Wine Tasting June 15-16 ’12

Posted at June 14, 2012

Friday Night is Again Bread Night–but only till 6:15!

Due to various opportunities and obligations, we will be open from 4 – 6:15 on Friday, after which we must dash for the ferry. So come early, enjoy some wine with a chunk of Janice’s latest bread creation (last week was crusty-on-the-outside, chewy and flavorful on the inside, and Really Delicious!), a little charcuterie, cheese, and a bit of chocolate among friends! And of course be prepared for a quick exit. And yes, Ryan is back, but will not be in attendance until Europe to America jet lag has dissipated. So…remember…closing early this Friday.

 

Spanish Guitar, Honey & Cheese

Way, way back sometime in the sixties I bought a really cheap guitar (“over there” in 1968), took some lessons from a young Corpsman on the ship ( wait a minute…we were ALL young then!), and subsequently tried for years to learn to play guitar. For a long time it was your basic folk songs, and then in the early eighties I bought a classical guitar and tried to learn to read music. All you need to know is that I have a beautiful guitar sitting under the bed which I haven’t played in nearly thirty years; but I have maintained a love and respect for Spanish guitar, so much so that it was a tough decision to book tickets for the Flamenco performance at Palau Musica (see last week’s blog) rather than the guitar performance that was also scheduled during our stay in Barcelona.

Given that, you can imagine the pleasant “cup runneth over” feeling when we discovered, quite by chance, a different guitar concert the night before the flamenco concert. About mid-day on Saturday we were attending a little “honey and cheese” fair at the square of the Basilica Santa Maria del Pi, just off the Ramblas (the main tourist street in Barcelona, with its ongoing parades of tourists, gypsies, pickpockets, con men, actors made up as statues (who will pose with you for photos), restaurants, bars, etc.), when someone handed us this flyer (page 1; page 2). OMD! The concert was actually IN the Basilica; you can get a feel for it in this picture, and also in this video , which shows the same artist in the same location. As you can see from the program, he played classic works we have all heard many times, and he played them beautifully.

Oh, and by the way, yes we did buy both cheese and honey. You can see a bit more of the honey and cheese fair (modest, Lummi Island size!) here.

 

Theo’s Chocolate
For all of you chocolate lovers out there, we have restocked our dwindling supply of Theo’s chocolate bars. In addition, we have added Theo’s totally decadent, luscious sipping chocolate to our selection…the Classic and the Chipotle. You just heat some milk, melt in a few tablespoons of ground-into-little-chunks (not powder) Real Chocolate, and stir it up. Oh yeah, it be Some Good!…especially on these chilly Fall evenings. What’s that…? It’s what…? It’s June, and this is what people around here call “summer”…? WoW…so why do we feel we need a fire in the stove every night…what’s THAT about?

 

This weekend’s tasting

Black Oak Pinot Grigio   Italy    $8
Another tremendous bargain from negociant Black Oak, a fresh, dry wine with a lovely floral bouquet, medium body and rich,layered flavors.

Monte Oton Garnacha  ’10    Spain       $9
100% Garnacha sourced from higher elevation. Spice box, incense, mineral, and black cherry notes inform the nose of this round, supple, savory red.

Venta Morales Tempranillo ’09          Spain            $9
100% organic tempranillo raised in stainless steel. Deep crimson-colored, it emits aromas of spice box and fragrant black cherry. On the palate licorice and other black fruits emerge leading to a finish with no hard edges.

Lapierre Morgon ’10    France      WA92pts  $23
Fresh raspberry and strawberry touched with brown spices and provocatively wreathed in musky peony-like floral perfume are underlain with rich nut oils; seductively soothing, with a mouthwatering mineral savor akin to lobster shell reduction.

Wine Tasting

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