Wine Tasting December 12
The slide into Winter is showing up as very quiet Saturday afternoons until about 4, then everyone arrives at once for a fairly raucous last hour. That made for a nice visit with Nancy, Joan, and little Sammie for a relaxing mid-afternoon.
The wines were unusual and interesting, and pretty tasty. Virtually NO ONE had ever heard of marzemino, much less tasted it, but it won general approval for its unique combination of pruney leather and bright berry acidity. The soave was a pleasant surprise, definitely worth keeping around, and the Poderi sangio/alicante was a crowd-pleaser, as was the Kiona red blend, a terrific buy.
Nice shot of Mary Beth and Mary Jane, maybe they are secret sisters…? Little preview: mark your calendars for next Saturday and our Solstice “Le Coeur de l’Obscurite” tasting featuring Lost River wines from Winthrop and matching munchies by our Food Correspondent Mary Beth. Watch for details!
Also, please note that THIS SUNDAY from 2-4 we will be hosting a Meet the Candidate event for Richard May, who will be running for State Senate in 2010. Come on by, say hello, let him know what is important to you.
This week’s wines:
Dry Creek chenin blanc (Calif) $10: luscious notes of melon, peach, and lemon peel, a great buy!
Juan Gil 06 (Spain) $14: From 45 yr old vines come superb aromatics of wood smoke, damp earth, violets, and blueberry pie. Layered, succulent, and long.
Maryhill Cabernet Franc Columbia Valley 05 (Washington) $18: Showing intense tobacco, tar, and leather character, it’s a real powerhouse that cries for a rich and savory food pairing, and with a little fat to evoke the cherry, blackberry, and licorice notes on the finish.
Jaffurs Thompson Syrah ’01 (Cal) $18: layered flavors of black fruits intermixed with earth, licorice, and smoke presented in a long, pure, concentrated style.
Wine tasting December 5
Last weekend, Saturday after Thanksgiving, brought echoes of the past several months and harbingers of winter days to come. Early on Joan came by to pick up selections for their late Thanksgiving dinner, then actually in progress (no time to deliberate!), followed by a periodic visit from a charming Canadian benefactor who drops in a few times a year to restock white wine at the Lummi getaway, always a welcome treat!
After that it was Very Quiet till about 4, when some newbies and some of the usual suspects came by.Here are Del and Terry celebrating Terry’s second week living on Lummi, and second Saturday in the wine shop…!
And a bit of drama and mystery: “Omigod, do you see what’s down there…???!!!”
And here’s a nice one of Ian and Robin, who skated in just before every bottle was completely empty…whew, that was close!
This week’s wines offer some unusual grapes from Italy:
Villa Erbice Soave Superiore ’06 (Italy) $14: Garganega with Trebbiano for freshness, spends a year on the lees (yeast cells & grape solids left from fermentation.)
De Tarczal Marzemino 06 (Italy) $14: A rare grape, marzemino is a relative of Barbera, with lots of bright, fully ripened fruit, with crisp acidity and ripe tannins.
Podere Ciona 07 (Italy) $14: SuperTuscan blend of sangiovese and alicante delivers ripe fruit, spices, and a long, lingering finish.
Kiona cab-merlot ’04 (Washington) $10: Rich, earthy, spicy, and crisp; good showing of Washington fruit at a real bargain price; great for sipping or with any meal.
Wine Tasting November 28
Hope you all had a hearty and festive Thanksgiving. Here we are, tummies full and spent, late on Turkey night, not much more to say beyond that for the moment. Just want to invite you to drop by on Saturday for a post-feast wind-down. While other places pick up for the Holidays, our experience on Lummi is that things start slowing way down about now. So come by, taste some surprising wines, and pass some time together.
Likely wines for this weekend:
- Artesa Chardonnay Carneros 07 (California) $17: Nicely textured, fruity, soft, mouth-filling, highly rated
- Salice Salentino Arcangelo 08 (Italy) $11 : 80% negroamaro, 20% Primitivo; expansive, rich, and robust aromas of steeped plums, cracked pepper, blackberry confit and cinnamon.
- Bibbiani Treggiaia 07 (Italy) $10 : a great value blend of sangio & cab, the ultimate pizza wine, serious but friendly,
- Stephen Vincent Zinfandel 07 (California) $10 : An amazing wine for the price; wild berry nose, with forward fruit in the mouth. Jammy and full bodied, with the right touch of toasty American oak.
Pre-Thanksgiving Wine Tasting Nov 21
MAKE US YOUR FAVORITE! KING-5 TV has a listing of wine shops on its web site; click on this link , then click on “Write a recommendation” and give us YOUR vote for “best wine shop in Washington!” (thanks!!!)
Winter Studio tour is always hard to predict, mainly due to weather,so it was a good idea to move it last year to mid-November from first weekend in December. Although there were some very Stormy days (and Dark and Stormy nights!) last week, the weekend was cloudy and a bit breezy, but not in the “Oppressive” zone. That made for a steady group of revelers, including quite a number of first-timers.
We had one very special guest we haven’t seen in a while; Chuck and Sharon came by on what may be Chuck’s first outing after his long sojourn with the bone marrow folks. WELCOME BACK, CHUCK!!!
Also, though they say you never want to see how laws or sausages are made, we all like to see how Truffles are made…here are Janice and Pat in the Heart of Creation. Anyone who tasted them knows they tasted a little Slice of Heaven! Mmm-mmm!
We wound up pouring about ten wines over the course of the two days, including: Trevisiol Rosecco, a refreshing rose prosecco; our old favorite Banear prosecco; the delightful Nefarious dry riesling; Castle Rock Mendocino pinot noir; De Natale pinot noir; Sobon Estates Fiddletown zinfandel, and Storybook Mayacamas zinfandel.
This week our semi-annual Italian Order came in, so we are trying to tie the new arrivals in to our ongoing quest for the perfect Thanksgiving wine list. Here is the likely starting lineup:
Barbolini Lambrusco Lancillotto (Italy) $16: Handmade since 1889–briny, not sweet, with a lush body, ripe fruit and berry aromas, and delicate bubbles; especially good match with balsamic or smoked salmon.
Legoe Bay Pinot Gris 07 (Washington) $9: Beautiful aromas and flavors of pear, apple, melon, and honey with a round, mouth-filling texture…delicious!
Martorana Nero d’Avola 08 (Sicily) $12 : Easy drinking red wine with crowd-pleasing notes of ripe plums, blueberry, almond, and sweet rhubarb.
Cousino Macul Merlot 07 (Chile) $10: Dark ruby-colored with an expressive nose of cherry and cranberry, with supple and savory flavors of ripe plums and violets.
Pasek Cranberry wine (Washington) $10: A unique wine, really made from cranberries, this year’s version is quite sweet, though with good acidity. Drink by itself, with soda water or prosecco as a wine cooler, or as an interesting accompaniment to turkey and trimmings.
2072 Granger Way