lummi island wine tasting january ’20 update
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January 2020 Schedule
As in years past we will be closed this weekend for Annual Inventory. Our intention is to be open for regular and Saturday wine tastings for the remaining four weekends this month. February and March schedules are somewhat up in the air at the moment, stay tuned.
Our best guess is that Janice will be taking Friday bread orders for those weekends as well, and will update her plan in her bread order email this Sunday…!
New Year’s Party Highlights
Every one of the Fifteen New Year’s events we have hosted has had its own Unique Vibe, some Measure of the Times. This year brought a larger crowd than recent years, and for whatever reason Spirit and Mood ran high. Is that Optimism we are feeling? If so, Whatever For?
Also, folks brought Amazing Food to share (sorry, no pix this year), so much so that few were able to sample everything! Best tasting dish went to Mary Beth with a lovely plate of Baked Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon (yum!), and it was Awesome!
Best looking dish was also Delicious as well as nice to look at and Simple in concept and delightful to eat: Michelle’s Chocolate drizzled Macaroons!
Wishing all of you and our Entire Planet a New Year of Kindness, Joy, Wisdom, and Healing.
Let it be.
lummi island wine tasting dec 27 ’19
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Friday Breads This Week
Cinnamon Raisin – Made with a nice mix of bread flour and freshly milled whole wheat as well as rolled oats. Some honey for sweetness, a little milk for a tender crumb and loaded with raisins and a healthy dose of cinnamon. This is not a rich sweet bread with a swirl of cinnamon sugar, instead the cinnamon is mixed into the dough and flavors the entire bread. It is a hearty rustic loaf. Great for breakfast toast, even better for french toast – $5/loaf
Pain Normand – a bread that brings in the flavor of french Normandy region which is known for its apples. Made with some fresh milled whole wheat and rye flours as well as bread flour then mixed with apple cider as well as dried apples. A delicious artisan bread – $5/loaf.
and pastry this week…
Brioche au Chocolate – 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
(breads must be pre-ordered by Wednesday for pickup here at the wine shop at our Friday wine tasting, 4-6pm. Planning a visit to the Island? Email us to get on the mailing list!)
New Year’s Weekend Hours
We will be open our regular Friday-Saturday hours this weekend (Dec 27-28.
We also invite our members and subscribers to join us at the shop for our Fifteenth Annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” from 7-9pm on Tuesday, December 31!
As usual, We provide the wine, and You bring delicious finger food to share.* When the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we break out the Bubbly, toast our Great Good Fortune to live in this wonderful community, belt out Auld Lang Syne, and offer our Best Hopes that Aught-Twenty unfolds well for All Beings!
This event is our annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support during past year, and toast to even more good times in Aught-Twenty!
*…Arrrr, so don’t ferget, lads and lassies, it now be time to start plannin’ yer Finger Foods to share for our Annual Best Snack Awards! This year everyone will get a ballot to vote for The Best Tastin’ Dish, (which wins a $25 gift certificate!), and Best Lookin’ Dish (which wins a $15 gift certificate!) So make ’em Tasty an’ make ’em Purty, me hearties!
Mar a Lago Update: The Biden Argument
The threat of this or that kind of Existential Armegeddon bearing down on Everything we Hold Dear is a familiar theme of science fiction. Whether Monster, Plague, Madman, Space Invasion, Diabolical Conspiracy, Errant Asteroid or any other of the Ten Thousand Human Fears, we are mesmerized by the never-ending War between Good and Evil.
Until quite recently, “our side”–Americans– has always been the Good Guys, dedicated to the Principles set forth in our Constitution, always on the side of Right, and “they” are the ones with No Honor. THEY are the ones who strap Nell to the Railroad Tracks, and WE are the saintly Mounties who rescue her. This has been the backdrop for those of us who grew up in the peaceful respite of the Fifties after the horrors of WWII. Life was Good and we were all Blessed to be Americans. We had confidence that both Parties were committed to their Oaths to Preserve and Defend the Constitution, and adherence to those oaths is what made America Great.
Today our Nation is entering a Presidential Election year of enormous consequence while locked in a stark Partisan Divide about the continuing relevance of the carefully crafted guiding Principles of the Constitution adopted some 240 years ago. The Democratic House has impeached a Republican President, who will be tried in a Republican Senate controlled by a man who has consistently placed Party interests above National interests.
Against this backdrop a dozen Democratic candidates vie for their party’s nomination for President. All are intelligent, well-spoken people of character and conviction. All are somewhat to the Left on the political spectrum, facing a Republican Party currently on the Extreme Right. In ordinary times the task facing the Democratic voter is to choose the candidate most people think will best represent Their Values. But these are not Ordinary Times, and the nomination process is contaminated by widespread second-guessing– every Democrat must decide not only which candidate they prefer, but also consider which candidate most of the Other Democrats will prefer.
Recent polling shows this tension in a number of ways. Most significantly, a plurality of likely voters prefers the more left-leaning candidates Sanders and Warren. But the same people also reveal that they think Biden would be the most likely to beat the viscerally unpopular incumbent. So every Democratic voter must consider whether to go with their most-preferred candidate or to vote for Biden, who would be okay but is not their first choice.
On the one hand, it could work if every Democrat who is motivated to vote for someone else actually votes for Biden (the “Anyone But Trump” Coalition), and also, as some speculate, Biden is most likely to draw crossover Republicans. On the other hand, the Enthusiasm of the moment is with the Progressive Wing of the party, and we risk losing some of that energy by going with Biden. Click below to look over these very interesting poll results.
Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date 13,445 as of 10/10/19
This week’s tasting
Bernier Chardonnay ’18 France $12
Lemon, herbs and lees on the nose. Full-on minerality, with a touch of lemon curd. Crisp, elegant, steely, and citrusy personality; classic Old World style.
Bodegas Ayuso Estola Reserva ’15 Spain $10
Tempranillo/cab sauv blend; Warm aromas of spices and ripe fruit; wide and round palate, easy drinking, great buy!
Particular Garnacha ’13 Spain $14
Old vines garnacha from stony soil and the extreme climatological conditions that yield smaller, more concentrated, intense and aromatic grapes. It is a powerful, tasty and complex wine that will surprise and please.
Cana’s Feast Bricco Red ’18 Washington $16
Ripe raspberry, boysenberry and cocoa on the nose. Full flavors of cherry, brown sugar, and coffee serve as a base for more subtle mineral and iron nuances. Generous acidity and tannic structure support a long, round finish.
Seghesio Angela’s Garden Zinfandel ’17 California $19
Aromas of wild blueberry, briary raspberry patch and baking spice give way to a palate of juicy, ripe blackberry and black plum. Soft tannins, a rich mouthfeel and focused acidity lead to a long finish.
lummi island wine tasting dec 20 ’19 winter solstice
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Friday Breads This Week
Cranberry Walnut Braid – Not a quick bread but a yeast bread enriched with buttermilk, eggs, sugar, butter and lemon. Then stuffed full of dried cranberries and toasted walnuts. This bread has a soft, tender crumb and is bursting with flavor. Truly a celebration bread that is a great addition to your Christmas table -or Christmas morning breakfast as french toast! – $5/loaf
Caramelized Hazelnut Squares – an unusual bread in that it uses four different preferments made with different flours and techniques. Made with bread flour, freshly milled whole wheat and rye flours and is enriched with sugar and milk as well as being chock full of the caramelized hazelnut in the title. The end result is a special bread full of flavor for the holiday season – $5/loaf
The pastry being delivered this week is Christmas Stollen which had to be ordered last week due to the lengthy preparation.
(breads must be pre-ordered by Wednesday for pickup here at the wine shop at our Friday wine tasting, 4-6pm. Planning a visit to the Island? Email us to get on the mailing list!)
Holiday Hours
We will be open our regular Friday-Saturday hours through December.
Please join us for our Fifteenth Annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” from 7-9pm on Tuesday, December 31! We provide the wine, and You bring something delicious to share! When the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we break out the Bubbly, toast our Great Good Fortune to live in this wonderful community, belt out Auld Lang Syne, and offer our Best Hopes that Aught-Twenty unfolds well for our Country and our Planet!
This event is our annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support during past year, and toast to even more good times in Aught-Twenty!
…Arrrr, ‘n’ don’t ferget, lads and lassies, it now be time to start plannin’ yer Finger Foods to share for our Annual Best Snack Awards! This year everyone will get a ballot to vote for The Best Tastin’ Dish, (which wins a $25 gift certificate!), and Best Lookin’ Dish (which wins a $15 gift certificate!) So make ’em Tasty an’ make ’em Purty, eh…?!
Red Willow Vineyard
The geography and geology of Yakima Valley’s Red Willow vineyard was shaped by the numerous cataclysmic Lake Missoula floods at the end of the last Ice Age. Periodically Glacial lake Missoula, over a mile deep, would undercut the melting glacial ice, launching a 300-foot wall of water across across what became eastern Washington. The swirling flood waters left a layered mound of ancient soils of richly varying soil types, including sandstone and river rocks from the ancient flows of the Columbia river.
After being farmed for many decades, in the early 70’s WSU agronomist Walter Clore planted experimental vineyards involving over 300 grape varietals. His pioneering work demonstrated laid the foundation for the development of the Washington State wine industry, and his work with Red Willow vignerons demonstrated the potential of the vineyard for wine grapes in general and for syrah in particular. Syrah cuttings came from the Joseph Phelps winery in Napa Valley.
Vineyard owner Mike Sauer, working with Columbia Winery winemaker David Lake, noticed the strong resemblance between Red Willow and the iconic hot, steep, south-facing slopes of Hermitage in France’s Northern Rhone wine region– so much so that they erected a little chapel on the slope above the vineyard which strongly resembles the Jaboulet vineyard and chapel at Hermitage.
This week’s Red Willow Syrah was made from Red Willow grapes by Lady Hill Winery in Oregon, and there’s a lot to like!
Mar a Lago Update: Guiding Principles
Whew, here it is it only Thursday and it has already been an Emotionally Exhausting Week, mostly due to the relentless shouting of Republicans through the House Impeachment Hearings. It is tempting to embark on our own R U Kidding Me??? screed on the Relentless Republican Insistence that any Remotely Plausible Hypothesis effectively Trumps all Scrupulously Documented Facts, especially if delivered with Righteous Anger and Feigned Victimhood.
But we have all had Quite Enough of that this week, and need a break. We turn instead to a few of the many memorable and encouraging quotations evoked by the Impeachment discussion.
The Lincoln Project:
— a new group founded by prominent New York attorney George Conway (husband of Kelly Anne Conway, the Tweetster‘s Czar on Alternative Facts). As described in a recent op-ed in the New York Times, the goal of the Project is to assure the T’ster does not get a second term. Mr. Conway has creds as an Old School Conservative who has joined with several other like-minded people to form the Project. Their Mission is to Defeat the Tweetster at the ballot box in 2020. “We do not undertake this task lightly nor from ideological preference. Our many policy differences with national Democrats remain. However, the priority for all patriotic Americans must be a shared fidelity to the Constitution and a commitment to defeat those candidates who have abandoned their constitutional oaths, regardless of party. Electing Democrats who support the Constitution over Republicans who do not is a worthy effort.”
Isaac Asimov
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
Alexander Hamilton as quoted by Rep. Adam Schiff
“When a man unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits—despotic in his ordinary demeanour—known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty—when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity—to join in the cry of danger to liberty—to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion—to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day—It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.”
Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date 13,445 as of 10/10/19
This week’s tasting
Ronan by Clinet Bordeaux Blanc ’15 France $15
80% sauv blanc, 20% semillon; fresh and appealing aromas of yuzu, grapefruit, white flowers, and passion fruit; flavors of citrus, white fruits and warm spices are fleshy yet crisp and clean.
Chateau Sicot Bordeaux Superieur ’16 France $14
Classic right bank Bordeaux, organically farmed, and a blend of Merlot, Cabernet, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. Aged for a year in used and new barrique.
Carmen Carmenere ’17 Chile $16
Aromas of fresh berries, baking spices and chocolate get this wine going; full bodied yet balanced, with toasty black fruit flavors with grip and intensity; full bodied yet balanced, with blackberry, herbal plum and spices.
La Quercia Aglianico ‘17 Italy $13
The new vintage of one of our favorite italian reds; full bodied with notes of ripe plum and white pepper on smooth, fine-grained tannins. A lovely match with a wide range of savory dishes.
Ad Lucem Syrah ’14 Oregon-Wash $38
Eggplant purple color with subtle notes of vanilla bean, mulled plum, and brambled blackberries; on the palate rich and concentrated flavors of blackberry liquor and intricate barrel spices, finishing with both red and black fruits, a lingering and balanced mouthfeel and a sweet, juicy finish.
lummi island wine tasting december 13’19
click on photos for larger images
Friday Breads This Week
Polenta Sourdough – Made with a levain starter mixed with bread flour and polenta in the final dough mix. This is not the sweet corn cranberry bread that we have done in the past but rather a nice rustic loaf with great corn flavor. – $5/loaf
Seeded Multi Grain Levain – Also made with a sourdough culture and a mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A nice mixture of flax, sesame sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some polenta add great flavor and crunch, plus a little honey for some sweetness. A great all around bread that is full of flavor – $5/loaf
Gibassiers – A traditional french pastry using a delicious sweet dough full of milk, butter, eggs and olive oil. The addition of orange flower water, candied orange peel and anise seed bring great flavor to these pastries. After baking they are brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with more sugar. Ooh La La a delightful pastry to go along with your morning coffee or tea. – 2/$5
and, order now for delivery next week…
Stollen – A delightful holiday bread made with bread flour with fresh milled rye, milk, eggs, and lots of butter for a soft crumb, along with dried fruit, fresh and candied lemon and orange peel, and almonds. Shaped around an almond paste filling and rushed with a glaze of melted butter, sugar, and ginger…fabulous! $5/loaf.
(breads must be pre-ordered by Wednesday for pickup here at the wine shop at our Friday wine tasting, 4-6pm. Planning a visit to the Island? Email us to get on the mailing list!)
FIFTEENTH Annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve” Gala Extravaganza!
Please join us for our annual “East Coast New Year’s Eve Party” from 7-9pm on Tuesday, December 31! We provide the wine, and You bring something delicious to share! When the ball drops in Times Square three hours East, we break out the Bubbly, toast our Great Good Fortune to live in this wonderful community, belt out Auld Lang Syne, and offer our Best Hopes that Aught-Twenty unfolds well for our Country and our Planet!
This event is our annual opportunity to thank all of you for your support during past year, and toast to even more good times in Aught-Twenty!
…Arrrr, ‘n’ don’t ferget, lads and lassies, it now be time to start plannin’ yer Finger Foods to share for our Annual Best Snack Awards! This year everyone will get a ballot to vote for The Best Tasting Dish, (which wins a $25 gift certificate!), and Best Looking Dish (which wins a $15 gift certificate!) So make ’em Tasty an’ make ’em Purty, eh…?!
Holiday Hours
Please note will be open our usual hours both THIS weekend (12/13 -12/14) and NEXT weekend (12/20-12/21). Holiday hours will be announced next week.
Forgotten Gem
Rooting around in the cellar for wines to pour this weekend we discovered an unopened case of 2009 Betz La Sarenne Syrah, and we figured that given the persnickety way Betz wines are made, this one is probably just starting to hit its stride.
We have probably mentioned in earlier posts that winery founder and long-time winemaker Bob Betz has a deep affection for French Wines and for many years has modeled each wine after the style of particular French wine regions. For example, the wine we are pouring this week, La Serenne Syrah, is modeled after the style of Southern Rhone syrahs, with rich, lush fruit, elegant tannic structure, and great aging potential. By contrast, his Cotes Rousse Syrah is modeled after the Northern Rhone style, with deeper color and darker, more brooding fruit flavors, while his Besoleil is modeled after the style of Chateauneuf du Pape, typically blending grenache, syrah, and mourvedre for a softly rich palate.
This is a Special Wine, don’t miss it!
Mar a Lago Update: Nattering Nabobs of Negativity
With the battle lines of Impeachment now firmly drawn, we are reminded of those Halcyon days of of the Nixon-Agnew Administration– you know, the Watergate break-in, the lengthy court battles, the Tapes, and the ongoing battle between Nixon and Congress over access to those tapes. The process culminated in 1974 with the release of the so-called Smoking Gun tape that overnight turned both public and Congressional opinion– both Parties!- strongly against Nixon and he resigned shortly afterward.
Mostly forgotten in that history is that during that two-year battle between the White House and Congress over evidence, Vice President Spiro Agnew pleaded no contest to one count of tax evasion and resigned from office. Gerald Ford replaced him as Vice President and became President when Nixon resigned. Agnew is remembered for his sometimes humorous insults against anti-war protesters, calling them liberal elites (hmm. sounds familiar…), an effete corps of impudent snobs, and the nattering nabobs of negativism.
As it turns out, Agnew pioneered the Populist style. which appealed to many in the Suburban South, offering them a more palatable alternative to George Wallace, who also ran in 1968. Agnew’s populist rhetoric helped Nixon win several key Southern States by courting the “Silent Majority,” whose values historian Peter B. Levy lists as “orderliness, personal responsibility, the sanctity of hard work, the nuclear family, and law and order.” That Populist stance also began the rapid exodus of Southern Democrats to the Republican Party. Since then the Republican Party has continued to shift further and further away from the Constitution’s original Humanist values toward much narrower, more authoritarian, and more autocratic control.
The current Impeachment Hearings have become increasingly dissonant as one after another Republican tries to Shout Down the Facts, as if by Sheer Spleen they can actually change Reality. So far only one Republican Congressman (Justin Amash of Michigan) has publicly supported impeachment, left the Party and rebranded himself as an Independent. A few days ago CNN posted an interview with former Republican Senators Bill Cohen of Maine and Slade Gorton of Washington. Both were on the House Judiciary Committee that passed articles of impeachment against Nixon in 1974. Both were deeply concerned about the failure of current Republicans to grasp the gravity of the charges against Trump, and urged them to do their Constitutional duty to assess the facts and do the right thing.
Sadly, that doesn’t seem likely. Today’s Republicans are full of Hubris, lack all humor, and rail at the Truth like King Lear against the Storm. They use all their energy to cling to Power, and their Criminal Stupidity threatens Every Living Thing on this Beautiful Earth. This isn’t just Politics; it’s rapidly becoming an Existential Battle for Global Survival.
Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date 13,445 as of 10/10/19
This week’s tasting
Marchetti Tenuta de Cavaliere Verdicchio ’17 Italy $14
Refreshing citrus fruits, playful acidity, and complex minerality. Made only with “free run”juice (no pressing!), it is precise and lovely,
Procedo Rose ’18 Oregon $16
Dark berry nose. Extended skin contact makes for a Tavel-style rose, with hints of the red grapes in the blend, showing floral and fruity notes with a bit of sweetness and balancing acidity on the finish.
Crios Malbec ’18 Argentina $13
Bright, dark red. Red currant, black cherry, ripe strawberry and spices on the nose; sweet red fruit flavors with notes of earth, licorice and menthol; creamy fruit firmed by smooth tannins…a terrific value.
Ryan Patrick Rock Island Red ’16 Washington $16
Aromas of baking spices, coconut, vanilla, anise and blackberry lead to full-bodied fruit and barrel flavors. Coconut and vanilla notes linger on the finish. The oak plays a very prominent part in the show.
Betz la Serenne Syrah ’09 Washington 93pts $55
A massive wine, sourced from the outstanding Boushey Vineyard, packs tart black fruit into a tight frame of licorice-soaked tannins. There are traces of clean earth, light mineral and smoked meat, while the tannins are kept in close check. There’s terrific structure and poise in a wine of substantial power.
2072 Granger Way
