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.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting November 23 ’13 Pre-Thanksgiving
Holiday Bubbles
We don’t usually do much to promote sparkling wines here at the shop, though we do try to keep a little bubbly on hand, generally more affordable Italian prosecco or Spanish cava. However, recent circumstances have unfolded such that at the moment we just happen to have an interesting array of bubbles on hand, just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday. See tasting notes below. Supply is very limited on the French imports, but we can take orders if you find something you like. Or, if there is a special bottle out there you would like us to order for you, let us know and we will do our best to track it down for you!
Women in Politics
Sure, elections around the country a few weeks ago were for the most part pretty small potatoes. But one regional winner that really got our attention is Occupy activist and economics professor Kshama Sawant, who was recently elected to the Seattle City Council. Of particular interest is the fact that she ran — and won– as a Socialist candidate! And since the term “socialism” is rarely discussed seriously in the media, except when broadly applied by the Far Right as a generic put-down of any course heading even a single degree to port of Hard Starboard, it is a noteworthy accomplishment. In recent years mainstream corporate interests have taken control of both major political parties, neither of which is willing to address the major issues facing our planet: social and economic justice, climate change, sustainability, and peace. For more on this new political face in our region, watch a short video and read this excellent interview.
Along similar lines, check out Bill Moyers’ recent interview with Jill Stein (2012 Green Party candidate for President– yes, I did vote for her) and Margaret Flowers, full-time advocate for a single payer health care system at both the state and national levels. Both women are MD’s who spent many years in private practice before becoming convinced that they could do more good for more people by shifting their focus to politics. They are both members of the Green Shadow Cabinet, an organization of nearly 100 prominent scientists, community and labor leaders, physicians, cultural workers, veterans, and more, that provides an ongoing opposition and alternative voice to the dysfunctional government in Washington D.C.
Finally, there is a lot of ongoing chatter about Elizabeth Warren as a Presidential candidate in 2016. Warren, a freshman senator from Massachusetts, is a well-known progressive with a national following. She, too, is committed to social and economic justice, and has become a champion of the people against Wall Street power.
In summary, there is something encouraging going on with the traction progressive women have been getting in American politics recently, at all levels of government. Stay tuned, this could get even more interesting…!
Who is Dick Taylor and why should you care?
In late September we spent the day at the Northwest Chocolate Festival at the Seattle Convention Center. Here were two floors devoted to chocolate makers and their wares (I’m not making this up!) As many of you know, we have carried an array of Theo’s chocolate products for many years. Theo’s was well represented at the Festival, and we also discovered a number of other chocolatiers that made a favorable impression. Chief among those was 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 and beautifully packaged, these single-source confections made an excellent impression. We have ordered some samples to share with you this weekend so you can preorder for the holidays.
This week’s tasting
Argyle Brut sparkling wine Oregon WA90pts $23
Not only does this little Oregon winery make great pinot noir, it also has earned a reputation for producing terrific Old World style sparkling wine. This blend of chardonnay and pinot noir displays a bouquet of brioche, pear, apple, and white peach. Crisp, balanced, and lengthy, it’s an outstanding value.
Deutz classic $36
Light yellow. Toasty lees, poached pear and lemon rind on the pungent nose. Offers an array of sappy citrus and orchard fruit flavors and becomes spicier with air. The lemon and lees notes come back on the broad, clear finish
Pierre Moncuit Hugues de Coulmet Blanc de Blancs Brut $38.
Light gold. Spicy, floral-accented aromas of lemon and green apple, with a hint of toasty lees in the background. Juicy and precise, offering focused orchard fruit flavors and a jolt of bitter citrus pith. Finishes tangy and long, with lingering spiciness and a suggestion of ginger.
San Martino Prosecco Italy $11
Pale straw yellow in colour, aromatic and elegant nose (unusual in prosecco), with notes of apple and banana; pleasantly full and harmonious on the palate.
Vilarnau Cava Brut Spain $14
Well-balanced and light-bodied, this cava features lively acidity and an appealing mix of pear, star fruit, Meyer lemon and smoke flavors, ending with a creamy finish.
Tarima monastrell ’12 Spain $10
100% Monastrell sourced from 25-35 year old vines and raised in stainless steel with lees stirring. Medium crimson-colored, the nose reveals fragrant blueberries and underbrush. Firm on the palate with plenty of savory fruit.
Buglioni Valpolicella Classico ’10 Italy $12
Refined, feminine personality. Sweet red berries, flowers and spices linger on the high-toned, refreshing finish.
Familongue “Le Carignan” ’08 France $12
From 75 year old vines in gravelly soil, this carignan has brambly dark fruit, a soft palate, and great depth of flavor.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting November 16 ’13
Annual Fall Regatta
Typically the second weekend of November brings not only the Winter manifestation of the Lummi Island Artists’ Studio Tour; it also brings the annual Round the County (San Juan County, that is) sailing race. Each year about eighty boats gather in West Sound near the Orcas Island Yacht Club and begin the race on Saturday morning, rounding Orcas, Clark, Sucia, and Patos before stopping for the night at Roche Harbor. On Sunday they set out on the completion leg down the west side of San Juan Island, east of Lopez, Decatur, and Blakely Islands to finish again at Lydia Shoal near Obstruction Island, a total of some 76 miles.
What all this means to us on Lummi is an unexpected bright spot in the deepening autumn gloom. More often than not the weather is bright and sometimes very breezy when sometime in late morning the second Saturday of November a long line of sailboats, colorful spinnakers flying, threads up Haro Strait between us and Clark Island. Because of the light wind this year, the boats appeared in a long, continual string rather than the usual widely spaced clumps, providing the delightful view above…!
(click image for larger view)
Not your mother’s Retsina!
It’s one of those things we all go through: the first taste of retsina, usually in a Greek restaurant, and usually when we are quite young. It is actually made by putting some measure of pine resin (“Pinus Halepensis”) in with the grape must (skins, seeds, etc.) during fermentation, yielding a white wine with a decidedly piney character. It has been around so long that it has been declared a Traditional Appellation, and can only be produced in Greece. Back in the day, we all knew retsina as the weird wine we always had in Greek restaurants, and which often gave us nasty headaches the next day.
So it is with surprise and pleasure that we offer for your tasting experience this weekend a “new wave” retsina, more judiciously made with an eye to quality, and yielding a surprisingly tasty white wine. The pine resin is definitely there, but not so much that it smothers the white wine behind it. I think you’re gonna like it!
A taste of Portugal
Although we have occasional visitors specifically seeking Portuguese wines, we don’t often encounter the wines in tastings and generally don’t have much of a selection. That changed recently when Ryan needed a couple of Portuguese wines (and a couple of Greek wines!) for his fall tasting class in town. One of our reps brought in several of each for us to taste, and the four we are tasting this weekend are the ones we liked best. It is fair to say we were both surprised by each of them. As you can see from the map at left, there are eight main wine regions in Portugal. The delicious white we are pouring is from the Dão region, and the red is from Alentejo, further south. Alentejo, we have learned, is also the world’s most important area for the growing of cork-oak, known in Portugal as “sobreiro.” It has been grown commercially in the region for the past 300 years, where it is integrally co-planted with vineyards, pastures, and citrus groves. Who Knew??
This week’s tasting
Ritinitis Nobilis Retsina Greece $16
A “new wave” style Retsina, using modern winemaking technology and carefully managed co-fermentation with fresh pine resin, results in a surprisingly elegant and refreshing wine.
Albaro Castro Dão Branco ’12 Portugal $15
A lovely combination of fragrant crisp fruit and intense mineral notes. A blend of lemony and fragrant Encruzado, crisp and apricot-y Bical, and smoky-edge Cercial.
Agricultura Vinho Tinto ’11 Portugal $11
From Alentejo, on Portugal’s south-eastern border with Spain, comes this eminently quaffable red wine with surprising depth and complexity.
Perazzeta Erio Supertuscan ’10 Italy $16
An established favorite around here, this sangiovese-cab-syrah blend from Tuscany (we also carry their olive oil!) is rich, balanced, and delicious–a great food wine.
Gaia Agiorgitiko ’08 Greece $23
A well-structured and surprisingly delicious Greek red wine with intense ripe fruit aromas, well-integrated oak, and a velvety, seductive texture.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting November 9 ’13
Hooray, we ARE open this Friday!
Here we are up to our knees in November, and finally we are shining our Friday night ray of light into the “I don’t think we’re saving daylight anymore, Toto” Gloom that has gathered around us since setting the clocks back last weekend. We will be open for our familiar Friday night hours of 4-7pm. We are hopeful Janice will bring the latest loaf of wood-fired bread to share, and maybe we will even turn on the fireplace to keep you warm and string our winter lights to guide your way in and out.
Autumn Studio Tour
Winter Studio Tour is a different animal from Spring and Summer studio tours. Most obviously, it certainly isn’t summer anymore, which can make for attendance obstacles. Not too many years ago, winter studio tour was the first weekend in December. However, in those days (they may come again, depending on El Niño/la Niña) it was common to get a Nor’easter in early December (or even late November), which could mean sub-freezing temperatures, high winds, and maybe even snow. There were some studio tours where absolutely No One came out, the weather was that nasty!
So it was a good idea to move the tour to the second weekend in November. I personally think it would also be a good idea to make it Saturday only, since attendance is often sparse on Sunday, but hey, maybe I am just lazy. For this tour we are continuing our show from Labor Day, adding some new works by Ryan Wildstar and Pam Miller. One or both of them will be in the shop both days from 10 till 1 to talk with you about their work, and we will be in from 1-6pm for our regular wine tasting (notes below, as usual!).
Momix to remember
As it turns out, both our birthdays fall within a week in late October/early November. We often talk about a joint celebration, but rarely actually do it. Well, this year we celebrated with dinner at Giuseppe’s (never disappointing) and tickets to the Momix dance production at Mt. Baker Theater. Momix is a small (5 men and 5 women), very creative and innovative dance troupe. They stretch the concept of choreography in lots of directions to include amazing lighting, costumes, and props reminiscent of Cirque de Soleil. Often you are not quite sure what you are looking at as the dancers seamlessly weave you into their illusions. The accompanying video gives you a taste. Bravo! see video in larger view
Were the Piccolominis really Meanies??
When we visited Italy several years ago we did a post about the 100-year-old church at St. Antimo, where a group of priests still say Mass every morning complete with beautiful Gregorian chant and huge clouds of incense, both of which hang like spirits in the morning sunlight that pours in above the altar. A short distance from the old cathedral we visited the winery at Ciacci Piccolomini, famous for its Brunello (it is Montalcino, after all), but also for many other wines. In addition, of course, the vineyard lands have been in the family since the 13th Century. The Piccolominis were a powerful family engaged in a centuries-long struggle for power against the other great Houses, including the Medici, and went through various periods of exile and triumph. The family included soldiers, prelates, literary men, and two popes—Enea Silvio, who became Pius II (1458–64), and his nephew Francesco, who was Pius III (1503).
This weekend we will pour their “Ateo,” a blend of cab and merlot (what, no sangiovese???) that has plenty of character, from a winery that has a LOT of history. Come check it out!
This week’s wines
Veramonte “la Gloria” sauvignon blanc ’11 Chile $9
Light straw and saline notes lead to a refreshing core of gooseberry, citrus and chive flavors.
Casarena ’505′ Malbec ’10 Chile $12
Dark red. Musky berries, tobacco and spices on the nose and palate, with nuances of gunpowder and pepper. Finishes smooth and persistent, with building tannins. Terrific value.
Borsao Garnacha ’12 Spain $9
Inky purple. Aromas and flavors of blueberry, blackberry and bitter cherry are brightened by peppery spices. Concentrated and velvety in texture, with good finishing breadth and cling. An outstanding value.
Ciacci Piccolomini Ateo ’09 Italy $14
Juicy cab-merlot blend that shows excellent up-front intensity, with notes of freshly cut flowers and mint that give the dark berry fruit an attractive sense of lift.
Lost River Western Red ’10 Washington $17
Lovely blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc; dark fruits on the nose, smooth and rich in the mouth, enjoy with rich sauces or all by itself.
2072 Granger Way
