Lummi Island Wine Tasting December 21 Winter Solstice 2013
BIG Solstice Thoughts
Our distant ancestors had perhaps a more vested interest in the passage of the seasons than most of us. Still, followers of this blog will have observed our fascination with the annual cycle of solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days, which define the solar year. Today the thought occurred to me that we usually visualize our solar system as a sort of disc, with the Sun in the center and the planets orbiting it more or less within the plane we call the ecliptic. In that view, it is easy to imagine that each year on the winter solstice the Earth occupies again the same spot in the Universe as it does every year.
So it occurred to me today while walking the dogs that of course that isn’t exactly true, because as we all know, the whole Solar System is hurtling through space at something like 70,000 kph in its 220 million year trip around the Milky Way Galaxy. So of course, even though we are moving pretty slowly relative to the incomprehensible vastness of the Galaxy, it is breathtaking to realize that each year the Winter Solstice “place in Space” moves something like 375 million miles, and elliptical planetary orbits aren’t really “elliptical” at all, more like spirals. So of course when I got home I Googled “solar system movement through space” and man, did I hit a Jackpot of Far Out graphics! Click on the image for the first video. Please note that these images have NOT earned the approval of the scientific community, but there is something intuitively appealing about the basic idea of spiral movement. For more graphics, here are two more interesting videos:
Corkscrewing around the galaxy and The Earth does not revolve around the Sun
Mundane Solstice Thoughts
On a more familiar and more mundane level, on the left-above is a photo (tampered with) from several days ago, and another (below) from a few years ago of the actual Solstice sunset, about where the arrow is on the first photo. Considering all of the present day evidence of ancient solar observation (Stonehenge, Chaco Canyon, e.g.), this “Sun in Everyday Life” stuff has been around for a long time and is part of our inquisitive nature. Or as I have been putting it for some years now, at least several times a day, “Okay who are we, and what are we doing?” Or, as Suzuki Roshi put it, “before you chew your food there is rice, pickle, and soup. When you have chewed your food there is no rice, pickle, or soup. Otherwise the food will not serve its purpose.” Whichever way you look at it, infinity is still infinity, even if we can’t understand it!
The Alaskans
As often happens this time of year, last weekend was a quiet one in the wine shop, marked by a curious confluence of Alaskans on Saturday. Anne and Jerry, just back from New Zealand and soon to head off to Brittania, have a place up there right next to the Edge of the Earth as I understand it, where Jerry spent some decades. Nancy, our resident spinner and knitter (Gude Erth Knitware), spent many years in Alaska as an outdoors photographer; and first-time wine shop visitors (but long-time Islanders) Bruce and Karen have spent lots of time visiting, working, and hiking in Alaska over many years. Arrrrr, they’re a hardy lot, these Alaskans, ya gotta give’em credit for that! On the other hand, you gotta ask yourself what kind of person can spend many winters in a place where you need a special heater to keep your car alive overnight, and where the sun doesn’t come up for months at a time. Yep, they’re a breed unto themselves!
Holiday Case Sale!
It’s the end of the calendar year; winter is pretty convincingly already here; and business has been slowing way down, as it usually does this time of year. Contrary to what one might expect on the mainland, we don’t get a lot of holiday shoppers. More often, the holidays take people off the island, and the shop gets pretty quiet. That makes it a good time to offer our annual Holiday Case Discount: Buy any twelve bottles, and we will pay the sales tax (8.6%)! Even better …if you are a Wine Club member, buy any twelve bottles and get 15% off! Offer good through closing time on Saturday, December 27!
Holiday Schedule
We will be open our regular hours on Fridays (Dec 20, 27) 4-7pm, and Saturdays (Dec 21, 28) 2-6pm. We hope you can join us.
Eighth Annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve” Extravaganza
Well after eight years our “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” has become 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 away, we all hoist our glasses and toast the New Year! The young folks can move on to the next party on their dance cards, and we old timers can get to bed at a decent hour! It’s also our chance to thank you for your support this past year, and to look ahead to more fun in aught-fourteen. Mark your calendars and start planning your finger food. And please–RSVP if you are coming! (758-2959 or Email us.)
This week’s tasting
Cottat “Grand Caillou” Sauvignon Blanc ’11 France $11
Offers a light, crunchy feel, with lemon peel, thyme and tarragon notes, showing a flash of gooseberry on the finish.
Patton Valley WV Pinot Noir ’12 Oregon $18
Aromas of graphite, cherry crumble, coriander and rose petals, with flavors of brown sugar, red cherry and citrus rind and big, soft tannins and a rich mouthfeel.
Maryhill Winemaker’s Red ’11 Washington $11
Aromas of berry jam, chocolate, and cinnamon, with fruity notes of strawberry, caramel, and hints of white pepper, oak, and tart Marionberry.
Eguren Codice ’09 Spain 90pts $11
Aromas of cassis, cherry, licorice and mocha. Dense, alluringly sweet and juicy, with excellent concentration to its chewy dark berry and bitter chocolate flavors. Silky, fine-grained tannins and lingering spiciness.
L’Ecole No. 41 Syrah ’10 Washington 91pts $23
Black raspberry and exotic nutty oak aromas; plush, dense and generous palate with creamy-sweet black raspberry fruit. finishing with sweet, easy tannins and lingering berry flavors.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting December 14 ’13
Uh-oh, where did all this wine come from??
It’s not as if this is our first December with the wine shop. We know that many locals go away for the winter or get caught up with holiday activities, and that many of our urban second-home-on-Lummi friends from Seattle or Vancouver won’t be back until Spring. Given all of that, it is difficult to understand why we just keep buying wine, when we know that in a few weeks we will just have to count it all for annual inventory. Suffice it to say that we have gotten loaded up with a lot of really good wines at really good prices, and we would love to see a lot of them go out the door before the end of the month! By the way, we WILL BE CLOSED most of January– so this would be a good time to load up your wine larders and to do your part to resolve this difficult overstock problem!
Which brings us to our next point:
Holiday Case Sale!
It’s the end of the calendar year; winter is pretty convincingly already here; and business has been slowing way down, as it usually does this time of year. Contrary to what one might expect on the mainland, we don’t get a lot of holiday shoppers. More often, the holidays take people off the island, and the shop gets pretty quiet. That makes it a good time to offer our annual Holiday Case Discount: Buy any twelve bottles, and we will pay the sales tax (8.6%)! Even better …if you are a Wine Club member, buy any twelve bottles and get 15% off! Offer good through closing time on Saturday, December 27!
Holiday Schedule
It is now Thursday, December 12 as I write this. That means we have just two weekends before Christmas, and three weekends before New Year’s. Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Wednesdays this year, making long weekends a bit complicated for lots of people, but leaving Fridays and Saturdays relatively intact for visiting the wine shop throughout the month! Hey, how lucky can you get? So be reassured: we WILL be open our regular hours on Fridays (Dec 13, 20, 27) 4-7pm, and Saturdays (Dec 14, 21, 28) 2-6pm. We hope you can join us.
Eighth Annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve” Extravaganza
Well after eight years our “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” has become 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 away, we all hoist our glasses and toast the New Year! The young folks can move on to the next party on their dance cards, and we old timers can get to bed at a decent hour! It’s also our chance to thank you for your support this past year, and to look ahead to more fun in aught-fourteen. Mark your calendars and start planning your finger food. And please–RSVP if you are coming! (758-2959 or Email us.)
This week’s wines
Dom. Tremblay Quincy ’11 France $18
Nose of yellow grapefruit, tangerine and sea air. Suave, fine-grained and concentrated, with zesty green apple & citrus flavors with a surprisingly creamy mouthfeel and finish.
Montfaucon les Gardettes Rouge ’11 France $10
Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan; blueberry and plum fruit, with a snap of dark licorice and modest cedary toast framing the juicy finish.
Jordanov Merlot ’11 Greece $10
Notes of blueberry and densely concentrated fruit with a dusty, rich, long finish of cherry and cherry pit minerality.
Grand Bateau Rouge ’11 France $11
75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon; expressive nose of ripe red fruits and spices with an elegant touch of new oak. Harmonious and powerful, with appealing fruit flavors, ripe tannins, and a savory finish.
Avante Tineta Tinto Fino ’11 Spain 91 pts $12
100% tempranillo; copious notes of creme de cassis intermixed with hints of wood smoke and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, juicy, succulent and sensual.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting December 7 ’13
Andrew Murray
Sometime around 2004, a road trip took us to Los Olivos, California, near Santa Barbara, where we found the tasting room for Andrew Murray Vineyards. The winery itself is a few miles away on Foxen Canyon Road– by my reckoning one of the most beautiful spots on Planet Earth. I liked the wines so much I joined their wine club, and every few months ever since I have been shipped four wines that I can always turn to when I need something soft, smooth, and satisfying. So yes, folks, even though I have the wines of the world at my fingertips, these wines from Andrew Murray, mostly Rhone blends, have been my go-to “comfort wines” for nearly a decade. All I’m saying is this young man consistently makes really nice wines.
Therefore it should be no surprise that I have been trying for a long time to get some of these wines into the shop so you can all enjoy them! Unfortunately, Andrew does not export his wines to Washington. Last April on our road trip we finally got a chance to visit the winery, meet Andrew, and talk about wine, and explore ways to get his wines here. That conversation has evolved into the recent arrival of three of Andrew’s new wines, under a new label called “Elleven,” which he explains in some detail here. We are very excited to offer you these wines to taste this weekend. Btw, Andrew saved us the last case of this year’s vintage (the very first from this vineyard) of the Elleven pinot noir. Young vines being what they are, almost certainly next year’s vintage will be even better…but this one is pretty tasty already!
Flying South? You call this flying south?
On today’s walk this group of Mallards (click image for larger version) caught my eye. Some weeks ago there was one pair, then two, then several. At the moment their paddling range is severely limited by ice to a tiny area of open water. So today I imagined the conversation they might be having as they foraged…
–You promised, George. You promised that this year we would migrate to some place warm for the winter! But just look at this ice! You call this warm??!!
–Well dear, the good news is that what I actually promised was that we would head south for the winter, as we always do.
–Well, thank goodness, because this place is freezing! When are we heading south?
–Umm…well, dear, I’m sorry to tell you that this IS south…!
Italian arrivals
Usually our semi-annual shipment of special order Italian wines arrives in late October, but this year it just arrived. So over the next few weeks we will be offering selections for our weekly tastings. This week’s wine is from one of our favorite wineries in Orvieto, best known for its lovely white wines. This wine is an unoaked red blend of 60% cab franc and 40% canniolo. It really got our attention when we tasted it back in August, and we are hoping you will like it as much as we did!
This week’s wines
Andrew Murray Elleven “Unplugged” White ’12 California $16
Unoaked, crisp, dry harmony of chenin blanc (smooth and haunting) and sauvignon blanc (bracing and racy).
Andrew Murray Elleven Pinot Noir ’12 California $16
A first picking of five pinot noir clones planted in 2009, already showing medium body, soft texture, and Central Coast pedigree. Already a hit, we managed to get the last case for this vintage.
Altarocca Librato Rosso ’11 Italy $16
Unoaked, from volcanic soil; zesty, spicy, dark, and smooth, with a hint of eucalyptus on the finish. Terrific!
Altavins Tinto Joven ’11 Spain $11
Mouth and sense-filling blend of garnacha, syrah, and carinena, full of ripe dark fruit and berry flavors from Terra Alta’s hot days and cool nights close to Tarragona and the Mediterranean.
Andrew Murray Elleven Big Bottom Cabernet California $16
From south-facing hillside vines, mostly dark and concentrated cab sauv mellowed with a bit cab franc and syrah to yield complex notes of graphite, forest floor, flowers, and bright cherry.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting November 30 ’13
Post-Thanksgiving Schedule
It’s always gratifying to find a photo either online or in our files to post with each blog topic. And it is amazing to find that you can search for images of any topic your imagination can invent, and Google will come up with a whole page of photos for your consideration. Tonight I wanted a post-Thanksgiving image, and I found lots, but they all seemed a bit overstated. (For example, see this, or this. ) But I also found this one (left), which seemed a nice low-key counterpoint to the increasingly disturbing Black Friday Christmas Shopping Launch. It also provides a nice segue into letting you know we will NOT BE OPEN FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28!
We WILL be open as usual on Saturday, November 29 during our regular hours, 2-6pm for your small business shopping pleasure and convenience. In addition, of course, as usual we invite you to call us any time you encounter one of those nasty wine emergencies-– if we are around we will do our best to help you through it!
Bubbles Galore
We had something of a blowout pre-holiday tasting last weekend, pouring eight wines, including five sparklers: a prosecco, a cava, an Oregon sparkler, and two French champagnes. Maybe due to the time of year it was an unusually quiet weekend, and the few of us on hand at the end of the day on Saturday joined forces to finish a few remaining open bottles. As I recall, that worked out fairly well for those present, no complaints! Bubbly being what it is, the consensus was that they were all good, with some better than others, especially (no surprise here) les champagnes françaises! Don’t worry, we still have a few in stock if you missed out!
Dick Taylor Chocolate
As mentioned last week, back in September we attended the Seattle Chocolate Festivel and were impressed with a small artisan chocolate company called Dick Taylor, located in Arcata, California. It turns out there is no “Dick Taylor”, but there are two guys named Adam Dick & Dustin Taylor, who have also made music and wooden boats, and who now make some really great chocolate bars. Delicious, concentrated, intense, and beautifully packaged, these single-source confections are something special. At $7 per bar, they are particularly appropriate for gifts and special occasions. Or, as with nice wines, when you have one it makes it a special occasion! In any case we have some samples to share with you this weekend so you can preorder for the holidays.
This week’s tasting
Scarborough Riesling ’09 Washington $12
Bright & dry, with German-style notes of crisp apples and petrol, with good acidity and minerality.
Evolucio Furmint Tokaj ’11 Hungary $11
100% Furmint, unoaked. Aromatic and bursting with citrus, fresh market apples, cantaloupe, and apricots, with floral and mineral notes. Slightly off-dry, with a hint of tangerine.
Campo Viejo Tempranillo ’11 Spain $10
Supple and fresh, this light red offers cherry, berry, and herbal flavors over modest tannins. Crisp and refreshing, a perennial “best buy.”
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.
Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec ’11 Argentina 89pts $14
Crushed blackberry, licorice and violet on the lively nose. Quite ripe and sweet in the mouth, showing impressive volume and breadth for the price range. Finishes with serious ripe tannins and noteworthy persistence.
2072 Granger Way
