Lummi Island Wine Tasting August 10 ’13
Optimization
One of the most interesting topics I explored as an economist was the idea of “optimization.” To understand what optimization is about, just think about Goldilocks and the Three Bears: whether it is the temperature of a bowl of porridge, the comfort of a chair, or the softness of a bed, many things can either be too this way or too that way or, optimally “Just Right.” So, given my long interest in this subject (optimization, not the Three Bears), it was exciting to get an email this week with the interesting Venn diagram image at left, confirming what I have known to be True for a very long time! Wow! (Warning: zone of optimality may vary among individuals..!)
Lummi Island Run
The Beach School PTO is doing an ambitious fund-raiser in early September 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 (by odd coincidence I am at this very moment wearing my T-shirt from the 2006 event!). See the complete (and gorgeous!) brochure online for all the ways you can participate and make the event a success. You youngsters should sign up for the half-marathon, and maybe a bunch of us geezers should sign up for a nice long walk that day…! Here are the options:
Start times
14-mile: 8:30am
7-mile: 9am
3.5-mile: 9:30am
100-yard dash: 9:45am
Cloud lift Cellars
Once a year about this time we get a visit from Tom (pink polo) and Joannie Stangeland (black jersey), who make an annual summer visit to the Willows Inn to kick back and celebrate. Tom is a master furniture builder turned winemaker who lives in Seattle. For years we have been trying to connect with him in Seattle to taste his wines, and on their Lummi visits they never seem to have any wine with them for us to taste..! So during our tasting and conversation last week, at some point Tom took off and came back with a sample bottle of his 2011 Cloudlift Updraft, a classic Bordeaux white blend: “The 64% Sauvignon Blanc steps up and takes control of the nose and palate, while the 36% Semillon adds a subtle backbone to the texture.”
We only have the one bottle, but we will open and pour it along with our regular tasting this weekend, beginning Friday night. Note: the way things have gone the last few weeks, it will probably be gone by 5 or 5:30 Friday night, so don’t dally!
Rollerball
I moved here in 1975. Sometime that first year here I went to the sci-fi movie “Rollerball” starring James Caan as the brutal-and-stupid-yet-sensitive Hero Athlete of the fast-paced and violent game of “Rollerball”, and John Houseman as the Corporate Bad Guy. For those who weren’t around at the time, there actually was a somewhat popular TV sport of the era called “Roller Derby,” which involved mostly young women with abbreviated costumes and few other options racing around an indoor track on roller skates. At the time, it was a pretty short leap from the reality of Roller Derby to the Science Fiction of “Rollerball.”
Despite the fact that it was NOT a great film in the usual sense, the story had an impact on me that remains today. So last night I sat up late and watched it online. and as I suspected, its premise was prescient of our time in many ways. Because this is, after all, a “wine blog,”, I will not venture too far into the political implications here. However, the scene below pretty well captures what I recall as the main message of the film, one which is even more relevant now than it was 35 years ago (omd, did I just say “35 years ago”…?!…Btw, was Houseman a GREAT actor, or what?)
This week’s tasting
Il Filare Rosado ’08 Italy $8
A rosé of 80% Bombino Nero and 20% Montepulciano; aromas of strawberries and fresh-cut grass. Dry as bone with brilliant minerality, beautiful fruit and crisp acidity.
Altavins Garnacha Blanca ’11 Spain $18
A beautiful, expressive, admirably complex wine with elegant notes of sweet grass, herbs, gooseberries and crisp pear.
Palama Primitivo ’11 Italy $13
Floral aromatics mix with notes of tobacco, citrus, and wild herbs; ripe, fresh, lush, and bright, with notes of dark anise, cedar, and blackberry confit.
Vignavecchia Chianti Classico ’10 Italy 89pts $18
(90% sangio, 10% merlot) Aromas of redcurrant, cherry pit, violet and tobacco lead to intense flavors of redcurrant, bitter cherry, spices, and merlot-derived nuances of cocoa and coffee.
Volver Tarima Hill Monastrell ’10 Spain 93pts $14
Notes of chocolate fudge, black ink, graphite, blueberries and blackberries. This full-bodied, 100% Monastrell should drink well for a decade or more.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting August 3 ’13
Credit where credit is due
Being, like many of you, a “recovering Catholic,” I am easily shamed when any of my many shortcomings are pointed out– mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa (all you Heathens need to know is that you strike your heart with your fist each time you say “mea culpa”…you know, a little groaning and anguish is so good for the soul…). So this is to note that the photo I posted last week of Lummi Island as seen from Vendovi was actually taken by our dear friend Kier, who visits Lummi for a few weeks each year, and who is reliably tethered to her smart-phone at all times and thus able to email, search the web, or take pictures wherever and whenever duty calls. So muchas gracias, amiga, for always being prepared and for sharing your technology with us…!!! And yes, it was a lovely outing!
Leapin’ Lizards, Sandy!
When I was a kid in the Fifties, each Saturday morning brought our local paper, the Bangor Daily News (established in 1889 and still in the same family) to the doorstep, and with it the “colored funnies,” which we would read over a Saturday treat of Eastern Maine’s famous chocolate doughnuts (imho, you can’t buy a decent doughnut anywhere west of Augusta, Maine…). The comics section was only both sides of two full sheets of newsprint, so only eight comic strips. For years and years, the first page had Dick Tracy at the top and Little Orphan Annie at the bottom. Both strips had been around a very long time and already bizarre and anachronistic, so to this day, I couldn’t really say what Orphan Annie was really about. It always seemed disjointed and strange, especially since all the characters had little white circles where their eyes should have been! I mean, how weird is That?
What is important about all of this is that THIS FRIDAY at 7PM (August 2) a group of students from Beach School will perform ANNIE. The players have been in Theater Camp for several weeks, and have been working hard to put this show together. We certainly intend to go, and encourage all of you to attend as well!
Love in the Afternoon
One of the great perks of our little business is that it is often pretty quiet early on Saturday afternoons. That means that when someone comes in early (you know, before 4!), there is often space to hang out and chat; and after all, that’s a big reason why we keep doing this. So last week our early guests (anonymity preserved) exemplified a relationship that perhaps only those of us of a certain age can truly appreciate: a couple trying to condense the accumulated artifacts of two mature households into one. She did it by ditching everything Back East before moving here. He is doing it piece by piece, room by room, gift by gift, yard sale by yard sale.
As an old friend advised while viewing our garage in town just before we moved to the Island almost 20 years ago: “You know what this is? It’s Karma. Get rid of it!” Good idea, but it’s not that easy in a culture that is trained to acquire more and more stuff, but knows little about how to pare it down. Personally I have a really hard time even throwing away bent nails...I mean, they can all be straightened and used again, right?
Still coming off the sobering yet entirely pleasant experience of the 50th HS Reunion, I confess a fond appreciation for our deep, collective instinct to pair off into household units. Btw, don’t you think he looks a lot like somebody famous?! Go ahead, guess, and then click!
Mt. Baker Roussanne ’10 Washington $12
Notes of apricot, honeyed white peach, grassy aromas and lengthy dried apricot flavors with a plump mouthfeel and a cleansing minerality and acidity.
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.
Pech Celeyran 5th Generation Rouge ’11 France $14
A fifth generation French wine maker produces this blend of GSMC (grenache-syrah-mourvedre-cinsault) on an estate which dates back to 1868, on land that was once an island, first planted in vines by the Romans.
Andeluna Cabernet Sauvignon ’10 Argentina $11
Currant, pepper and coffee on the nose, complicated by licorice and menthol notes. Juicy, brisk and intense, with a savory quality and toothcoating tannins.
Bodegas Triton Entre Suelos ’10 Spain 90pts $12
Sexy, oak-spiced aromas of black raspberry and cherry, with pipe tobacco and floral nuances building with air. Fleshy, supple and sweet, offering bright red and dark berry flavors and a smoky, spicy quality. We sold out of this almost instantly when we last had it a few months ago.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting July 27 ’13
Last Friday
There is no particular reason why last Friday night should have drawn such a blowout crowd, but it did; from opening at 4 o’clock, people just kept arriving! Ryan held down the fort alone in his usual stylish manner, and by the time we came over sometime after 5 the joint was Really jumpin’! It was like walking into one of those really cool parties in Movies where vast numbers of people are crammed together and everyone is engaged and alive and happy and…OMD!…like a…Singles Bar! But wait, hold on, no need to panic, many were just the Usual Suspects out for Friday night Happy Hour, and they found it here at the wine shop!
Chili Cookoff Complications
As everyone knows by now, many Islanders were infected with norovirus last weekend, probably through contact with an unknown source at the Chili Cookoff. We got a call from Whatcom County Health Department on Monday warning us to take extra precautions serving food or wine, because the outbreak on Lummi Island that was somehow associated with the Chili Cookoff last weekend was part of a larger outbreak across the County. Although the wine shop is minimally involved with food, we do take our responsibilities seriously about washing hands, not touching food, using bleach, etc. Our compassion is with all who contracted the virus last weekend, and we hope all are fully recovered by now. It is a sobering reminder that all of us must maintain due diligence to safeguard community health.
Vendovi Island
In December 2010 the San Juan Preservation Trust purchased and protects Vendovi Island, a 217-acre, virtually untouched island with nearly three miles of shoreline, abundant wildflower fields, and lush fern forests. Vendovi sits about a mile southwest of Lummi Island, and was previously privately owned and off limits to the public. Now, however, the San Juan Preservation Trust has opened the island to limited public access by boat. There is a small dock that accommodates several small boats, and visitors are allowed between 10am and 6pm daily, May through September. This afternoon we sailed to Vendovi for a picnic and walk along the several beautiful trails that criss-cross the island. It is truly a treasure, from lovely beaches deep in shells from ancient Salish middens to quiet forest trails with views of water, islands, eagles, and mountains. This view is back toward Lummi Mountain just a few miles away. Our boat is on the right; the one on left belongs to the caretakers, who have spent a good portion of the last six years on this boat in the Sea of Cortez in Baja.
This Week’s Tasting
Mt. Baker Siegierrebe ’11 Washington $14
Siegerrebe is an early ripening cross of Gewürztraminer and Madeleine Angevine which can ripen here in Western Washington. The wine is light, bright, crisp, and refreshing, perfect with a fresh summer salad.
Pierre Usseglio Cotes du Rhône Rosé ’11 France $18
Grenache 80%, Cinsault 20%. Only 3,000 bottles made. Elegant velvet texture; refreshing and stylish rosé with pretty strawberry and almond aromas, some notes of garden herbs and a clean, smooth finish. A very classy rosé.
Morel Esprit d’Automne ’11 France $14
Syrah (40%), carignan (30%), and grenache (30%); perfumes of black olives, tobacco, and spices lead to full flavors of morello cherries, red fruits, and a finalé of mint and licorice.
Les Pious Cotes de Rhone Grenache ’11 France $14
Smooth and rich, with notes of plum and caraway; grown biodynamically and aged in cement tanks…nice!
Lost River Nebbiolo ’10 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 July 19 ’13
Maine
We are back from our week in Maine and my 50th HS reunion. It was the first time I have visited my home state as something of a tourist– an odd experience that comes to most of us when the passing of our parents leaves no family “home” to go “home” to. As mentioned last week, we stayed at the somewhat worn but still entirely pleasant Lucerne Inn, a familiar landmark of my youth, which we found comfortably creaky and out of square.
Last Sunday we had a double treat on the coast at the seaside family home of a classmate in Brooklin (home of Wooden Boat magazine, aka “Mecca” to wooden boat lovers!). After a little wading on the beach a short walk away, we had a leisurely outdoor brunch , complete with lobsters, corn on the cob, and fresh mussels, . On the coast we enjoyed a beautiful and comfortable sunny day, while inland temperatures approached 90. That heat wave continued till our departure flight from Boston on Tuesday morning. I had forgotten how hot and humid it can get in the Northeast…!
Here’s Pat talking with my classmate and our gracious hostess Joellyn ( her dad was my Little League coach…!) about the fine points of making truffles. If all of you are lucky, that could mean that maybe Pat will make another batch soon. Probably you should start lobbying her if you want to make that happen…!
It’s no accident so many Lummi Islanders have Maine roots; much about our surroundings here is reminiscent of the Maine coast. (though of coss we ain’t got no lobstuhs out heah like they do back theah…) One difference I noticed this time is that maybe because the terrain is more even in Maine (trees are shorter, mountains there are hills here…?), there is somehow more sky in most views, and in some way there is something comforting about that. Does that make any sense…?
The three-hour brunch was followed by an afternoon gathering at my niece’s house about a half hour up the coast, where we were treated to even more fresh Maine mussels, gathered that morning by her husband. It is worth noting that back in my youth No One in Maine ate mussels. Lobster, yes. Clams, yes. All kinds of fish, yes. But no mussels. And although there are some farmed mussels in Maine, a la our own Penn Cove, where they grow on nets hung from rafts, the “wild” ones are beautifully barnacle-laden, their shells wonderful shades of yellows, grays, and greens, and though they are good-sized, the flavor is a delight even with no accompaniment (except of course a nice white wine…in this case a perfectly serviceable pinot gris from a box!) Yes, folks, they are that good!
The Great Chili Cookoff Comes Again!
Okay, fellow Islanders, it’s here again, the something or other-th Annual Chili Cookoff this Saturday from noon to 3. This year we are neither cooking nor judging, so it will be fun to taste the delicious offerings from the usual suspects and always a few newbies. This is of course an annual fundraiser for the Heritage Trust, and draws crowds from Five Counties! (yes, I am making that up). This event has become an icon of Lummi Island Summer, so we know we will see most of you there.
And if you can still stand after all those beans, peppers, and beer, don’t forget to stop by the wine shop on the way home! We have a great tasting this weekend, featuring some new arrivals from our friends at Small Vineyards that are as Delicious as they are Curiously Underpriced! Need I say more??
This week’s tasting
Villa des Anges Rose ’12 France 90pts $10
A classic Provencal rose with fresh, crisp aromas of orange peel, wild strawberry and mineral water and a juicy, lively palate.
Martina Prieto Verdejo ’09 Spain $10
Delights the palate with flavors of nettles, ripe pineapple, dried mint, and pencil dust on a crisp, fresh frame. From vines planted in clay, shells, and limestone in the Rueda wine region.
Finca El Tesso Tempranillo ‘10 Spain $10
Already a local favorite–fruity and soft, with scents of violets, raw meat, sea salt and mineral; a perfect match for Serrano ham.
Gran Passione Rosso Italy $11
Raisined Corvina and Merlot meet to form this soft, lovely red wine with soft notes of rich red and black fruits, prunes, and raisins.
Mas Oncle Ernest “Patience” ’10 France $22
40% Syrah, 60% Grenache; perfumed nose of lilacs and roses, with fleshy palate of blackberry bramble, blackcurrant, and vanilla.
2072 Granger Way
