestimate the speed and magnitude of the changes. The big takeaway here is that the biosphere is a razor-thin veneer well-adapted to gradual change but utterly incapable of dealing with rapid change. Imagine Winston-Salem with no snowplows, but it just keeps on snowing and snowing and snowing…
This week’s tasting notes
Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes ’12 Argentina $14
Highly perfumed aromas of lemon drop, white flowers, peppermint and white pepper. Supple, pliant and easygoing, with citrus, herbal and floral flavors joined by a hint of licorice. Argentine winemaker Susana Balbo, “Queen of Torrontes” strives for balance in her wines, with layers of complexity coming from the individually fermented varietals. She spends a month each year in a different wine region of the world studying with local winemakers and growers. Her wines are seamless and well structured often showing the faint earthiness which is a hallmark of the Mendoza region
Ravenswood ‘Zen of Zin’ Zinfandel ’12 California $6
Deep red hue, rich nose of dark cherries and ripe plums with hints of spice and coffee, and a palate of blackberry and dark cherry. Ravenswood makes about 200,000 cases of wine a year from a broad collection of vineyards in Sonoma County, which generally experience hot days and cool nights, but with a wide array of soil types, temperature variation, elevation, and sun exposure.
Buglioni Valpolicella Classico ’10 Italy $12
Refined, feminine personality. Sweet red berries, flowers and spices linger on the high-toned, refreshing finish. read more about the winemaker
Townshend Red Table Washington $12
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah blend; aromas of black cherry, blackberry, strawberry, cedar and a hint of orange zest fill your senses with lingering pepper & tobacco notes. Spokane’s Townshend Winery gets the majority of its grapes come from the Prosser, Yakima and Tri-Cities, especially Willard Farms in Prosser.
Finca Allende Rioja ’06 Spain $21
Ripe, powerful scents of roasted cherry, plum, dark chocolate, and smoky herbs. Port-like on the palate, with deeply concentrated dark fruit compote, espresso, and bitter chocolate flavors, finishing with a rich wallop of ripe plum and impressive length. Read more about the winery
Lummi Island Wine Tasting February 8 ’14
click on images for more detail
A Somewhat Cross Cross-Quarter Day
Well, as usual there is good news and bad news. The good news is that, as as noted last Sunday, Groundhog Day happened on schedule, confirming that Our Dear Planet has moved halfway between Winter and Spring (thus, “cross-quarter day”). The bad news is that it has been feeling more like Winter here the past week than it usually EVER feels, as our old friend the Northeaster has dropped in unsually late in the season and seems to be overstaying its welcome. A nor’easter in February is an unusual event around here, so it is a little spooky. Nevertheless, the Earth keeps moving, and the Sun has reassuringly moved from its Solstice maximum to its present position, and odds are good it will start getting warmer and brighter very soon.
Distinctions
So. California is in the midst of a very serious, life-threatening, culture-threatening, life-as-we-know-it threatening drought. Walking along the hillsides north of Bodega Bay recently, my attention was drawn to a large raptor that soared in a great circle and then settled onto a rock quite far away. This photo, at maximum zoom, is suggestive of its identity, which remains a mystery. But the larger backdrop is How Dry Everything Is. And my fantasy is of the raptor’s searching for food in the very dry (yet replete with mole-holes) hillside, at some level perhaps musing on its chances for survival. Everywhere we look there are signs that our Ways, corporate, personal, ecological, and cultural, are suicidally out of sync with the constraints of the biological world, and that we are individually helpless to change it. How many lemmings are mobbed into the water, helpless victims of some larger idiocy they can neither fathom nor amend…?
The Art of Wine Returns
Several times a day I take a moment and ask, “Okay, who are we and what are we doing…?” It is, of course, a rhetorical question, and for a person of a certain age, a consciousness-focusing exercise. But at the moment I am inclined to digress, admit, and proclaim, that “we” with regard to our little wine shop includes, in a curiously undefined way, our very dear friend Ryan. He recently posted a very powerful memoir on the tragic passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman, my takeaway from which is, to quote the old Joan Baez song, “there but for Fortune go you or I…” All you need to know is that next month (March) we will offer again Ryan’s really delightful Art of Wine series, linking wine, food, culture, and art from several regions. It’s fun, it’s enlightening, and it’s educational. Watch for details next week!
Apes R Us…?
The thought of the moment is that these are deceptively difficult times; nearly fifty years ago Grace Slick intoned, “When the Truth is fooounnnd…..to beeee….Lies…” And here we are in early aught-fourteen, and, hey, Lying is the New Truth! It is difficult to shake the notion that we are collectively destroying the Life on our planet…possibly the only place it exists in the unimaginably Vast Universe. Like the Charlton Heston character in the original Planet of the Apes, here we are with nor’easters in February, global weather well out of familiar patterns, and the Few intent on destroying the Many for a few more soon to be worthless shekels. It just makes you thankful that you can forget it all with good wine and jolly companionship at your neighborhood Wine Gallery…!
This week’s tasting: Four cabs and an Italian chardonnay
Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino 2012 Italy $13
From hillside vineyards in Sardinia at about 190 metres above sea level, with mild winters, limited rainfall, and very hot and windy summers. Hand-selected grapes, using only very light first pressing. Typical notes of papaya, passion fruit, flowers, and honey, with clean, mineral notes.
2010 Brian Carter Abracadabra Red Wine ’10 Washington 89pts $16
This potpourri of nine Washington varietals from pedigreed vineyards gives a very broad sense of “Washington terroir.” Musky, reduced aromas of redcurrant and smoky oak, followed by intense redcurrant and spice flavors; finishes with firm tannins, hints of pepper, herbs, and very good length.
Ordonez Zerran ’11 Spain WA92pts $13
Old vines Garnacha, Mazuelo and Syrah from 1500′ hillsides, where soils are lime-bearing over a granite and slate subsoil. Quite arid with annual rainfall of about 25 in. Shows abundant kirsch, lavender, black raspberry and dusty, loamy, earthy scents intermixed with notions of spring flowers and blackberries.
Sanguineti Morellino de Scansano ’10 Italy $14
Soil of river stones, quartz, sea shells. Bursts with notes of sun-ripened, slightly smoky fruit, fresh cracked pepper, sage, and ocean brine. Its taut structure supports a long, slightly smoky finish.
Viu Manent San Carlos Malbec Chile WA91pts $18
Deep medium fertility topsoil with loam to clay-loam texture on 240m plateau. Explosively perfumed aromas of cherry-cola, roasted coffee and dark chocolate, and roasted dark berry flavors.
2072 Granger Way
