Lummi Island Wine Tasting Autumn Equinox ’13
Great Blue
Last week we had an up close encounter with a great blue heron , and it was absolutely breathtaking! We were walking the dogs on Legoe Bay Road, along the little slough across from the old aquaculture school, when we startled into flight the Greatest Blue Heron I have ever seen! It must have been standing in the water very close to the road, hidden from view by the rose bushes, when very suddenly, with Great Whooshing-Flapping it filled the air right in front of us, huge and angular, massive wings unfolding and grabbing air, reaching for altitude. Even when it landed fifty feet away on the other bank it seemed the biggest Great Blue I had ever seen! (this is the very one, left, just sitting…ah, so very Zen…!)
I spent some time online looking for a photo that captured what we had experienced, but none of the hundreds of photos I found captured the sense of looming closeness, mighty power, and fluid angularity that came from being only ten or fifteen feet away from this sudden, primeval takeoff. Together, though, they might convey a suggestion of the feeling, especially if you imagine yourself right next to the bird in the photo, so that the air would seem for a moment full of wings! It was Amazing! (click on the thumbnails for larger images)
Destemming
A few weeks ago we posted the photo at left of once-a-year visitors Tom and Joannie Stangeland, who annually celebrate their anniversary with a few days at the Willows. Tom is a longtime master furniture maker (see photos) and relatively new commercial winemaker (Cloudlift Cellars). This year on their annual visit to the wine shop we finally finagled a bottle of one of Tom’s wines to try out, his current release of “Updraft,” a delicious white Bordeaux blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc. (Tom in pink shirt, Joannie holding wine bottle)
This past Sunday I drove to Seattle to help with “crush” of the new grapes he had picked up in Eastern Washington on Saturday. My menial jobs involved mostly sorting (not that much to it because the vineyards do a nice job of minimizing leaves, dirt, and bugs) and dumping grapes into the destemming machine. This particular machine leaves a fair number of grapes amidst the stems, so he likes to do a second sort by hand to retrieve the fairly large number of grapes that aren’t separated initially– so I spent a good part of the day shaking down the pile of stems to retrieve a few more grapes. It was meditative if sticky work, all quite enjoyable.
Images, above: 1) destemmer hopper; 2) close-up of destemmer worm gear that gently separates grapes from clusters; 3) resulting bin of stems that requires a second pass to get all the grapes (no, the Big Guys don’t bother with this step!). (click on the thumbnails for larger images)
The other thing you all need to know about this is that I brought back a case of the Cloudlift Updraft white blend ( $17, delicious!) and one of his Bordeaux blends (“Panorama,” $23), which we will be pouring this weekend. Don’t miss it: Tom is one of the most focused winemakers I have met in Washington, and you are really going to like this wine!
Autumn Equinox
September Equinox in Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A. is on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at 1:44 PM PDT, shortly after noon. So you can look up at that time and see the sun and know that for that one moment the sun is directly over the Equator on its way south, marking the beginning of the winter half of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Spiralling into six months of colder and darker is probably a great time to stock up on wine, and to help you out with that, there is one more weekend of our fabulous Drydock Case Sale. See last week’s post for details!
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.
Borsao Rosado ’12 Spain $9
Spicy strawberry and orange zest on the nose, with a light floral quality. Juicy and clean, offering tangy red berry flavors, a kiss of white pepper, good focus, and a light touch.
Garmendia Tempranillo ’10 Spain $12
Organically grown grapes ferment in carbonic maceration, yielding a balanced, round wine with sturdy tannins and notes of strawberry, raspberry, banana, and a note of fennel.
Pugliani Treggiaia 09 Italy $11
A smooth and satisfying blend of sangiovese, canniolo & cabernet, serious but friendly, delightful with anything from pizza to lamb chops.
Cloudlift Panorama ’09 Washington $23
Boysenberry, black currant and cherry accents include hints of graphite, cedar and bittersweet chocolate, with nice balance of fine-grained tannins and bright acidity, backed by hints of violet and tobacco leaf in the finish.”
Lummi Island Wine Tasting September 14 ’13
LI Parade and Fall Festival Sept 14
The Parade will begin at the Jenkins’ field just up Centerview from the school, go down Centerview, right on North Nugent and end at the Grange. The Fall Festival will be at the Grange Hall where there will be a beer garden and wonderful food from 11-3. There will also be a number of booths offering crafts, produce, and goodies, and proceeds from food and beer sales will benefit island Library. If you have any specific questions call Pat Moye at 360-510-7392. Btw, last year (see video, left) we participated as part of the FOIL (Friends of the Island Library) fundraising kickoff for the Library remodel– which as most of you will have noticed, is now almost completed…the sheetrock is freshly installed and painted, so you can peek in and get a sense of what it is going to be like. For now, mark your calendars for Saturday– it’s a worthy cause, it’s fun, and afterward you can come by the wine shop for our regular Saturday wine tasting!
Lummi Island Run Huge Success!
Last Sunday, along with many others, we participated in the Lummi Island Walk/Run (another Beach School benefit.) It was a beautiful day, mercifully foggy and cool in the morning, and a lot of people turned out. I regret I don’t have pictures, but let’s just say it was great fun and a great success. To show our appreciation to all of you who participated, we are offering a free wine tasting if you come in wearing your pink “Run for Beach School” visor (like Tator’s, left) to claim your free tasting…and thanks again for supporting Beach School!
Salmon Season
Anyone who has driven around the west side of the Island in the last week or two has probably noticed the sustained level of activity in the reefnet fleet in Legoe Bay. You may not know, however, that during the current run of pink salmon (the locals call ’em “humpies”) most of the gear have qualified to hoist a broom to their mastheads, signalling that the rig has caught over 100,000 fish in the current run! Multiply that by the number of rigs (seven?) and we are pushing a million fish in a very short period of time. Makes you wonder what it must have been like Back in the Day, when the fishery was open all summer and fish were plentiful…a level of abundance that is hard to get your head around.
I found this picture online, and really like how it portrays the archetypal struggle between man and fish, predator and prey…every one of those fish wants with its whole being to be somewhere else than in that net, and every one of those men has other plans for them. So here they all are in this high-stakes tug-of-war between “ha-ha I gonna eat you, pretty fish” and “oh no, I gotta get outa here!” Being salmon, even the “lucky ones” who don’t get caught don’t have long to live, but maybe they do get some sense of completion for making it home to spawn. It’s a deep mystery, difficult to fathom (puns intended); maybe the best we can do is be grateful for and awed at this phenomenal bounty of Nature. Pretty amazing.
Dry Dock Case Sale is Back!!!
Let’s face it, it’s Drydock. The Lemmings have left. The Tourists have left. Even the Weekenders have left. We Rats who are left are uneasy, wondering…what do they know that I don’t know? It’s at times like these that we need something extra, something special, something– I don’t know– soothing that says ‘yes,’ you are on the right track, and yes, it IS going to be Okay.
So in that spirit, for the remaining two weekends of Drydock we are offering case dicounts of the following kind: Buy any twelve bottles, and we will take 10% off. Not only that– if you are a Wine Club member, we will apply your current wine club discount in addition to the 10% off. This will only last through next Saturday, September 21, so don’t delay!
This week’s tasting
Brancott Sauvignon Blanc ’12 New Zealand 89pts $12
The spicy quince and Asian pear flavors rest on a crisp, juicy body, with plenty of lime zest and grapefruit notes, especially on the finish.
Ryan Patrick Rose ’11 Washington $10
Made from syrah; greets the senses with aromas of rose petals and subtle spice; palate is a bright medley of violet and a hint of cloves.
La Joya Carmenere ’10 Chile 89pts $11
Dark violet. Primary aromas of dark berry and cherry preserves, with notes of licorice and violet. Plush blackberry and boysenberry flavors stain the palate, with a smoky quality that gains power with air. Finishes on a licorice note with impressive clarity and sweet persistence.
Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon ’10 Chile 90pts $10
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.
Sant’ Antonio Monti Garbi Ripasso ’09 Italy $17
A gorgeous, expressive, tasty Valpolicella; floral notes give lift to the expressive, beautifully centered palate and a long, polished finish.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting Sept 7 ’13
Another Drydock
Okay, here’s a wild and crazy idea— a little late for this year, but hey, suppose that next year when the Whatcom Chief goes out of service for three weeks of drydock maintenance, instead of having the whole complicated passenger boat, bus shuttle, parking hassles, and so forth, we took the opportunity to “try out” possible replacement ferry designs. Would that be fun or what? We could play around with different schedules, maybe even try out a boat that would go all the way to Fairhaven so we could see what that would be like! While we’re at it, maybe sometime we ought to try out a floating bridge, too…! If Alaska can build a “bridge to Nowhere,” certainly Washington State can build a bridge to Lummi Island, where there is a lot more “here” here than there is “there” there. Pass it on!
Lummi Island Run Reminder!
As we mentioned a few weeks ago, the Beach School PTO is doing an ambitious fund-raiser on September 8 that should appeal to many of you who read this blog. It’s a Run on the Island, a bit more grand than the “Run on the Rock” events held a few years ago. See the complete brochure online for all the ways you can participate and make the event a success. You youngsters (you know, under 60!) should go easy and sign up for the half-marathon, and maybe a bunch of us geezers can sign up for a nice long walk that day…! Seriously, there are several options, and to add a little incentive, we will give all of you who participate a free “thank you” tasting to help you recover!
Start times
14-mile: 8:30am
7-mile: 9am
3.5-mile: 9:30am
100-yard dash: 9:45am
The Obscure County Election That Could Change the Planet–OMD, it’s OURS!
It has been national news for some months that the upcoming Whatcom County Council election may have global (No, I am not making this up) environmental and social implications. This is of course because the next Council may decide whether or not to allow the huge, proposed Peabody Coal Train/Port development project to locate here. As this article points out, our job as voters is particularly complicated: “here’s the kind of Twin Peaks twist you find only in local politics: The council is designated as a “semi-judicial” body, a sort of mini-court. That means candidates can’t disclose whether they would vote for or against the terminal, leaving voters in the dark about whom to support.”
The picture shown above is of Richards Bay, a comparably sized coal port in Africa to that proposed for our area. I am mentioning this here and now because this is a serious issue that deserves serious consideration by all of us who vote here. As mentioned above, our candidates are, perverse as it is, not allowed to say whether they support or oppose the coal port and all its implications. That means that we as voters must look deeper than rhetoric and slogans when marking our ballots. We must look at candidates’ track records, and make some inferences about their values. Candidates who have strong environmental credentials are likely to oppose the coal port. Candidates who have shown strong business, development, and property rights affiliations are more likely to support the coal port. Whatever your point of view, I urge you to get informed and to take this particular County Council election very, very seriously.
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.
Eguren Protocolo Rosado ’12 Spain $8
Bright, mineral-accented aromas of redcurrant and strawberry, with incisive citrus fruit and red berry flavors that gain weight with air. Finishes dusty and long, with lingering spiciness.
Venta Morales Tempranillo ’12 Spain $8
Bright purple; pungent aromas of cherry, blackcurrant and dark chocolate. Supple and juicy in the mouth, with spice-accented cherry and fresh herb flavors, finishing on a tangy note.
Montes Classic Cabernet Sauvignon ’10 Chile $10
Medium- to full-bodied; delivers solid varietal character, with cassis, ripe plum, graphite and medium tannins adding grip to the finish.
Bieler Lou Ven Tou Rouge ’11 France $10
(84% grenache, 13% syrah, 2% cinsault and 1% carignan): Dark ruby. Spicy red fruits on the nose and in the mouth. Juicy and easygoing, with good energy on the clean, peppery finish.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting Artists’ Studio Tour August 31- Sept 1 ’13
Studio Tour Fantastique
Let’s face it, with thirty-some artists on this particular island, you really have No Idea what you are going to find on display for Studio Tour…but of course that is not our concern. Rather, our concern is to make sure that whatever you find elsewhere on the artists’ tour, your visit with us will the the High Point, the Ne Plus Ultra, the Sine Qua Non, of your Tour Experience. To that end, we will be showing innovative multemedia pieces by island friends and wineshop regulars Ryan Wildstar (multimedia with seaweed, below) and Pam Miller (bronze sculpture, left). The pieces are creative, unique, and innovative, and will be showing through September. Don’t miss them!
Jungle Bus
(click on photos for larger view)
Those of us of a certain age have all seen “The Movie.” Actually, there was an entire genre of them through the fifties, and, of course, in black-and-white. (the original King Kong –click for trailer–is probably the most famous). The scene:…it’s foggy…several men in khakis and pith helmets row across a quiet lagoon a small boat…the oars seem too loud in the water. They reach a bank, step out of the boat and listen. Maybe there are a few terrifying screeches in the distance, and then eerie silence. They look at each other, mixes of concern and confidence. Several reach reflexively for their rifles, and one of the men whispers, “time has stood still on this island for Six Million Years…!” Remember? Well, it was a little like that a few days ago, when a very large wrecker truck began pulling, from deep in the woods along the property line with our nextdoor neighbors, an old purple school bus that has been sitting there for so long it was thickly covered in moss– so long that one of the back wheels wouldn’t turn, and like Igor on his crutch, the bus dragged the wheel with it like a giant anchor as it very slowly inched its way to the outside world, returning to its Source, following its Karma, and on to its next reincarnation.
Chocolate!
In case I forgot to mention it last week, we have finally replenished our supply of Theo Chocolate bars, and the old Opus One crate where we display them is again full! I am admittedly and proudly in that minority of chocolate lovers who generally prefer milk chocolate to dark chocolate, so I am particularly excited about one new Theo’s bar we have just added: salted almond milk chocolate! They are packaged in the larger 4-oz bars, totally adequate to tide you over till dinnertime after a tough afternoon of looking at art and tasting wine. And by the way, in case you didn’t know, Theo’s is located in Fremont in the old Red Hook Brewery. If you like chocolate and are in the area, stop by to taste their amazing confections and take a tour if you have time. You can follow the chocolate through its evolution from raw bean to finished product! And yes, there is a LOT of tasting throughout the journey. In the meantime, come by our place and load up to help you with Mood Management as our amazing summer of aught-thirteen starts heading south.
This Weekend’s Special Tasting!
Again this Studio Tour our friend Tristan from our favorite importer Small Vineyards will be pouring several of their French and Spanish wines on Saturday, and telling stories about the winemakers and the regions. All of these wines way over-deliver for their meager prices, so be sure to stop by!
Alta Vins Blanc Spain $11
65% Garnacha, 30% Macabeo, 5% Muscat; From high and exposed vineyards with very warm days and briskly cool nights comes this beautiful, expressive, admirably complex wine with elegant notes of sweet grass, herbs, gooseberries and crisp pear.
Borie de Maurel Rose France $11
Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan; Fruity, smooth, spicy, lively, and “garriguey,” made in the vineyard, by real people, to soothe the body’s thirst and the spirit’s hunger!
Alta Vins Tinto Joven Spain $11
60% Garnacha, 30% Syrah, 10% Carinena; Brilliant garnet color; bright and fresh with notes of red currant, balsamic, and rose water.
Finca El Tesso Tempranillo Spain $10
100% Tempranillo; From a remote region of Spain near Portugal, with more vines (and sheep) than people, over 600 meters above sea level, where wines develop a rich, alluring complexity.
Mas Oncle Ernest Instant Present France $19
80% grenache, 20% syrah; from Cotes de Ventoux in southern Rhone Valley, this wine seduces with Old World charm, dark fruit, and earthy richness.
2072 Granger Way