lummi island wine tasting june 5 ’20
click on photos for larger images
Bread, Social Distance, and Wine Tasting
As mentioned last week, Janice continues to send the week’s Bread Menu to her mailing list each Sunday, and accepts orders till Wednesday for Friday pickup. Btw, our Archives tell us that we are (OMD!) just now beginning our Sixth Year of the Friday afternoon Bread pickup and Wine Tasting tradition!
Though the wine shop remains closed for tastings due to COVID, Friday bread pickups have morphed into an impromptu Covid Isolation Therapy Tailgate party at the Ferry Parking Lot beginning around 4pm. Many set up folding chairs, bring wine and glasses, and share company and conversation (with appropriate physical distancing, of course!)…not the same experience as in the wine shop, but an entirely pleasant relief from the ongoing lack of social contact.
This week marks our Third Tailgate Mini-tasting in the Parking Lot (three wines). We have all been missing the conversations and camaraderie of our customary weekend gatherings at the wine shop, and the Parking Lot Scene definitely provides some much-needed Social Nourishment. Hope to see you there!
How to Make an Online Wine Order
We are continuing to take individual wine orders online or by phone for pickup at the wine shop. Click on the “Order Wine” heading at the top of this page for a partial list of our current offerings. When you have made your selections there are two ways to order:
- Click “Contact Us”on the website header bar at the top of this page, enter the names and quantities of each wine you would like to order, and click “Submit,” or…
- Phone us your order at the number next to our logo, above.
It’s that Simple!
Boekenhoutskloof
Over the past several weeks we have been introduced to several very pleasant and surprisingly inexpensive wines from South Africa. Earlier this year we discovered a lovely merlot from Indaba which many of you have come back for several times. Over the last few weeks we have poured two delicious chenin blancs (Terre Brulee and MAN), and a couple of pinotage blends (MAN, Kanankopf), all selling for $11-$15.
This weekend we are offering yet another in this series, this time a red blend called The Wolftrap from Boekenhoutskloof winery on the Western Cape. The area specializes in syrah, and this is a blend with mourvedre and a bit of viognier. (see tasting notes below)
Mar a Lago Update: Opening Salvos in the War for an American Soul
Last week we explored how the Nazis seized the opportunity presented by the 1932 Reichstag Fire (or started it themselves…) to create an Exploitable Hysteria among the public that the nation was being attacked from without and that only the Muscle of the Nazis could save them. Hitler took control of all national media for the entire next decade and used it to distribute carefully designed Propaganda (i.e., “Fake News”) to convince the people of Germany that the nation was facing an Existential Crisis brought on by foreigners, Jews, Gypsies, and other non-Aryans. Within a few months the Nazis had taken Complete Power. Hitler declared a National Emergency and took away most individual rights in the name of National Defense; violators were sent to Concentration Camps. Most scary to note for us today…those rights were not returned until after Hitler was defeated in 1945.
Fast forward to this week, when a Mindless policeman and his cronies in Minneapolis (OMG…Really? Minneapolis??) has ignited our very own Reichstag Fire and thrown the entire nation — and much of the World– into Chaos with his self-absorbed Slo-Mo Murder of George Floyd, caught on video to the Horror of the Entire World. His Nine Minutes of Thoughtlessness may have changed the world forever by igniting a Civil War in America that has been building for several decades.
In the past week we have seen a battle of Two Narratives on the Meaning of Mr. Floyd’s senseless and heartbreaking death. Speaking for he Right, the Tweetster has called for Mayors and Governors to deploy Overwhelming Force to Suppress Demonstrators. Somewhat to the Left we have military leaders like Admiral Mike Mullen and General James Mattis taking strong stands against the involvement of the military in civil issues, and we strongly support that point of view.
Here at the Wine Gallery we may be even further Left. If we think of movies as metaphors, one major impact of fifties films like The Blob is that lethal enemies might have no Shape, no declared allegiance, and no Uniform to warn you not to trust them. So we have to rely on our own insight, values, and perspective to know what is right.
Most of us who were born in the 40’s were taught a noble view of our country. America stands for Right vs. Might, Truth vs. Lies, Honor vs. Deception. Every human being is Worthy and Equal. In my own case, my years as a midshipman deliberately trained me to believe in truth, honor, loyalty, responsibility, and service. So when General Mattis and Admiral Mullen chastise our so-called President for failing to reach beyond his Ego for once and grasp the enormous responsibility of his Example and Responsibility, I feel a sense of relief that they have spoken out, and that so many national leaders are calling for justice and restraint.
These are Scary Times. Recent events are only the latest salvos in the 20 year-old Republican agenda is to make America a dumbed-down, one-party country, take over all branches of state and federal government, repeal the Bill of Rights one phrase at a time, make the President a Unitary Dictator, and turn this country into a Christian-Fascist Feudal State divided into Competing Corporate Fiefdoms. Or to put it another way, Republicans are Orcs, and Democrats are Hobbits, and we all know which side we are on!
This Week’s Friday Tailgate Tasting
Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes ’17 Argentina $11
Highly perfumed aromas of lemon drop, grapefruit, white flowers, peppermint and white pepper. Supple, pliant and easygoing, with citrus, herbal and floral flavors joined by a hint of licorice.
The Wolftrap Red Blend Western Cape ’18 South Africa $11
Syrah, mourvedre, viognier; notes of black spice, dusty red plum and blackberry fruits in the glass with a soft smoky, floral essence. Medium-bodied, with flavors of dark cherries, plum and subtle red and black spices show up on the mid-palate and lead to an easy finish.
Bonanza Cabernet Sauvignon California $21
Medium ruby red; opens with scents of currants and dried roses, grape pomace and fresh tilled soil. The nose is nuanced with toasty oak imparting a subtle smoked meat character. Flavors of blueberries and blackberries mix with the warmth of vanilla and toasted bread. Silky tannins and striking smoothness. Mouthwatering, lengthy finish trails off with the taste of unsweetened chocolate and cassis.
lummi island wine tasting may 29 ’20
click on photos for larger images
Bread, Wine, and Socially Distant Wine Tasting
As mentioned last week, Friday Bread pickups have morphed into an impromptu Covid Aversion Therapy Tailgate party at the Ferry Parking Lot beginning around 4pm. Many set up folding chairs, wine, and glasses to share company and conversation (with appropriate Spacing!). Last week we opened Our Own tailgate for a mini-tasting (3 wines), and now declare the experiment a Success! We have missed the conversations and camaraderie of our customary weekend gatherings at the wine shop, and the Parking Lot Scene definitely provides some much-needed Social Nourishment!
Our current plan is to continue our Tailgate Tastings. See this week’s tasting notes below; we look forward to seeing you this weekend!
How to Make an Online Wine Order
We are continuing to take individual wine orders online or by phone for pickup at the wine shop. Click on the “Order Wine” heading at the top of this page for a partial list of our current offerings. When you have made your selections there are two ways to order:
- Click “Contact Us”on the website header bar at the top of this page, enter the names and quantities of each wine you would like to order, and click “Submit,” or…
- Phone us your order at the number next to our logo, above.
It’s that Simple!
MAN Vinters, South Africa
Some of us (who will remain unnamed) have a taste for wines with a certain “rustic” quality, the kind of wine you would drink with a game stew cooked over a fire pit in an old cabin in the wilderness. There might be elements of “barnyard, with notes of damp earth and vegetation, or garrigue, which includes a wide range of aromatic herbs (rosemary, thyme, tarrogon, basil, and more) that appear on both the nose and the palate.
Pinotage, perhaps the dominant red grape in much of South Africa, often displays many of these qualities. The varietal was created in 1925 by Izan Perold, crossing seeds from Hermitage in France with pinot noir, and planting them in his yard where they were forgotten. Years later they were discovered, and cuttings grafted onto various rootstocks eventually created today’s pinotage, which became the backbone of South African red wine production.
MAN winery is a partnership formed in 2001 among three young couples in South Africa. The name MAN is an acronym of the wives’ initials (perhaps a lobbying point to gain their support?) for the venture. Who knows? All we can say is that we were impressed enough with their pinotage, which we first tasted a couple of years ago, to be curious about their chenin blanc.
We are offering both wines as part of this week’s Tailgate tasting (see notes below) from 4 – 5:30pm Friday. Come by and taste!
Mar a Lago Update: Fox News is the New Joseph Goebbels
In 1932 the Nazis leveraged the Reichstag Fire into a populist victory that swept them into power a few months later. One of Hitler’s first actions was to create a Ministry of Propaganda with Joseph Goebbels as its Director. Goebbels preferred it to be called the “Ministry of Culture and Public Enlightenment,” but Hitler insisted. While there were numerous propaganda offices in the Reich, Goebbels controlled the content newspapers, films, radio, and theater with detailed restrictions on content. Violators could be sent to concentration camps. Propaganda became the hallmark of the Soviet, Nazi, and Fascist regimes that spread across the world and ignited WWII, and which today remains a central strategy for dictators both petty and grand.
Over the past few weeks we have been reading On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by historian Timothy Snyder (watch interview). This little book is recommended reading for all citizens; using examples from WWII, it is a carefully crafted Wake-Up call to the Existential Threat our country faces from the Right from a movement that started decades ago and gained enormous traction after the 9/11 terrorist bombings on US soil.
There were countless ways our nation could have responded to 9/11 that would not have committed us to endless war in the Middle East. But Neocons in the Bush Administration, including Wolfowitz, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others, had all been members of the Project for a New American Century, formed in in the late 90’s, when they had asserted to then-President Clinton that “the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime from power” should be a top goal for the United States, and also that their goals would have to be accomplished slowly, unless “some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor,” should occur. You know, like their very own Reichstag Fire. We all remember how quickly and irrationally the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were conceived and executed. And how they turned out. It was their Reichstag moment, and they seized it.
In the last thirty years we have seen the Republican Party withdraw almost completely from its Constitutional responsibilities in favor of its own agenda. That agenda has seen the refusal even to consider Democratic appointees or legislation under Obama, the undermining of the Constitution by failing to hold the Tweetster Administration accountable for its lies, failures, excesses, and crimes, and at the state level, the vast disenfranchisement of likely Democratic voters through unconscionable gerrymandering and voter suppression.
There is clear evidence that the new agenda for the Republican Party is, like the Nazis before them, to turn our country into a one-party Authoritarian State. Wrapped in the Flag and carrying a Cross, lauded 24/7 by Propaganda Media, it has already succeeded in altering the perception of Reality for nearly half the population of the country. The Dept of Justice is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Empire. Arguably there has not been a fair Federal election in this country for nearly thirty years. Democracy is being dismantled before our eyes. There is a lot of work to do!
This Week’s Friday Tailgate Tasting
MAN Vintners Chenin Blanc ’19 South Africa $11
Uses only the free-run juice (no pressing of the grapes) to preserve a clean and natural character, refreshing acidity, and delicious ripe fruit flavors, with vibrant aromas of quince, pear and pineapple. On the palate, fresh stonefruit and apple flavors are backed by refreshing acidity, minerality and a pleasing, rounded mouthfeel. A versatile food wine that will pair well with poultry, shellfish and vegetable dishes.
La Vielle Ferme Rosé ’19 France $10
Classic and tasty blend of grenache, syrah, and cinsault from Ventoux; fruity, dry, crisp, delicious, smooth, at a bargain price.
MAN Vintners Pinotage ’18 South Africa $11
Pleasing aromas of mocha and dark coffee beans, accented by red berries, nutmeg, and vanilla spice, pairing well with spicy or gamy dishes. Dark berries, plum and a smoke on the nose. Rustic yet silky and juicy, with wild cherry flavors, smooth tannins and well-controlled acidity with good intensity to the plum and mocha flavors.
lummi island wine tasting may 22 ’20
click on photos for larger images
Bread Friday and Wine Tasting Experiment
As most of you on the Bread List now know, in the interest of Social Distancing, our Famous Wine Tastings have been temporarily shut down because fairly often there isn’t enough Room for social distancing. Back of the envelope calculations suggest that if everyone is supposed to maintain 6′ radius of separation, each person would require 36 sq ft of space. Since our space is an oddly distributed 400 sq. ft., we could only have about 12 people at a time, including one on the stairs and one in the bathroom. Not to mention the tendencies to cluster around the bar in mouth-to-ear proximity just to hear what someone is saying. Let’s just say that “social distance” during our wine tastings would be, um, challenging.
However, bread pickup has become something of an impromptu Covid Aversion Therapy Tailgate party at the Ferry Parking Lot as many of you bring folding chairs, wine, and glasses and share company and conversation (you know, as we have done for years in the Wine Shop!). So this week we will try an experimental mini-tasting of a couple of wines you might enjoy.
So, depending on your Social Distancing choices, you might want to just drive in, pick up your bread, and drive out, or make camp, set up, and Visit-at-a-Distance!
Now Accepting Online Wine Orders
We are continuing to take individual wine orders online or by phone for pickup at the wine shop. Click on the “Order Wine” heading at the top of this page for a partial list of our current offerings. When you have made your selections there are two ways to order:
- Click “Contact Us”on the website header bar at the top of this page, enter the names and quantities of each wine you would like to order, and click “Submit,” or…
- Phone us your order at the number next to our logo, above.
It’s that Simple!
Wine Notes
The wine list mentioned above has a number of new wines we have never poured for you. So each week we will add notes on a couple of them and keep something open to taste when you drop by to pick up an order. Last week we discussed the Pascual Toso Estate Malbec from Argentina, with a few notes on the winery’s 140-year history:
Toso Malbec ’17 Argentina $14
Red ripe berries and plum notes. Smooth and delicious; focused, clean notes of blackberry, plum, dark ripe cherries, and with a plush, elegant mouthfeel with smooth oak, easy tannins.
Pascual Toso is named for its founder, who emigrated from Italy to Argentina in 1880 (OMD, that’s 140 years ago!). Sr. Toso settled in Mendoza. With a family history in winemaking he became intrigued by the exceptional quality of the vineyards in the region, and opened his first winery in San Jose in 1890. In subsequent years he (among others!) discovered the exceptional terroir of the Maipu Valley, bought land and developed vineyards. Today, like many old-time wineries, Toso was bought and owned by the J Llorente and Associates corporation at some point. Today, after 125 years, the winery is exploring the planting and vinification of Bordeaux varietals cabernet sauvignon and cab franc which do very well in Mendoza. This is not surprising given the astonishing success of Argentine malbec worldwide in the last twenty years.
Three months ago (OMD has it really been THAT long?!), we poured the Toso Reserve Malbec from the same vintage, with these notes:
Toso Reserve Malbec ’17 Argentina $21
Elegant and balanced with food concentration and ripeness; focused, clean notes of blackberry, plum, and ripe, dark cherries; a plush, elegant mouthfeel, easy tannins, and lingering notes of leather and Spring soil.
We quickly sold out of the Toso Reserve and just today brought in another case, affording the opportunity to taste them side by side! Typically one expects the “Reserve” version of a wine to come from older vines and better soil, with more time in barrel. Does it make a difference? You be the judge!
Mar a Lago Update: Twitter As An Offensive Weapon
There is a reason we refer to the Fake President as “the Tweetster.” From Day One of his campaign he has bombarded the platform with offhand commentary, sometimes posting hundreds of Tweets in a single day, thus perpetuating a constant turmoil of network Punditry. It has proved a remarkably effective way to keep the news cycle distracted and speculating on their Meaning.
Most of the World has understood for years that the tweets are aimed solely at stimulating outrage and confusion. Metaphorically they are a kind of ECM – Electronic Counter Measures – which have long been a part of military tactical strategies. The classic example of ECM is for an aircraft which senses it is under surveillance to release tin-foil chaff into the air around it, creating a cloud of conflicting signals that distract and mislead radar tracking. Thus the Tweets: 1) keep public attention riveted on him, which he covets; 2) maintain cover for his ongoing dismantling of our Constitution and the Democracy it has guarded for a quarter-century, and 3) give him control of the group of people that Lincoln realized “could be fooled All of the Time.
We have been recently musing on the singular effectiveness of the Tweetster’s fallback strategy of Relentless Distraction not only at keeping the Public Spotlight on what he says and away from what he has done or not done, but also at neutralizing the impact of public discourse with Constant Lies (see WAPO numbers below) about Reality itself. This is the kind of vaudeville stage magician who is conning us even when we think he is going to explain his last trick from an endless Hall of Mirrors.
The emerging Reality is that we are now many years into a War to Defend Truth against a Master of Illusion and Deception. Every day it becomes increasingly clear that that this is a man devoid of humor, intellect, responsibility, perspective, respect, or honor.
lummi island wine tasting may 15 ’20
click on photos for larger images
Bread Friday, Covid Rules
While Social Distancing remains in place to limit the spread of Covid-19, those of you on the Friday Bread mailing list will continue to receive a Sunday email from Janice with the week’s bread order menu and have until Wednesday to submit your orders. Until Social Distancing protocols, are loosened, Friday bread pickups will be from 4-5pm at the North Exit of the ferry overflow parking lot across Nugent Road from the ferry dock.
Bread pickup has become something of an impromptu Covid Tailgate party, with people setting up lawn chairs and wine glasses to hang out for awhile. So, depending on your Social Distancing choices, you might want to just drive in, pick up, and drive out, or make camp, set up, and Party. As you can see, people are keeping a safe distance while managing to schmooze, sip wine, and enjoy the sunshine! (This photo was taken around 5pm last Friday…can you find nine people* in it??)
Now Accepting Online Orders
Since it may be a long time before we can return to our elbow-to-elbow wine tastings, we have taken the first step toward an “online store.” As mentioned last week, from time to time over many years we have explored that possibility, even had a couple of versions up and running briefly before abandoning the idea. While a lot of those early files are still in the website somewhere, many are years out of date, so we are now exploring a new array of online ordering options, starting this weekend with this simple email order form you can use to order wine in a few easy steps:
- Click “Contact Us”on the website header bar at the top of this page.
- Fill in the Contact Form per instructions;
- Submit your order.
It’s that Simple!
Wine Notes
The wine list mentioned above has a number of new wines we have never poured for you. So each week we will add notes on a couple of them and keep a bottle open should you drop by to pick up an order! This week we feature the Pascual Toso Estate Malbec and the Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet.
Toso Malbec ’17 Argentina $14
Red ripe berries and plum notes. Smooth and delicious; focused, clean notes of violets, plum, and red cherry notes with very good freshness and a plush, elegant mouthfeel with smooth oak and easy tannins.
Pascual Toso is named for its founder, who emigrated from Italy to Argentina in 1880 (OMD, that’s 140 years ago!). Sr. Toso settled in Mendoza. With a family history in winemaking he became intrigued by the exceptional quality of the vineyards in the region, and opened his first winery in San Jose in 1890. In subsequent years he (among others!) discovered the exceptional terroir of the Maipu Valley, bought land and developed vineyards. Today, like many old-time wineries, Toso was bought and owned by the J Llorente and Associates corporation at some point. Today, after 125 years, the winery is exploring the planting and vinification of Bordeaux varietals cabernet sauvignon and cab franc which do very well in Mendoza. This is not surprising given the astonishing success of Argentine malbec worldwide in the last twenty years.
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.
One good way (besides tasting it!) to get a felt sense of this particular wine (or its Image) is to watch its website open up…! Clearly this wine and its image are very Madmen-designed products. That said, and cabernet sauvignon being what it is, there a Power and Depth to these grapes that makes for a very satisfying wine experience. We also confess a Weakness for red wine from the Sierra Foothills wine regions just south of Sacramento. We have found that these wines, many from very old vines (100 yrs.++), have a certain richness, depth, and power that certain moods just Require.
Mar a Lago Update: Capitalism, Freedom, and Tyranny
When I was a grad student in Economics in the Seventies, Milton Friedman, a Conservative economist at the University of Chicago, had reached the Top of his Game, winning the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1976. Friedman’s whole Schtick was a defining Update of Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand , asserting that the self-interested motives of individuals in markets would inevitably lead the the best Overall Outcomes for all.
Last week we explored the tension between the idea of representative democracy and the tendency of human economy to concentrate power and wealth in few hands, a fairly useful definition of Tyranny.
There are numerous markers on the table that we are now in a Tolkienesque struggle between the Good of Democracy and the Evil of Authoritarianism. The last four years of the heartless and mindless confederacy of the Tweetster and his minions like Fox News, the Republican Party, the Militia-minded Racists, the Wall Street Grifters, the Gun-Toting Rednecks, the Bible-Thumping Authoritarians, and the rest of their Ilk and their Kith and their Kin have faithfully represented the resurgent Dystopias of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Stalin, Amin, Kim Jongs Il and Un, Mao, Saddam, Gaddhafi, and and on and on and on throughout human history. From the wills and unmet psychological needs of deeply disturbed and unfulfilled men have come thousands of years of astounding acts of stupidity, cruelty, and waste.
We continue to read, recommend, and contemplate On Tyranny by historian Timothy Snyder, who puts these men and their history in a stark and relevant perspective to our present global and national crises. As the old warning says, “Awake, awake, be mindful in practice; time flies like an arrow, it will not wait for you!”
2072 Granger Way