Lummi Island Wine Tasting December 3 ’11
It is December 1 as I write this. I have been hearing on the radio today (weekly trip to town!) about the Bazillions of dollars in sales for Black Friday, apparently the day of the year that makes Americans the King and Queen of Shoppers, the Sine Qua Non of Shoppers, the Biggest buying extravaganza of the year. Somehow I can picture Stephen Colbert leading the chant: “We’re Number One, We’re Number One, We’re Number One…!
People that track such things, however, are very concerned that BF was not THE big day…rather THAT was the Sunday BEFORE Thanksgiving. (BF was a measly $11.2 billion…hardly worth getting out of bed for). And even though Black Weekend was disappointing, it was still a percent or two bigger than Last Year, so you’d think they’d be happy. But they’re not, you know. It’s like the famous quotation from Charles de Gaulle: Comment voulez-vous gouverner un pays qui a deux cent quarante-six variétés de fromage?, which, roughly translated, means: “How can anyone govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?”
You can imagine the one-tenth of one percent sitting around with wine (Really Good Wine, of course, because.after all, they can afford the best) and cigars, and musing about the whimsical nature of the Consumer Nation they have created and Rule, the same way that ranchers complain when cattle or sheep don’t happen to like the latest Monsanto-engineered pseudo-food. “Yeess,” one would say with some foreign accent, “Bloody inconvenient, eh? And after all we’ve done for them…makes you wonder why we bother…!” Except of course they are not English, they are multinational, which basically means, as “W” was fond of saying, “Who cares what you think?”
Of course, American Culture (I use the word loosely) being what it is, like any great River, there is always a counter-current to everything, and yes, that means a counter-current to every counter-current. So of course Black Friday is also Buy Nothing Day, which has been renamed as (I am not making this up!) #OCCUPYXMAS. And in case you haven’t been paying attention, the “occupy” label is now attached to a wide range of activities reminiscent of a long ago movie featuring the line “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” Make of all of that what you will…but these are interesting times.
HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS
We, of course, like everyone else, have our own “Shameless Commerce Division,” as Click and Clack call it, so of course we have our own concerns about sales. Having been at this for a number of years, however, we know that December marks the beginning of our slow season, as some people head south, others visit family, others just curl up by the fire until the Groundhog says it’s safe to come out again. So stop by when you can, enjoy the coming holiday season, and remember that during December we will be open our usual hours on Fridays from 4-7pm and Saturdays from 2-6, including Christmas Eve.
However, we will NOT be open usual hours on New Year’s Eve. Rather, we will be open for our Seventh Annual East Coast New Year’s Eve party from 7-9. We will provide the wine, and guests are invited to bring finger food to share. And when the ball drops in Times Square (9pm our time) we celebrate the New Year! (and you young folks can go on to your next party while those so inclined can go home and call it a day, month, year…!)
TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES
For Christmas there will be four flavors of Pat and Janice’s famous truffles (the chocolate kind, not the fungus kind—someone last weekend was confused), packaged in boxes of four for $5. Flavors will include four old favorites, all made by hand from exquisite French chocolate :
- Chipotle Chile and Cinnamon: dipped in delectable dark chocolate
- Fleur de Sel Caramel: perhaps the all-time classic favorite, dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt
- Toasted Coconut: white chocolate & coconut milk centers, dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in toasted coconut
- Triple chocolate: milk and white chocolate centers, dipped in dark chocolate
- Will be available for pickup December 22-23 by appointment, or during regular hours Dec 24.
- By reservation only. Call Pat to reserve some, 758-2959.
Last week we sold our only two cases of the just-arrived Honoro Vera garnacha, which was, as you can guess, delicious. Unfortunately, the distributor sold out, no more till January (aaarrrggghhh!) . We were able to score some of the Honoro Vera Monastrell, however, and I am tasting it as I write. It is maybe not the silky knockout the garnacha was, but for $9 it still over-delivers in a big way! I only have a few bottles of our last wine for this week’s tasting, the Domaine Maxime Magnon”Rozeta” ‘ 09 which Parker gave 93 points and an absolutely mouth-watering review (see below). Come on in and try it, and I will tell you an interesting story about it…!
This week’s tasting:
Chateau L’Ermitage 09 France $9
It’s Back! Rousanne, grenache, and viognier blend; light gold in color with aromas of peach, flowers, and honey; the Grenache provides the richness and the Roussanne the balancing acidity. Delicious!
Honoro Vera Monastrell ’09 Spain $9
Tank aged 100% Monastrell. Its pleasing nose reveals notes of underbrush, mineral, and blueberry leading to a savory, spicy, nicely balanced medium-bodied wine.
St. Cosme Cotes du Rhone ’10 France 90pts $14
Has lush, silky-textured layers of dark plum, anise and crushed blackberry fruit, woven with black tea and graphite notes through the finish. Impresses with its length and depth.
Domaine Maxime Magnon”Rozeta” ‘ 09 France 93 pts $26
60% Carignan, with the rest split about equally between Grenache and Cinsault. Black raspberry in fresh and distilled form is beautifully complimented by heliotrope and peony perfume that persist inner-mouth with luscious refreshment and uncanny levity. Smoky black tea notes on the nose have their counterpart in invigoratingly nippy, tea-like tanninity, while toasted hickory, chalk, and saliva-inducing salinity add to the irresistible intrigue of a lingering finish. The almost explosively intense, dizzyingly-dynamic aromatic interplay of flowers, fruits, and sea breeze left in the empty glass is in itself worth the modest price of admission to this garden of delight and outstanding value.
Wine Tasting November 26 ’11
NAPA NAPA NAPA NAPA NAPA
As I write this we are visiting family near Napa for Thanksgiving. The valley is particularly lovely this time of year, with lots of color in the vineyards. This morning I caught this photo of water droplets on cabernet grapes that were left behind in the recent harvest.
Tierra Roja water drops on grapes
ARTIST ARTIST ARTIST ARTIST ARTIST ARTIST
Our studio tour artist, Anita Aparicio, has just opened a show in Bellingham, leaving us with only about a half dozen of her pieces. But about 30 of her mixed-media collages will be on display starting Nov. 25 at Fairhaven Originals Gallery. The exhibit, which runs through December, is called “A Visual History of Bellingham,” because most of the pieces include digital images and old photos of Bellingham from the late 1800s into the early 1900s. Read more in this nice article in the Herald.
TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES
Some of you were disappointed last weekend because one person (bless her!) came in early and bought the remaining two dozen! I keep telling you that it is rare actually to have any at all to sell in the shop because they are usually made to fill preorders. So this is your first warning: There WILL be truffles for Christmas, probably four flavors, packaged in boxes of four for $5. We will post the flavors next week, and they will be available for pickup December 22-24. Call Pat to reserve some, 758-2959.
HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS
The end of November is upon us, so even as you are all recovering from a hopefully wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family, we are also of course accelerating toward Christmas and New Year’s. Although we will NOT be open the day after Thanksgiving (Nov 25), we WILL be open this Saturday, November 26, as usual from 2-6pm. During December we will be open our usual hours on Fridays from 4-7pm and Saturdays from 2-6, including Christmas Eve. However, we will NOT be open usual hours on New Year’s Eve. Rather, we will be open for our Seventh Annual East Coast New Year’s Eve party from 7-9. We will provide the wine, and guests are invited to bring finger food to share. And when the ball drops in Times Square (9pm our time) we celebrate the New Year! (and you young folks can go on to your next party while those so inclined can go home and call it a day, month, year…!
Saturday’s tasting lineup:
Chalone Monterey Chardonnay ’09 California $10
Opens up into a nice balance between the plush texture of oak and fresh notes of baked pear, Braeburn apple and sweet tangerine, accented by floral notes and nutmeg.
Palama Negroamaro 08 (Italy) $10
Elegantly expansive, rich and robust. Although it is 100% “rustic” Negroamaro, it is amazingly balanced; silky mouthfeel, aromas of violets, plums, fresh ground pepper and blackberry jam with accents of cinnamon, leather, tobacco and smoke.
Bodegas Graffigna Grand Reserve Malbec ’08 Argentina WA90pts $10
A deep red color with violet hues, this wine exudes aromas of great complexity with very ripe dark berries with a touch of black pepper and spice. The palate is well integrated, combining delicate ripe tannins and complex finish with hints of coffee, vanilla and toast.
Langmeil Three Gardens SMG ’09 Australia $16
Rich, silky-smooth and round, delivering a generous wave of red berry, cherry, spice and licorice that plays out through a long, harmonious finish. Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre.
Arrival: Pernes les Fontaines and Gordes
Our base for our first week in France was an apartment in Pernes les Fontaines, the “Town of Forty Fountains,” about 30 minutes southeast from Avignon. Since our first booking was with Untours, our second day we attended a brief orientation meeting in nearby L’Isle sur la Sorgue. We recommend Untours for occasional travelers like us who don’t want to be part of a tour, but do appreciate the support structure Untours provides, with local reference materials, being met at the airport, and having a local resource person available for advice. Their approach gives you a leg up on your new surroundings that makes arrival in a strange place relatively seamless.
In the afternoon we took the opportunity to drive into the Luberon, where we visited the old and somewhat strange Village des Bories, a cluster of very primitive stone stuctures, parts of which date back as far as the 7th century, with other elements as recent as the 18th century. If you click through the photos on the linked site, you can see that the building technique involved building walls that came toward each other at the top, until neither a “roof” nor an arch was necessary. Doorways were formed by resting a long enough stone across the two jambs.
From there it was a short drive to the hilltop town of Gordes, reminiscent of many of the hilltop towns of Tuscany.
See slide show for more. (to read the captions you will probably need to extend the slide display time).
Lummi Island Wine Tasting November 19 ’11
STUDIO TOUR STUDIO TOUR STUDIO TOUR STUDIO TOUR STUDIO TOUR
Last week was Winter artists’ Studio tour. Not “Winter Artists,” but “Winter Studio Tour.” Until a few years ago, this used to happen the first weekend in December. But because Winter –the real Winter, frozen and dark and gloomy– often makes an appearance around here in late November or early December, there were numerous occasions when no one bothered to come out. And so it came to pass that a few years ago the Winter tour was moved to the second weekend in November. Maybe a bit early for holiday shopping, but definitely more likely to have cordial weather.
Our artist, Anita Aparicio, was in the shop till early afternoon, and only a few people had visited, so she left. Oh, we thought, it’s Winter studio tour, and it is cold and gloomy, and probably no one will come by. Okay, we were wrong about that! A LOT of people came by, and we were busy until closing. Anita’s work will only be on display one more weekend, so please come by and take a look at her very interesting multimedia compositions. See last week’s post for pix of some of her work.
TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES TRUFFLES
We have fresh, delicious truffles for your Thanksgiving feast…while they last. Pumpkin Spice, with centers of Spanish white chocolate–dipped in deep, dark Vahlrona; and longtime customer favorite Salted Caramel–two kinds of dark chocolate sprinkled with pink Hawaii salt crystals. We’re gearing up for a bigger offering for Christmas but in the meantime, these are knockouts! At the Wine Gallery, Friday, 4-7, and Saturday 2-6. Or call Pat to reserve some, 758-2959.
SAILBOATS SAILBOATS SAILBOATS SAILBOATS SAILBOATS SAILBOATS
Each second Saturday in November we are taken by surprise late in the morning by the appearance of a fleet of sailboats heading north up Rosario Strait between Lummi and Orcas Islands. It’s the annual Round the County race (no, no, not Whatcom County, SAN JUAN County!), and even on a gloomy weekend like the last, it is colorful (I hope they were all bundled up out there!).
France France France France France France France France
In the next day or two we will be posting our first photos from our recent trip to France. We will send an email to our subscribers. (To subscribe to this blog, click on the orange icon above next to “Subscribe by email,” and then confirm the email you will get from Feedburner.) This is a photo of Gordes, a little hilltop town in the Luberon area of Provence. If you look (very closely!) just below and to the right of the church tower (with the cross) in the middle, you will see a little cafe atop a low turret…the perfect place for an afternoon pastisse!
Friday Friday Friday Friday Friday Friday Friday Friday
Friday night we are open as usual from 4-7 so you can stock up for the weekend. We will be pouring two of the samples we brought back from France, so stop by!
This week’s wines: for sure we will be pouring the following two Spanish “best buys” we just picked up tonight. And then tomorrow (Friday) some of our next Italian order will be delivered, but I don’t know yet which wines. As usual, though, there will be four for Saturday, including at least one white, and of course they will all be delicious!
Honoro Vera Garnacha ’10 Spain $10
Aromas of sage, thyme, and black cherry lead to a plush, succulent wine with layers of spicy fruit.
Wrongo Dongo ’10 Spain $9
100% Monastrell cuvee made from Jumilla grapes. Fermented and aged in stainless steel, it offers up a fruity nose with plenty of spice and floral notes. Ripe and savory on the palate, it has enough structure to provide pleasure for another 3-4 years.
2072 Granger Way
