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lummi island wine tasting april 28 ’17
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Cinnamon Raisin – Not the soft type of cinnamon raisin with a swirl of cinnamon sugar. This is a rustic version that is made with bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat and rolled oats. Some milk to tenderize the crumb, honey for sweetness and cinnamon mixed throughout before being loaded up with raisins. Makes delicious toast -$5/loaf
Braided Challah – a delightful soft loaf made with bread flour, lots of eggs, some sugar and vegetable oil. No butter or milk. Also makes great toast and even better french toast- $5/loaf
And for pastry…
Chocolate Babka Rolls – a rich sweet dough made with plenty of eggs, butter and sugar, rolled out and filled with dark chocolate and even more butter and sugar. Sliced into individual rolls before baking. Elizabeth K. has
been waiting for over 2 months for these so get your orders in before she does! – 2/$5
Cloudlift Returns
Our regulars know we have a particular fondness for the lovely wines from Cloudlift Cellars in Seattle. I dropped in on our friend and Cloudlift winemaker Tom Stangeland a couple of weeks ago and brought home a number of new releases that we will be pouring one by one over the next several weeks. Last time we did this the Hit of the Show was Tom’s “Ascent,” mostly cab franc from Horse Heaven Hills.
A 2013 vintage has been released, but since there is still some of the ’12, I thought we all deserved another taste of an old favorite, even better after another couple of years in bottle!
Cab Franc is the fourth most-produced red wine grape in Washington, behind Cab, Merlot and Syrah. Most often, as elsewhere in the world, it is primarily used as a blending grape in wines where cab sauv and/or merlot dominate. In our Fair State, cab franc often has softer tannins than cab sauv or merlot, and brings notes of garrigue and black pepper along with hints of chocolate and coffee…yes, indeed, very easy to like!
PUpdate
Ulee is now 4 months old, and weighs in at 21 lbs. The Puppy Growth Chart projects he will therefore level off between 30 and 35 lbs, about the same weight as Tator. However, like other “mini” Aussies (including our dear boy Cooper) Ulee conforms proportionally to the AKC standards for the breed, which are heavier than the ASCA dogs, which are bred longer, lighter, and more maneuverable for the agility that herding dogs require.
After a month of studiously avoiding Ulee, in the last week Tator has been spending a lot of time with him, trying to teach him the Rules Around Here. She is very patient, and seems to have no trouble with issuing the same correction over and over, maybe amping it up a little each time, but always very measured. It’s an interesting model to observe; any time he crosses some “line” she issues a corrective bark, growl, nip, or takedown, and then backs off and waits to see what he has learned. She seems infinitely patient with the process, and they seem to be developing quite a Bond. Absolutely fascinating to watch!
Back Porch Robins
A few weeks ago we noticed a bird’s nest just outside our back door, on a beam up under the roof that covers the back deck. A few days later through the bathroom window we saw a robin sitting in the nest, as if incubating eggs. We also noticed that if we or one of the dogs went onto the back deck, the robin would quickly, smoothly, and silently drop off the back of the beam and fly away with distracting calls. Then, over the next ten to twenty minutes she would follow a circuitous path around the back yard, pausing to watch at a number of different spots before very indirectly going back to the nest.
Two days ago we looked up and saw Momma Robin dropping food into two gaping beaks, and yesterday I got this photo of Momma and one chick. A Definite Sweet Sign of Spring, now showing at a Nest near you!
Relaxing at Mar a Lago
There is a contemporary Myth that for many decades the Outgoing President leaves Three Envelopes for the Incoming President, with the following Instructions:
“During your time in office you will face Three Crises. When the first crisis happens, open the First Envelope. When the Second Crisis happens, open the Second Envelope, and when the Third Crisis happens, open the Third Envelope. These guidelines represent the cumulative Wisdom of all who have held this office.”
Eventually each President feels compelled to turn to the envelopes. The first one says, “Blame Me.” The second one says, “Blame Congress.” The third one says, “Prepare Three Envelopes.”
Judging from recent news blaming Obama and the Democrats for Everything the Republicans can’t seem to get done despite their control of every single branch of the Government, it would seem that on Day 100 the First Envelope has been Opened. Make a note of it, and Stay Tuned…
This week’s wine tasting
Aravo albarino ’13 Spain $14
A one-of-a-kind, lush, medium-bodied Albariño that fills the mouth with apples, lime, peaches, flowers and grass, with bracing acidity and cleansing minerality.
Saint Nabor Gris de Gris Rose ’12 France $10
Bouquet of red fruit and honeysuckle with linden-tree nuances; light, crisp and easy drinking, with palate of wild strawberries and blueberries with mineral nuances.
Flaugerges Les Comptes Rouge ’12 France $13
Grenache blend; Garnet red, with slightly spicy aromas and flavors of olives, herbs, blackcurrant, cherries, and raspberries.
Esplugen Priorat ’14 Spain $17
Garnacha, carinyena, cab sauv; Priorat’s famous slate soil and arid climate give this wine great intensity and structure, with deep and complex aromas of rich ripe fruit and toast notes, and a long pleasing finish .
Cloudlift Ascent ’12 Washington $27
80% cab franc, 18% merlot, 2% petit verdot; aromas of black cherry, dark strawberry, sweet herbs and notes of minerality; light and silky mouthfeel with flavors of black cherry, cocoa powder and crushed herbs with bright acidity and hints of toasted almond on the finish.
lummi island wine tasting march 18, ’16
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Sunday Concert Series March 20!
This Sunday, March 20, from 5-7 pm we are hosting a concert with singer-songwriter Robert Sarazin Blake, a modern-day troubadour who travels widely (especially the Pacific NW and Ireland) to share his craft, very often in pub atmospheres like our dear wine shop. Robert has visited the shop several times in the last two years, and we have grown fond of his easy style.
Suggested performance donation is $15 per person, and a selection of wines will be available at $5/ glass. And since space is very limited, reservations are required…call or email if you would like to attend.
Learn more about Robert’s music here.
Reminder: NO Bread This Week!
As many of you know, our baker is also a HUGE basketball fan, and is, we believe, off somewhere enjoying early “March Madness.” Tighten yer belts a bit, me friends, as bread will return next week as usual!
Trump Plan Details Revealed
C’mon, admit it, it’s just Common Sense, right? Am I right? Is this Fabulous or What? Don’t you Love this Idea? I Love this Idea. It’s that easy, folks, it’s That Easy. Am I right? Yeah, I’m right, of course I’m right.
WTFIWWTP?
You would think from all the mewin’ and whisker-lickin’ sophistry goin’ on in the Republican Senate, that it would be, my goodness, a Precedent of Monumental Proportions for a Lame Duck so-called “President” even to Dare to submit a Supreme Court appointment for consideration when he has barely a year left in office. Why for Heaven’s sake, it would save us all a Lot of Trouble if he would jus’ step aside now and let us put in one of ours as a Real President. And then, of course, we could all move forward with the process of Governing this Great Nation.
So it is a bit Breathtaking to learn that the last time this happened was in the Last Year of the Last Term of the Great Reagan, when he nominated Anthony Kennedy to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Lewis Powell. As Reagan put it, the Senate should “join together in a bipartisan effort to fulfill our constitutional obligation of restoring the United States Supreme Court to full strength.” He also asked the Democratic Senate for “prompt hearings conducted in the spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship.”
Which is exactly what he got. And it worked out pretty well for the Dems, all things considered. But that’s not the point.
Let’s Go Out on a Big Limb, here, folks: could it be that All of Us — Right, Left, and Center — have had our Fill of this kind of Hardline Hypocrisy? Could it be that, like political Lemmings en masse, we are poised to join the Real Silent Majority who stopped voting Decades Ago? Here we find ourselves, both Right and Left, perhaps one last time waving the Flags of our Quixotic Rebels Don QuiBernie and Don QuiDonald against All Odds, and it feels good to Take a Stand, and yet there is this Deep Fear that it’s just like when your giant grocery bag rips open in the pouring rain in the parking lot, and everything you have is rolling in all directions, and people are staring at you and tooting at you, and you So want to be Somewhere Else, but first you have to pick up every tomato, every can of dog food, every broken egg, and it all seems so Unfair and it really Isn’t Supposed to Be Like This…!
At times like this don’t you find yourself wondering: hmmm…say, honey, shouldn’t we start stocking up on wine…?
This week’s wine tasting
For a Song Chardonnay ’13. Washington $10
Apple blossom and citrus aromas; broad, flavorful palate of quince, lemon custard, lime, and honey-tinged mineral notes; bracing acidity.
La Croix Belle Caringole Rosé ’14 France $11
Syrah-Grenache blend; intense nose of rose petals and pear-drop candies; palate of alpine strawberries, raspberries, and cranberries, with a citrus accent on the crisp finish.
Cepas de Zorro ’12 Spain $10
100% Monastrell from chalk and clay soils; a powerfully authentic wine with aromas of plum preserves, Partagás cigar ash, soy, and sage blossom; a fantastic match for Manchego cheese, Marcona Almonds, and olives.
Montfaucon Cotes du Rhone ’13 France $13
50% Grenache co-fermented on skins with syrah, cinsault, carignan from 40 yr old vines; matured in concrete tanks. Good ripeness and lots of minerality along with fleshy plum, blackberry and licorice notes. A floral hint adds charm on the finish. (read more)
Cougar Crest Dedication 9 ’12 Washington $18
Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Velvety and round, with gently pulsing flavors of currant and plum, hinting at clove, pepper and roasted meat notes as the finish lingers enticingly.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting October 20 ’12
Sweetest- & Newscarriers- Day
October 22 was first celebrated (I am not making this up) as “Sweetest Day” in Cleveland in 1922, when philanthropic candy company employee Herbert Kingston wanted to bring a little joy into the lives of orphans, shut-ins, and others who were forgotten. With the help of friends, he began to distribute candy and small gifts to the underprivileged. On the first Sweetest Day, (90 years ago today) movie star Ann Pennington (leftmost) presented 2,200 no doubt very excited Cleveland newspaper boys with boxes of candy to express gratitude for their service to the public, while fellow actress Theda Bara (near left) distributed 10,000 boxes of candy to people in Cleveland hospitals. Like us, everyone probably wondered if these Silent Screen stars had, you know, actual Voices, and whether they were anything like what people expected!
This day also commemorates the hiring of the very first newspaper carrier; on September 10, 1833, Benjamin Day, publisher of The New York Sun, hired 10 year old Barney Flaherty to sell papers for his penny press. “The only job requirement, was that he had to show that he could throw a newspaper into the bushes.” (really??…the bushes?)
It seems likely that Kingston and the actresses were aware that the day was already designated as Newspaper Carriers’ Day; or maybe it was just a coincidence (you think???) that on the first “Sweetest Day,” special effort was made to honor the carriers with candy. Personally, I think “Sweetest Day” was a pretty bad choice of names, good intentions notwithstanding… Nowadays, few kids deliver papers anymore except in small towns; it’s mostly adults who get up early and deliver them by car; but the “Carrier Day” tradition lives. Ah, yes, another memory from a simpler time…
Carmenere
Carmenere is a wine grape that originated in France but died out there a century ago, caused either by “coulure,” and the vine’s defensive response to prolonged wet and dark conditions (ummm, probably not a good choice for planting around here…), or perhaps by phylloxera, which decimated French vineyards. For whichever reason, carmenere disappeared from the world in the nineteenth century, only to be rediscovered– and this is the exciting part- within the last decade or two, mainly in Chile, where it had been grown for over a hundred years under the mistaken impression that it was a clone of Merlot. Over the years we have carried several carmeneres, and we have enjoyed them all. Softer than merlot, mellower than malbec, wines from this varietal occupy a unique and satisfying niche between the Big Tannic Guns of the Bordeaux varietals (cab, merlot, malbec, cab franc) and the softer “wines of the sun” of the South (grenache, syrah, mourvedre). We will be pouring one this weekend; come check it out! more history of Carmenere
Betz Family Winery Fall Releases
Twice a year we head down to Woodinville to pick up new releases from Betz. In the winter they release their Bordeaux-style blends (based on cabernet sauvignon and merlot), and in the fall they release their Rhone-style blends (based on syrah, grenache, and mourvedre). This year their release party was the first weekend after Labor Day, or as it is usually known around here, the first weekend of Drydock. So we missed the release party, and finally made it to Woodinville to pick up the wines this week. We don’t usually pour these wines at tastings, but since we haven’t tried them yet, we will pour a couple of them this weekend. The good news is that these are world class wines made here in Washington; the bad news is that these are $40-$50 wines, so the tasting will be$10 this week instead of the usual $5. The way the math works out, if we monitor pours very carefully, we might break even on the tasting, and we will all get to taste a couple of exceptional wines.
Here’s a short video of winemaker Bob Betz talking about the 2010 vintage
This week’s tasting
Fleur Chardonnay ’08 California $10
From vineyards in the hills along California’s North Coast combining opulent fruit with wonderful richness and brilliant color; aromas of apricots, honeysuckle and Comice pear. Aging in neutral French oak on the lees gives the wine a creamy, soft texture and a wonderful richness.
La Joya Carmenere ’10 Chile $11
Nicely toasty, with a coffee edge framing the black currant, plum and tobacco notes, which push through on the finish.
Betz Grenache Bésoleil ’10 Washington $39
Mourvedre, Cinsault and Syrah each complement the dominant black raspberry notes of Boushey vineyard Grenache, creating aromatic layering and palate impression of cream, white pepper, lavender blossom and toasted earth. Silky and full on entry, the mid palate expands while still remaining plump and supple.
Betz Syrah La Serenne ’10 Washington $49
Impenetrable black color of classic Boushey vineyard Syrah leads to distinctive and seductive aromas of smoky, candied blackberry that gives way to notes of licorice, iron, roasted earth and meat. Despite the cooler vintage conditions, there a full, rich, almost powerful overall impression, the velvet hammer, the gloved fist: plush, silky and yet jam packed with character.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting May 7 ’10
LOTS of announcements today!
#1. Okay we finally had dinner at the Willows last night, our first experience with Maestro Blaine, and we sat in the “library,” which used to be the office, and which is separated from the kitchen by a pair of French doors. So you can see what’s going on in the kitchen, and it is a lot of nonstop action. There are about six guys running around in there kinda like old silent Keystone Cops movies where everyone is moving too fast. Blaine is putting finishing touches on plates, someone is warming plates at the threshold of the flaming oven, and several others are running around at high speed, perhaps just for choreographic expression. There is a LOT going on!
All YOU need to know is that, yes, each morsel is a work of art, the flavors a revelation. And of course we took a couple of bottles with us that worked very well indeed; the Turley White Coat blend of Marsanne, Viognier, and Rousanne carried loads of intense tropical fruit/honeysuckle aromas, golden delicious apples, and a hint of nuts, with a full-bodied and viscous texture, and paired beautifully with the buttery aioli (“to die for!) on wild veggies and flowers served on heartbreakingly fragile and delicious bits of something bready-toasty, and with little bits of slightly smoked salmon (still smoking in a little cedar box!), prawns, razor clams, AND oysters–all separately presented, of course, like the distinct works of art they were.
Somewhere in the parade we slid into the beautiful Winderlea pinot noir we brought back from Oregon last week, and it was so delicious I might have imagined how well it went with the halibut dish or the amazing horseradish ice shavings, even the dessert. Bottom line?…the meal was a work of art from start to finish, and I was very pleased with the wines we brought. It is of course ideal when the wine you take to a meal is perfect; but with a complex, multi-course pageant such as Blaine presents, no one wine is going to cover all the bases, and it is a lucky thing if you can catch at least some of the pairings well. And I think we did! Make your reservations now, folks, cuz the prices are still really low for what you get, and that can’t last!
#2. The next thing you need to know is that beginning May 22, we will be collaborating with our new Best Friend (see recent posts) Ryan Wildstar, who will present a series of four wine-tasting classes every other week beginning Sunday afternoon, May 22, from 2-4. The first workshop will be:
Introduction to Wine: The Five S’s of Wine Tasting
Sunday, May 22nd, 2-4pm $20
We will discuss the principles of wine history and culture with a focus on the basic principles of wine tasting and analysis. An introduction to wine terminology, wine-pairing, and how to buy great inexpensive wine based on reading the label and knowing the region. Enjoyed with: 1 Sparkling Wine, 2 White Wines, 3 Red Wines. Paired with Artisan Cheeses and Charcuterie.
#3. Finally, we have a new show for your viewing pleasure until Memorial Day weekend. Our friend and neighbor Mary Beth Watkins has traveled to France numerous times in the last several years, visiting lots of towns and villages and tasting lots of regional cuisine and wines. She has also taken a lot of really interesting photos. Her show includes photos of many of the magnificent doors one sees in French (and Italian) villages. These are not just portals in and out of your house or apartment; they are aesthetic statements of their own, each one unique. Don’t miss it!
oo-ooga oo-ooga, clear the bridge, all hands brace for Dive…
Well, that was close but we made it!
Yep, a great glass of wine is the perfect accompaniment to a Narrow Escape…whew!
This week’s wines:
Lost River Pinot Gris ’09 Washington $13
Another charmer from our friends in Winthrop…Enticing aromas of citrus, pear and tropical fruits with a bit of residual sugar balanced by crisp acidity.
Four Graces WV pinot noir ’08 Oregon $22
Reminiscent of blackberries, luscious damson, warm red roses, and wild mushrooms, the 2008 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is vibrant and delicious in its youth yet has the soft, focused tannins to suggest ageing with grace.
Tarima monastrell 09 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.
Pend d’Oreille Bistro Rouge 07 Washington $13
Very aromatic blackberries and a chocolate note on the nose. Blackberry, blackcurrant, and blueberry flavors fill the palate and continue through a longish dry finish that includes modest oak and a cinnamon highlight.
2072 Granger Way
