lummi island wine tasting april 6 ’18
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Honey, Wheat, Lemon & Poppy seeds – Made with a poolish that ferments some of the flour, yeast and water, but none of the salt, overnight. This results in a very active pre-ferment which is mixed the next day with the final ingredients which includes a nice mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Some honey, poppy seeds and freshly grated lemon peel round out the flavors in this loaf. A great all around bread – $5/loaf.
Sonnenblumenbrot – aka Sunflower Seed Bread Made with a pre-ferment before mixing the final dough of bread flour and freshly milled rye, then loaded up with toasted sunflower seeds and some barley malt syrup for sweetness. This is a typical german seed bread- $5/loaf
And for pastry this week… If you want pastry this week you have to show up at the Grange on Saturday morning to help out with the Annual Island Cleanup! There will be a great selection of muffins, scones, brioche and bostock (you’ll have to look that one up!). Show up early, have a cup of coffee and pastry, meet your neighbors then go out and give our island home a spring spruce up!
Sunday Concert April 22!
It’s become an annual Event: our Spring Concert with singer-songwriter-minstrel Robert Sarazin Blake! This year’s concert will be from 4-6 pm on Sunday, April 22 in the wine shop!
As Robert’s many local followers know, he is a modern-day troubadour who travels widely (mostly here in the Pacific Northwest and in 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 few years, and we have grown fond of his engaging style. For those of you who have not attended any of our concerts, know that our little shop is a great venue for acoustic music, and Robert’s performances are always engaging and energizing.
Suggested performance donation is a modest $15 per person, and a selection of wines will be available by the glass. And since space is very limited, please confirm reservations asap!
Learn more about Robert’s music here.
Ripasso
Amarone is a delicious Italian wine made primarily from Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara, the same grapes as Valpolicella, the dominant red wine of the Veneto region. The thick-skinned corvina varietal is central to the apassamiento process by which amarone is made, beginning with 100 days of drying the best grapes before pressing them. After pressing, the dried grape skins remain in contact with the juice through fermentation. However, because the sugars are so concentrated in the raisined grapes, the skins are removed from contact with the wine while they still contain plenty of sugar. The amarone-to-be is then left to age in barrels for several years before bottling.
Meanwhile, the rest of the harvest goes through fermentation without drying the grapes, to make the wine known as valpolicella. It is inexpensive, tasty, and table-oriented. However, because there is still a lot of flavor, sugar, and character in the must from making the amarone, selected valpolicella from the harvest is allowed to sit on the lees left from making amarone and allowed to go through a second fermentation. This ripasso process results in a red wine that is somewhere between valpolicella and amarone in its weight, complexity, and nuance. Under the rules of the region, wineries may only make up to twice as much ripasso as they do amarone in a given harvest.
This week we are pouring a distinctive ripasso from the portfolio of our friends as Small Vineyards. See notes below.
Lummi Island Spring Cleanup
Here it is again, folks, the annual Spring Cleanup. Sure, it’s a Tradition, when we all turn out to patrol a section of roadway and pick up a year’s worth of accumulated debris. Though the roads all look pretty good if we don’t look too closely, it is always surprising how many scraps of paper, plastic, cardboard, glass, and who-knows-what get loaded into bags and then into volunteer pickup trucks for collection and disposal.
As noted above, there is NO PASTRY this week for Bread Friday, because instead Janice is baking a great selection of muffins, scones, brioche and bostock (you’ll have to look that one up!) to lift the spirits of our Stalwart Volunteers as we head out into the Elements to do out Community Duty for an hour or so. Then, as if that were not enough, we all go back to the Grange for a Hearty Lunch. YUM!
Mar a Lago Update: Honor, Truth, and Virtue
We are all familiar with the legendary story of young George Washington’s Honor in admitting to his father that he had damaged the mythical Cherry Tree with his new hatchet. This famous myth was invented by itinerant minister and bookseller named Mason Locke Weems, who wrote and published a biography of Washington in 1800, shortly after Washington’s death. Weems saw an opportunity not only to capitalize on the public’s interest in Washington, but also to iconify Washington as a a Role Model for Virtue worthy of our Admiration. Given the persistence of the Legend, he was incredibly successful. But these days the ideas of Truth, Honor, and Virtue have become Quaint, Outdated Luxuries which are readily compromised for political gain.
The respected economist Joan Robinson wrote (with, imho, great insight), “any economic system requires a set of rules, an ideology to justify them, and a conscience in the individual…to carry them out.” Of course she wasn’t just talking about economic systems, but rather of the whole complex of economic, political, cultural, and social systems that define each society. And it makes perfect sense…how could a society Survive without such a Structure?
The Really Scary thing is that Today’s world, or maybe just Today’s America, doesn’t seem to have ANY of these essential elements. There is certainly no Unifying Ideology, no Common Vision shared by the Right and Left Mainstreams, who increasingly see each other as Enemies. Indeed, it has gotten So Extreme that The Utopia each side Yearns to Realize is the Dystopia the other side Most Despises, and that doesn’t make any sense at all unless we are operating on at least two completely different sets of Facts.
Primates in general, and humans in particular, have many characteristics of both herd animals and predators. Some people favor one set over the other. Some humans are more concerned with herd survival and well-being than with status, control, and power, and some are exactly the opposite. Both traits have been useful, in different ways for our survival as a species. The world we see around us today suggests that the ego-urgency of the Dominant Male may be becoming more of a Liability than an Asset in our long-term survival as a species.
This week’s wine tasting
For a Song Chardonnay ’15 Washington $10
Apple blossom and citrus aromas; broad, flavorful palate of quince, lemon custard, lime, and honey-tinged mineral notes; bracing acidity.
La Mijane Arpege ’13 France $14
Grenache/merlot blend; nose of blueberries and chocolate, flavors of black fruits and toast, full on the palate with lingering finish.
Ramirana Cab Reserva ’15 Chile $12
Expressive notes of red and black berries, with notes of black pepper, chocolate, and tobacco. Nicely balanced body, acidity, and tannins, with a pleasing finish.
Antonio Sanguineti Nessun Dorma Toscana ’15 Italy $15
Super-Tuscan blend of sangiovese, cab, and merlot, with notes of black currant and cherry, and spicy chocolate. Rich and spicy on the palate, the red fruit comes on strong in the middle, with chocolate rounding out the finish.
Lonardi Valpolicello Ripasso Classico Superiore ’14 Italy $19
Valpolicella becomes Ripasso when pressed through the raisined skins used for Amarone, adding complex aromatics and flavors to the wine, in this case lush cranberry notes with chocolate.
lummi island wine tasting march 30 ’18
(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)
Bread this week
Prairie Bread – Named for the goodness of the grains that grow on the prairie: bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat, oats, and cornmeal, loaded up with poppy, flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds with just a hint of brown sugar. – $5/loaf
Le Pave d’autrefois – Which translates roughly as “old paving stones.” This is a ciabatta like bread which has a lot of hydration so it isn’t really shaped so much as simply divided into approximate squares – hence the paving stones name. Made with a mix of bread flour as well as fresh milled whole wheat, rye and buckwheat flours for a lot of hearty whole grain goodness. A great artisan bread. -$5/paving stone
And pastry this week…a traditional Easter bread…
Columba di Pasqua- (aka Easter Dove) A traditional Italian Easter cake similar to Christmas panettone. Made with a sweet italian levain, flour and plenty of eggs, sugar and butter plus candied orange peel. Topped with a crunchy almond and hazelnut glaze and pearl sugar before baking in a dove shaped baking form. – $5/loaf
Sunday Concert April 22!
It’s become an annual Event: our Spring Concert with singer-songwriter-minstrel Robert Sarazin Blake! This year’s concert will be from 4-6 pm on Sunday, April 22 in the wine shop!
As Robert’s many local followers know, he is a modern-day troubadour who travels widely (mostly here in the Pacific Northwest and in 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 few years, and we have grown fond of his engaging style. For those of you who have not attended any of our concerts, know that our little shop is a great venue for acoustic music, and Robert’s performances are always engaging and energizing.
Suggested performance donation is a modest $15 per person, and a selection of wines will be available by the glass. And since space is very limited, please confirm reservations asap!
Learn more about Robert’s music here.
T@da finds new home
Well, it would probably take one o’ Robert’s complicated ballads to describe our mixed feelings about it, but we have accepted an offer on our Darling Trailer, and she will soon have a new home…and Be a new home as well.
One of the compelling aspects of travel of all sorts is that every day is filled with unique experiences, not like the day before, not like the day after. Everything is new and memorable, creating new sets of experiences that keep us attentive to the moment and free from our usual habits. This is what re-creation is all about, getting out of familiar patterns and attending to new and different experiences for awhile. Always Good Medicine, and Highly Recommended! We wish her new owners lots of great adventures!
Moulin a Vent Beaujolais
Moulin-a-Vent is one of the most noteworthy of the ten Beaujolais crus, located in the very north of the Beaujolais region,. Its wines are some of the most concentrated and tannic of the region, often developing spicy and earthy characteristics as they age.
The wines from Moulin a Vent are strongly influenced by pink granite and veins of manganese in the soil, which retards growth of both leaves and fruit. As a result, Moulin a Vent produces smaller yields of high concentration that tend to be more structured, ageable, and intensely flavored than other Beaujolais crus.
We confess a lack of experience with gamay noir in general, so are happy to have found this interesting wine on a closeout from one of our distributors. Gamay is its own thing, not like Bordeaux grapes (cab, cab franc, merlot, malbec), not like Rhone (grenache, syrah, mourvedre), not like Burgundy (pinot noir). We hope you will come by and try it!
Mar a Lago Update: The Art of Propaganda
The recent Serial Firings of top Cabinet officials has ratcheted up the Political Chaos Level to new heights: FBI, CIA, and National Security advisors are all Gone (looks even more Creepy when you write them in a list!), along with the VA director, all replaced with Hawkish Tweetster Loyalists. The only sane one in the picture these days seems to be our Defense Secretary; probably time to start wondering where is the Tweetster gonna find another Douglas MacArthur to replace him…? You know, the one who will cry, as Randy Newman sings it, “They All Hate us Anyhow…so Let’s Drop the Big One Now…!”
This particular Chaos does seem to slide measurably toward a more Chilling kind of Psychopathy. Maybe it’s Part of the Act: the Flexing, the Preening, the Parading, the Posturing. Or maybe it’s the leadup to the Tweetster’s Reichstag Moment, a phony crisis of such magnitude that he must impose Martial Law Immediately until we figure it out. Or maybe it’s about Making Side Deals with the Other Players so they can all get Richer.
Fact is, we Don’t Know; as with the Mueller investigation, all inquiries become Targets in themselves. But it is beginning to come into focus that the Tweets, the Lies, the Bluster, the Inconsistencies and the Contradictions are all part of a recognizable style of Propaganda first outlined in great detail by Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf:
“Propaganda must… present only that aspect of the truth which is favourable to its own side and confined to a few bare essentials…slogans should be persistently repeated until the very last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward.” more
This week’s wine tasting
Montinore Borealis White Oregon $12
Müller-Thurgau, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Gris; scents of orange blossom, ripe honeydew, guava and kiwi; sumptuous and round, bursting with stone fruit, Meyer lemon and juicy pear drizzled with caramel.
Dom. Belair Moulin a Vent Beaujolais ’15 France $19
Perfumed and rich in tannins and generous, ripe black fruits. Aged nine months in wood, it shows hints of caramel and spice that adds extra dimension. It is juicy, ripe and needs to age further.
Chateau Mayne-Vieil Cuvee Alienor ’15 France $15
Old vines merlot; serious and sumptuous with perfumed fruits and firm tannins that will soften with age into dark blackberry and generous structure.
Pasanau Ceps Nous Garnacha ’14 Spain $14
Ripe dark berries, licorice and a hint of smokiness on the perfumed nose. Plush, round and open-knit; a peppery note adds lift to warm blackberry, bitter cherry and licorice flavors. Focused and youthfully tannic.
Torbreck Woodcutter’s Shiraz ’16 Australia $19
Rich, opulent fruit with a wonderful freshness and balance. An incredible deep, central core of dark fruit gives way to an intense textural mid palate full of cassis, plum, spice and dark chocolate.
lummi island wine tasting march 23 ’18
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Bread this week
Kamut Levain – Kamut, aka khorasan wheat, is an ancient grain that has more protein than conventional wheat. Some people who can’t tolerate wheat find kamut to be more digestible. The bread is made with a levain that is fermented overnight before being mixed with with bread flour and fresh milled whole kamut flour. It has a nutty, rich flavor and makes a golden color loaf. A great all around bread – $5/loaf
Barley & Rye w/ Pumpkin Seeds – Also made with an overnight fermented levain of bread flour and fresh milled rye, barley and whole wheat flours. Some buttermilk makes for a tender crumb, honey for sweetness and toasted pumpkin seeds add to the flavor and texture. A really flavorful artisan loaf – $5/loaf
For pastry this week…
Traditional Croissants – Pastry dough made with milk, butter and sugar and then laminated with more butter before being cut and shaped into traditional french croissants. I’ve heard some say these are the best they have ever had…like finally– a croissant with Enough Butter! 2/$5
Another Carignan
Last week our tasting included a favorite Old Vines carignan wine made from 120-year old vines near Fontcouvert in France’s western Languedoc region. We also mentioned that over the last twenty years or so, many of the extensive carignan vineyards of the region have been replanted with other varietals.
This week’s we are showing another Vielles Vignes (Old Vines) Carignan from vineyards in Corbieres a mere 10 km from last week’s carignan vineyard. It comes from vines that average about 50 years old– pretty Old Vines by most standards, but less than half as old as the wine last week. These “younger” vines are still quite mature enough to show the mellow baritone harmonics we admire in this varietal but add a brightness that contrasts with weightier demeanor of its older-vines neighbor we tasted last week.
And perhaps more important, you will also notice that this week’s carignan expression is quite a bit less expensive that last week’s, $12 vs. $30– and at that price it’s pretty much of a Steal!
T@da!
Ah, well, it’s been a Great Run with our little T@da trailer the last five years. The first and most Undeniable Truth about it is that it Stops just about Everyone in their tracks with its Over the Top Cuteness, so much so that at least Three Times a Day when we are On the Road someone will come up and tell us How Cute it is or will Pass, Honk and vigorously Thumbs Up us on the way by.
This was more true in the first couple of years when we were towing it with our old ’93 Eurovan, which was, as you can see, pretty color-coordinated. And yes, to some degree it did foster a constant danger of becoming sort of “Hos-for-Cuteness”…the adulation was So Intoxicating, More, we always wanted More…! But thankfully that suddenly changed a couple of years ago when an electrical fire in the VW wiring (yes, while we were towing the trailer) forced us to buy another car. For a lot of reasons the “new” car (2004 Volvo XC-90) is way more comfortable and more powerful, a much better towing vehicle.
HOWEVER…the Color (burgundy) is All Wrong, and while we still get people coming up to us in parking lots or gas stations wanting to take pictures or ask about the trailer, and tell us How Cute it is, the Spontaneous Enthusiasm of passing Honks and Thumbs Ups have all but disappeared. Which leads us to our Point: we have loved this little trailer. It’s not only Cute; it is also well-designed, innovative, well-equipped, light (2200#), and easy to tow. It’s been our Nomadic Anchor, Home Away From Home, Safe Haven, and Cozy Escape Vehicle. And– we’re Not Making This Up...it Could All Be Yours!!!
Mar a Lago Update: Growing Discontent
It’s been a Big Week for the Tweetster. Lots of Very Bright People took off their Gloves and Started Swinging at him. Is he finally succeeding in dragging the Entire Society down to his Chaotic, Mad Hatter, Fluid Truth Reality TV Level? Or are these maybe the First Signs of Rebellion…?
Thomas Friedman: “Once Trump saw that he could get away with not disclosing his tax returns, he knew he could get away with anything. He knew that once he compromised the G.O.P., even its evangelical wing, into giving him a pass on his taxes, they’d roll over for anything — sex with porn stars, endless lying, trashing the F.B.I., coddling Putin…”
John Brennan: “When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history.”
Paul Krugman: “Why has Trump hired people with such conflicting notions about international economic policy? The answer, presumably, is that he doesn’t understand the issues well enough to realize that the conflict exists. And what both sides in this dispute share is a general propensity for invincible ignorance, which makes them Trump’s kind of people…now on track for a battle between two sets of bad ideas that refuse to die.”
This week’s wine tasting
Chat. Blizard Blanc d’Amour ’16 France $14
Grenache blanc, viognier, marsanne, rousanne; complex, fruity fragrances of grapefruit, white peach, lychee and acacia flower. Balanced, ample and suave, with a fresh finish.
Sallier de la Tour Nero d’Avola Sicilia ’15 Italy $13
A friendly wine from a soothing grape; aged partly in wood and partly in steel, showing youthful freshness and fruitiness, with enticing notes of spices and liquorice.
Kaiken Reserva Malbec ’15 Argentina $10
Malbec w/ 5% cab; dense fruit flavors with an intoxicating bouquet of crushed violets, sage, black cherry, blueberry pie and exotic spices, and dense flavors of blackberry, blueberry, chocolate and sagebrush.
Chat. Cabriac Carignan Old Vines ’16 France $12
Ruby color with purplish reflections; scents of ripe red fruits, currants and blackcurrant with some spicy notes; in the mouth elegant, round, and well structured with soft tannins and good persistence.
Betz La Cote Rousse Syrah ’10 Washington $55
Black raspberry, flowers, minerals and spices on the nose; juicy on entry, then sinewy and penetrating, with obvious Red Mountain structure. Minerally, spicy, peppery finish with fine-grained tannins and lovely persistence.
lummi island wine tasting march 16 ’18
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Bread this week
Breton – Made with an overnight pre-ferment before the final dough, which incorporates the flavors of the french Breton region using bread flour and fresh milled buckwheat and rye and the sel gris -the grey salt from the region that brings more mineral flavors to this bread. Makes great toast! – $5/loaf
Black Pepper Walnut- made with bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A fair amount of black pepper and toasted walnuts give this bread great flavor with just a bit of peppery bite to it. – $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Brioche Tarts au Sucre – A rich brioche dough full of eggs and butter is rolled into a round tart and topped with more eggs, cream, butter and sugar. – 2/$5
Signs of Spring
As a result, we are very pleased to see more or less On Schedule in the last few days, delightfully dancing in the Sunlight, the green leaves and bright yellow petals of the annual Daffodil bloom. Somehow this year it feels Particularly Reassuring to see these most reliable harbingers of Spring lift their Smiling Faces to the Sun. It’s a dose of some much-needed Tonic after what has felt like a Winter of Discontent across our Country and our World. Big breath in…long breath out…ahhhhh…a good time to Reset some Buttons.
Carignan
For starters most people have never heard of it under any of its names: carignan in France, or carinena, samso, or mazuelo in Spain. In fact it was the single most common vine variety of France in the second half of the 20th Century, largely because of its high yields per acre, particularly in warmer climates like North Africa, where it has had a long history. The high yields made it feasible to grow even though it tended to be tannic, bitter and rough, but its late budding made it a good choice to replace earlier-budding vines that had been lost in several severe winters in the 50’s and 60’s. As a result it spread widely across the vineyards of Western Languedoc- Rousillon in France, and adjoining Catalonia in Spain.
Over the last twenty years or so, many carignan vineyards have been replanted with other varietals. Even so, much of the region is still widely planted with older carignan vines, some over 100 years old. These gnarly old vines have grown deep into the clay and limestone soils of the region, often yielding brooding (and sometimes rustic) wines of great depth and character, and often blended with other varietals like mourvedre, syrah, and grenache. For some of us it just Rings some kind of Bell, while lots of others find its attraction, um, more elusive.
So a few years ago it was a great treat to wander into an old winery and find a lovely and classic example of such old vines carignan, and in recent years have been able to score a case or two of their limited production: this week’s #5. read more.
Mar a Lago Update: Two Scorpions Walk Onto a Leaf
A few weeks ago we mentioned the Disturbing Mutual Admiration between the Tweetster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. As in, Why T.F. is the CIA Director falling all over himself on the Sunday news shows Praising the Tweetster’s Keen Intellect and Informed Judgment? And we implied several concerns: a) that the Tweetster is, as outgoing Secretary Tillerson once put it, “a Fu#*ing Moron;” b) that Director Pompeo, having graduated first in his class at West Point, is probably Not a Fu#*ing Moron; and c) given his Shameless Sycophancy in playing his Allegiance to Tweetster Card on National TV, the Pompster has Greased* his way into Secretary of State-hood, a few heartbeats away from the Oval Office. *”grease” = “oiling the wheels of one’s own progress”
There’s an old fable, in which a bunch of Marching Ants are using leaves to cross a stream. A Scorpion asks an Ant to take him across with him, and the Ant says No Way, once we get across you’ll Sting me and I’ll Die! “No, no,” says the Scorpion, “I just need a ride across, you’re perfectly safe, I promise.” With some lingering Concern, the Ant says OK, and they set out Across. When they get to the other side, the Scorpion says “Thanks!” and then Stings the Ant. “But you Promised You Wouldn’t!” cried the Ant, dying. “Yes, you have a point,” said the Scorpion, shrugging all six of his shoulders, “but hey, I AM a Scorpion, what did you expect?”
So. Now we are looking at Two Scorpions on a Leaf. Scorpions are by nature Solitary Creatures, although they do form in groups for mutual benefit, as in winter, say. And Mama Scorpions do form a “basket” of sorts with their backs and legs to carry their newly hatched young. And most species are shy and avoid contact. However Friendly this looks to Other Species, the Tweetster and the Pompster are too much alike to be anything but Natural Competitors. At some point only one will Remain Standing. Might take a while, should be Interesting. Stay tuned.
This week’s wine tasting
Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino 201 Italy $13
Pale golden-tinged straw color; Botanical herbs and wh
Marchetti Rosso Conero ’15 Italy $11
Rich and inviting aromas of flowers, plums, brown spices, and hillside brush. On the palate, round notes of cherries, blackberries, cocoa and spice. Culminates in a satisfying, lengthy finish.
Goose Ridge g3 Red ‘`14 Washington $14
Syrah-cab-merlot blend; supple ripe plum and blackberry notes with hints of spice, vanilla, black currant and Bing cherry. Nicely balanced with a lush, round mouth and a long, lingering finish.
Lopez Cristobal Crianza ’11 Spain $21
Tempranillo/merlot blend from high, calcareous vineyards in Ribero del Duero; long, balanced, and full-bodied, with soft, ripe tannins and a luscious, elegant finish.
La Baronne Piece de Roche ’12 France $30
From 120-year-old Carignan vines in alluvial soil; concentrated and energetic, with layers of dried blueberries, cassis, and bitter huckleberries, a black powder-like pungency, and a brash brightness and salty tang on the finish.
2072 Granger Way