lummi island wine tasting june 4 ’21
Bread This Week
Island Bakery has developed a lengthy rotation cycle of several dozen breads and pastries. Each Sunday Janice emails the week’s bread offering to her mailing list. Orders received before Wednesday will be available for pickup at the wine shop each Friday from 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Go to Contact us to get on the bread email list.
Seeded Multi Grain Levain – Made with a sourdough culture and using a flavorful mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A nice mixture of flax, sesame sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some oatmeal adds great flavor and crunch. And just a little honey for some sweetness. A great all around bread that is full of flavor – $5/loaf
Sesame Semolina – Uses a sponge that preferments some of the flour, water & yeast before mixing the final dough. Made with semolina and bread flour as well as a soaker of cornmeal, millet and sesame seeds, and olive oil to round out the flavor and tenderize the crumb. Rolled in more sesame seeds before baking for lots of great flavor! – $5/loaf…
and pastry this week…
Brioche Suisse- A rich brioche dough made with plenty of butter, eggs and sugar, rolled out and spread with pastry cream before sprinkling with dark chocolate. The dough is folded over all that delicious filling and cut into individual pieces. 2/$5
Artist Opening Reception Saturday 4-6 pm
Although we installed Anne Gibert’s latest paintings a few weeks ago, we are just now inviting you to meet the artist and take some time to view the show this Saturday, June 5. You can chat with Anne, enjoy our weekly wine tasting, and maybe even find a painting you would like to take home!
We have posted other photos in recent weeks; here are two more!
Wine of the Week: Shatter Grenache Côtes Catalanes ’17 France $19
The wine is made from grenache grown in vineyards located near Maury in the Roussillon region of Southwest France by California winemaker Joel Gott.
As it turns out, we were lost for a bit in this very area about ten years ago. We were staying in Lagrasse, at the northern edge of the Corbieres wine region, and drove south through the rugged landscape where centuries ago the heretic Cathars fortified themselves in remote mountain fortresses to practice their particular form of Catholicism. It’s a long, sad, and brutal story.
As we moved into Roussillon, we found ourselves on a narrow dirt road winding through farmland when the road took a sudden dip onto a Very Narrow one-lane “bridge,” close to the water and with no guard rails, and from our vantage point no clear sense of where it went after that.
Eventually we got up the nerve to cross it, and within a half mile came to a major highway along the boundary between Corbieres and Roussillon very close to Maury.
The area is known for its nutrient-poor schist soil which forces vines to grow deep to find nutrients, evoking concentrated flavors. The name Shatter and the bottle photo are an homage to the shattered schist soil.
Economics of the Heart: Attack of the Zombie Republicans
It has been a major source of cognitive dissonance over the past few months to try to sort out how worried we should be that Republican Zombies are now outnumbering actual human beings, and therefore posing an Existential Threat to Life As We Know It.
We hear lots of news stories quoting statistics like 75% of Republicans believe the Tweetster actually won the 2020 election. And we think to ourselves, “How can that possibly be…?!” Who are these people? And more importantly, what proportion of the electorate are they? And most important: How Worried should we be??
It turns out that it is not easy to tweak out the essential facts here. In order to gauge how Afraid we should be, we would like to know:
- % of R’s in voting population,
- % of Trump R’s in that overall R base, so we can estimate
- % of Trump R’s in overall population.
Last month a Gallup Poll found that voters self-identified into three roughly equal groups: Republicans 29%, Democrats 33%, Independents 35%. And a 538 poll in April had independents at 40%.
However, Independents habitually lean strongly D or R but are uncomfortable associating themselves with all elements of their habitual party. As a result, they generally continue to vote the same party while also disengaging from political discourse, which then suffers for want of moderating viewpoints.
And this leaves us with the disturbing yet likely possibility that the Silencing of an active Independent voice in recent years, for whatever reason, has contributed to the increasing dysfunction of our political discourse that has fostered the new and explicit rise of Authoritarianism from the ruins of the Dead-since-Gingrich Republican party.
Until we get this sorted out, best lock your doors before you go to bed…
This week’s $5 wine tasting
La Vielle Ferme Rosé ’20 France $10
Classic and tasty blend of grenache, syrah, and cinsault from northern Provence; fruity, dry, crisp, delicious, and smooth, and at a bargain price!
Maryhill Winemaker’s Red ’16 Washington $13 Ripe black fruit notes and a hint of fresh flowers are well backed by leather and cedar wood. Maple bar and black fruit of currant and blackberry appear on entry, with a mid-palate of rich tannins and a smooth finish.
Shatter Grenache Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes ’17 France $19
From Old Vines in Roussillon’s black schist soil; nose of dark fruit with a hint of espresso; velvety texture with black currant, spice and cured meat flavors with a touch of coffee; firm structure, supple tannins, excellent acidity and overall balance.
lummi island wine tasting may 21 ’21
Pickup of weekly bread pre-orders from Island Bakery continues on Fridays from 4-5:30 outside the wine shop, including NEXT Friday, May 27…but please note there will be NO Wine Tasting either Friday or Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend.
Barley, Whole Wheat, & Rye Levain – a really nice mule-grain artisan bread made with a sourdough culture built over several days. Made with bread flour and freshly milled whole wheat, barley and rye flours. A hearty whole grain bread that is a great all around bread – $5/loaf
Sweet Corn & Dried Cranberry – Made with polenta and bread flour, then enriched with milk, butter and honey for a soft and tender crumb and loaded up with dried cranberries. Has great corn flavor but is not a traditional quick cornbread. A delicious bread that makes great toast – $5/loaf.
and pastry this week…
Brioche Almond Buns – Made with a delicious brioche dough full of eggs, butter and sugar. Rolled out and spread with an almond cream filling. The almond cream is not made from pre-made almond paste, but rather is a delicious creamy filling made with lots more butter, sugar and eggs as well as almond flour. Yum, yum – 2/$5
Last weekend we opened our first art show in well over a year. Our dear friend, neighbor, and indefatigable artist Anne Gibert has maintained great discipline throughout this strange period, completing more new paintings than we have room to show.
These are some wonderful works that will be up for some time so you can all get a chance to come by and visit them…there are many scenes that Islanders will recognize…! Compare, for example, the landscape on the far left in the photo below with this photo that appeared in last week’s blog.
Wine of the Week: Argento Malbec ’20 Argentina $11
We were just introduced to yet another Mendoza malbec that we find intriguing. Since 2012 all vineyards have been farmed organically and sustainably with the goal of preserving in each bottle the the natural characteristics of the region’s dry climate, alluvial soils, mountain waters, altitude, and sun brightness. As shown in the photo below, the Andes powerfully fill the western horizon.Argento Malbec ’20 Argentina $11
This organically grown Malbec is deep purple, with powerful aromas of red berries and floral notes. Flavors of plum and sweet blackberry. Finishes with ripe, balanced tannins.
The Economics of the Heart: The Habit of War
Over the past two weeks Israel has once again been unleashing its military might against the long-suffering nation of Palestine. Since the invasion and takeover of Palestine in the late 1940’s, sanctioned by Britain and the League of Nations after WWII, Israel has thrived economically and internationally, while the former citizens of Palestine have been systematically and relentlessly crammed into ever smaller and more dire economic dead ends.
We and a lot of our wine club members, born about the same time as the modern State of Israel, have been witnessing the ongoing regional strife there for our entire lives. We have seen attempt after attempt at peace fail. We humans seem to believe that Our tribe is the deserving heir to certain historical property entitlements that were somehow “stolen unfairly” from us by other groups, or “won fairly” from others by Our group. The default organizational principle for most of human history has been to treat ethics a matter of political luxury, and competition for limited resources a matter of life and death.
There is an old story about the seasoned samurai who encounters the spiritual Master on the road and asks him to be his teacher. When the Master asks him what he wants to learn, the warrior says he wants to learn about Heaven and Hell.
The Master laughs, and says with a dismissive gesture, “Oh, I could never teach something so complex to an idiot like you.” Angered, the warrior draws his sword as if to cut off the Master’s head. The Master interrupts with, “Welcome to Hell.” The warrior, taken aback, replaces his sword in its sheath. “Welcome to Heaven,” said the Master.
The Middle East– the whole World, really- has been in dispute for millennia. Every participant in the conflict has some historic rationale for why their side is historically entitled to dominion over particular pieces of geography and their resources. As climate change advances, our collective ability to cooperate around the distribution and health of rainfall, temperature, fresh water quantity and quality, and wildlife sustainability might hold the key to the survival of our species.
This week’s $5 wine tasting
Seven Hills Dry Rose ’19 Washington $15
Delicate and refreshing, pale in color, and bone-dry. Primarily Cab Franc with a small amount of Petit Verdot for additional structure and Malbec for expressive fruitfulnes; exhibits flavors of guava, grapefruit and papaya along with fresh herbs and a hint of spice.
Argento Malbec ’20 Argentina $11
This organically grown Malbec is deep purple, with powerful aromas of red berries and floral notes. Flavors of plum and sweet blackberry. Finishes with ripe, balanced tannins.
Savage Grace Cab Franc ’17 Washington $22
Fermented 20% whole cluster and aged four months in neutral oak; the aromas are pure, bright and fruit filled, with notes of raspberry, ash, cherry and flower; light, elegant, smoky finish.
lummi island wine tasting may 13 ’21
Pickup of bread pre-orders continues on Fridays from 4-5:30 outside the wine shop.
Four Seed Buttermilk – Adds cracked wheat and bran to the bread flour instead of milling whole wheat berries. It also has buttermilk and oil which will make for a tender bread as well as add a little tang. Finally it is finished with with a bit of honey and sunflower pumpkin and sesame seeds and some toasted millet – $5/loaf
Fig Anise – Made with a sponge fermented overnight, then the final dough is mixed with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Honey, dried figs and anise bring in all the flavors of the Mediterranean. A great flavorful bread – $5/loaf
and this week’s pastry…
Chocolate Croissants – a traditional laminated french pastry made with both a bit of sourdough and another pre-ferment to help strengthen the dough and create a traditional honeycomb interior. Rolled out and shaped with delicious dark chocolate in the center. – 2/$5
It has been a spectacular week for light on the island, the kind of light, we imagine, that drew the Impressionist painters to Provence. The last example we noted of this phenomenon here in the blog was the occasion of our friend Thurid’s 80th birthday party a few years ago at the Curry Preserve, where we made traditional and delightful May wine in a punch bowl with Riesling, Prosecco, and handfuls of Sweet Woodruff. The Spring light was beautiful then as well and the photos looked all the world like those amazing Impressionist paintings. Check them out here and here.
<div This weekend we are opening our first art show in well over a year. Our dear friend, neighbor, and indefatigable artist Anne Gibert has maintained great discipline throughout this strange period, completing more new paintings than we have room to show. They will be up for some time so you all can get a chance to come by and visit them! Here are a few pictures…they are much more captivating in person!
Our current open hours are from 4-6pm on Fridays and Saturdays, still with a few waning restrictions based on vaccination status:
ONLY those who have completed their Covid shot sequence are welcome Upstairs, while All are welcome downstairs on the deck. Through June we will encourage prudent social distancing and quiet conversation, mindfully refraining from yelling, coughing, cackling, hooting, spitting, gargling, cheering, or singing in proximity to people outside one’s own “pod.” You know, the kinds of things people might do after a bit of wine and having been cooped up alone for a year. 🙂
While it IS a huge and welcome relief to be able to visit face to face again (and maybe to cop a few hugs!), for the time being we prefer that our guests avoid crowding around the bar as in pre-Covid, and to spread out into the shop in smaller groups of three or four.
Wine of the Week: Bodega Garzon Tannat Reserve ’18 Uruguay $15
Tannat originated in the Southwest of France near Madiran in Gascony close to the Pyrénées where it has thrived for centuries. It has been known for its muscular tannins and was often blended with Bordeaux varietals cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. It was planted in Uruguay by Basque settlers in the nineteenth century, and has evolved into the dominant red wine of the country.
The Uruguayan evolution of the grape has developed wines characterized by soft and elegant and tannins and complex blackberry fruit notes. It has also developed several new clones which as a group have brought more ripeness, but higher alcohol and lower acidity and fruitiness. There is ongoing development of the wine’s potential by blending it with cab sauv, merlot, or cab franc. At present it offers a unique array of flavor and textural characteristics unlike any other varietal.
Bodega Garzon Tannat Reserve ’18 Uruguay $15
Opaque deep, dark red; opens with an enticing, delicious aroma of very ripe, dark fruit and berries stewed in their own liqueur, with a melange of spice, wood. The palate is steeped with vermouth-like spice, herb, and licorice notes that are seamlessly balanced and integrated with the robust tannins of this rustic grape.
The Economics of the Heart– The New Political Polarities
Most of Our People here at the wine shop have one foot planted in Middle Age and the other looking for a toehold on the rocky path into Old Age. As children of the Fifties, we have lived through many Illusions of America and its political parties. We have sixty or seventy years’ experience with the many media faces of the Two Parties.
Politics wasn’t an issue for most of us until the late sixties, when the cognitive dissonance of the Vietnam War forced us to face the possibility that we Were Not the Good Guys anymore. What was our objective? What were our guiding values? For many of us it was a difficult time. The good guys and the bad guys were not so easy to tell apart.
As we fast-forward fifty years to the Chaos of Today, it is hard to find consistent philosophical markers of either the Right or Left. Rather, what we have seen in the past decade in general, and the last four years in particular, is a disintegration of the entire philosophy of political partisanship.
We have mentioned many times the observation of economist Joan Robinson that every society/economy needs
“a set of values, a set of rules, and a will in the people to carry them out.” What we have learned over the last ten years in general, and in the last five years in particular, is that the Real World is much more cruel than that. The combination of the Ubiquitous Internet and the astonishing concentration of wealth and power into a very few Hands has exposed a more stark set of political divisions.
There are no more “Democrats” or “Republicans.” It is probably more precise to say there are people who believe in and work toward a common good and those who believe only in private power. The 2020 election and subsequent Capitol rioting have exposed a Republican Party without a shred of ethical constraint or moral principle. They would more aptly be named the “Authoritarian Party.”
This week’s $5 wine tasting
Bodega Garzon Albarino ’19 Uruguay $15
Pale yellow with greenish reflections, this Albariño is intense in the nose, with peach and citrus notes. The freshness and minerality mid-palate is superb, with remarkable acidity and a round, crisp finish.
Bodega Garzon Tannat Reserve ’18 Uruguay $15
Opaque deep, dark red; opens with an enticing, delicious aroma of very ripe, dark fruit and berries stewed in their own liqueur, with a melange of spice and fruit. The palate is steeped with vermouth-like spice, herb, and licorice notes that are seamlessly balanced and integrated with the robust tannins of this rustic grape.
Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet ’17 California $19
Huge, rich, and opulent, with complex flavors of chocolate, coffee, blackberries, cassis, mint, and velvety tannins. New French oak adds notes of vanilla and toast; concentrated, rich, and smooth on the palate.
lummi island wine tasting may 7-8 ’21
Pickup of bread pre-orders continues on Fridays from 4-5:30 outside the shop.
Poolish Ale – the preferment here is a poolish, made with bread flour, a bit of yeast and a nice ale beer for the liquid and fermented overnight; a great all around bread with a nice crisp crust – $5/loaf
Buckwheat Walnut & Honey – Also made with a poolish, buckwheat and bread flour. Buckwheat is actually a seed (not a grain and therefore has no gluten) that adds an earthy flavor that in this bread is balanced with a little honey. Some toasted walnuts add a nice crunch and just a touch of honey for a little sweetness; goes well with meats and cheeses – $5/loaf
and this week’s pastry… 🙂
Raisin Brioche- A delicious brioche dough full of eggs, butter and sugar, and filled with golden raisins soaked overnight in rum, chunks of almond paste and topped with a chocolate glaze before baking. Ooh la la, what’s not to like? – $5/loaf
It’s Official! Now Open Fridays and Saturdays 4-6 pm!
Our dear little wine shop is now officially Open from 4-6pm on Fridays and Saturdays, albeit with a few restrictions based on vaccination status.
ONLY those who have completed their Covid shot sequence are welcome Upstairs, while All are welcome downstairs on the deck. Through June we will encourage prudent social distancing and quiet conversation, mindfully refraining from yelling, coughing, cackling, hooting, spitting, cheering, or singing in proximity to people outside one’s own “pod.” You know, the kinds of things people might do after a bit of wine and having been cooped up alone for the past year.
While it IS a huge and welcome relief to be able to visit face to face again (and maybe to cop a few hugs!), for the time being we prefer that our guests avoid crowding around the bar as in pre-Covid, and to spread out into the shop in smaller groups of three or four. Welcome Back!!
Wine of the Week: Edi Simcic Duet ’16
It has now been over a year since we have been able to order our usual semiannual wine order from Small Vineyards, the Seattle wine importer from whom we have bought a substantial portion of our Italian wines. They are consistently both good and modestly priced for the quality they deliver, which are exactly the criteria we use to select all the wines we offer. We are now down to our last wine from SV, and are including it in our tasting this weekend.
It differs from most of the SV wines in that it is definitely more expensive than most of their other offerings. The winemaker is Edi Simcic, whose vineyards and winery are in Slovenia near the Italian border between the Alps and the Aegean. Both the father and son winemakers and their wines are highly regarded for the quality of the fruit and the craftsmanship of the wines.
Here is a very seductive YouTube video of the wine estate. You should also know that a lot of people who know a lot more about wine than we do are big fans of these wines. Check it out this weekend, and see what you think! See tasting notes below…
The Economics of the Heart– Everybody Loses in Proxy Wars
Tonight’s exploration was inspired by a recent PBS News video essay by persistent special correspondent Jane Ferguson, who has been interviewing ordinary people in ravaged and war-torn hell-holes in the Middle East for several years on PBS. This report was a couple of days ago, and centered around the truly desperate situation in Yemen.
Ferguson shows us the ongoing Devastation of an entire society, where some 90% of the population are reliant on food supplied by NGO’s just to stay barely alive. There are relentless bombings of buildings and infrastructure, ongoing malnutrition, and limited access to potable water, food, shelter, and medicine. Not even the most basic survival needs are being met, and it is heartbreaking to see children reduced to skin and bones, barely able to breathe for lack of food and water, the most basic of needs. Millions are so malnourished that many die, and even the survivors will never reach the potential they were born with. What infrastructure there was is constantly being bombed out of existence by Saudi Bombs and Hoofi rockets.
What the World is experiencing, and millions of people are suffering, is the fallout of the latest in the long series of Proxy Wars around the Globe in which large, industrialized countries have found it expedient to confront their political and economic adversaries indirectly. They do not risk their own civilian populations or industrial bases, and they do not openly declare their involvement. Rather, each nation supports the local players which best align with its own broad interests.
To see what is happening in Yemen is to see the unraveling of hope for a global humanity. Maybe this is what WWIII looks like; no one sure if they are on offense or defense, the good guys or the bad guys. But we should all be able to agree that starving millions of children is Way over the Line, and we should make it clear to our Leaders that stopping it is a First Priority. If we can’t get that right, it’s all downhill from here.
This week’s $5 wine tasting
Maryhill Viognier ’16 Washington $14
Vibrant aromas of orange zest, honeysuckle, and pink grapefruit; flavors of lemon, pear, and white peach. The mouthfeel is delicate, yet full-bodied, withnotes of fresh flowers.
Amalaya Malbec ’18 Argentina $15
Richly colored, juicy and aromatic, with supple, caressing tannins, herbal black fruit aromas with notes of earthy spice and cured meat and flavors of blackberry, dark plum, herbs and spices.
Edi Simcic Duet ’16 Slovenia $27
Merlot, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc; bold and compelling, with notes of chocolate, cherries, cheesecake, and coffee on silky tannins and a lush, ripe, fruit-full body that goes on and on.
2072 Granger Way
