{"id":4832,"date":"2014-12-18T22:04:25","date_gmt":"2014-12-19T05:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artisanwineclub.com\/?p=4832"},"modified":"2014-12-18T22:14:40","modified_gmt":"2014-12-19T05:14:40","slug":"lummi-island-wine-tasting-dec-20-14-winter-solstice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/lummi-island-wine-tasting-dec-20-14-winter-solstice\/","title":{"rendered":"lummi island wine tasting dec 20 &#8217;14  winter solstice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"color: maroon;\"><strong>Bread Friday <\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mlpxrtka7dnn.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/http:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/20140724-123524.jpg\"><img data-opt-id=534681394  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/mlpxrtka7dnn.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/http:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/20140724-123524.jpg\" alt=\"20140724-123524.jpg\" width=\"150\" height=\"142\" \/><\/a><em>&#8211; <\/em>Sonnenblumenbrot (German Sunflower Seed bread) &#8211; <em>white flour, rye, and loads of yummy roasted sunflower seeds. $5\/loaf<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8211;<\/strong> Buckwheat with walnuts and honey &#8211;\u00a0 <em>gorgeous and loaded with flavor.<\/em> $5\/loaf<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Breakfast treats<br \/>\n&#8230;&#8230;..Chocolate Babka rolls<em> in honor of Hanukkah; sweet egg bread dough filled with chocolate, butter and a hint of cinnamon <\/em><br \/>\n&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;Gibassier<em><strong>&#8211;<\/strong> a traditional Provence treat\u00a0 with candied orange peel, tossed with sugar.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: maroon;\">Holiday Case Sale continues\u00a0 through Dec 27!<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<img data-opt-id=192477137  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhqBjXowqwbAiT4orlnHv1gnsOodGgTdTqmw2-NECjlALj0fAx\" alt=\"\" width=\"252\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Our annual <em><strong>Holiday Case Sale<\/strong><\/em> continues through December! Buy <em>any twelve bottles,<\/em> and we will pay the sales tax (8.6%)!<em> <span style=\"color: maroon;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Even better<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u2026 <strong>Wine Club members<\/strong> get an <strong><em>additional 5%\u00a0off!<\/em><\/strong> Offer good through closing time on Saturday, December 27!<\/p>\n<p>We have brought in a lot of new wines in the last few weeks, so the selection has never been better. OMD, better hurry, only TWO SHOPPING WEEKENDS LEFT THIS YEAR!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: maroon;\">AND REMEMBER: STOCK UP! WE ARE CLOSED THROUGH JANUARY!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: maroon;\"><strong>Solstice Thoughts<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/iframewidth=640height=360src=\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C4V-ooITrws?feature=player_detailpageframeborder=0allowfullscreen\/iframe\"><iframe style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C4V-ooITrws?feature=player_detailpage\" width=\"320\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/a>Over this blog&#8217;s six year (OMD!) history, I have often taken the opportunities presented by solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days to muse about our ongoing astronomical situation. For example, last year at this time you were presented with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=0jHsq36_NTU\">this link <\/a>to a fascinating little video illustrating the limitations of our childlike tendency to imagine the Sun as fixed in space while all the planets, comets, and its light-year-wide Oort Cloud revolve around it. No, the video suggested, the overall motion is more of a <em>Vortex<\/em>, because the Whole Kaboodle is moving through space at 45,000 miles an hour carrying the Sun and its orbiting disciples with it. This year we take the opportunity to stretch our creaky minds a little more.<\/p>\n<p>Click on the image or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=C4V-ooITrws&amp;feature=player_detailpage\">here <\/a>to run the next video, which imagines the path our Small but Beloved Solar System takes around the Milky Way every 226 million years. Each of those sinusoidal waves represents the 26,000 year precession which keeps moving our Pole Star around, wreaking Havoc in those eras when the Earth&#8217;s axis doesn&#8217;t happen to point to any particular star. For you sailors our there, it just means this is a Golden Time for Navigation, because there IS a North Star, and it has come in very handy over the last several centuries.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: maroon;\">Tenth Annual \u201cEast Coast\u201d New Year\u2019s Eve Gala Extravaganza! <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-opt-id=1628252069  decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTrjCSbr0sCTkOArdTlIt11jqVnAO-qV24hqBAMJkcnhLpx8dsI\" alt=\"\" width=\"251\" height=\"201\" \/> Yes friends, it\u2019s here again! From 7-9pm on New Year\u2019s Eve we provide the wine, you bring something delicious to share, and when the Ball drops in Times Square we hoist our glasses and toast the Year of the Goat! (huh?\u2026<em>GOAT<\/em>..?? There\u2019s a <em>whole YEAR<\/em> of the <em>Goat?<\/em> What\u2019s <em>that<\/em> about???).<\/p>\n<p>Afterwards, as usual, you young folks can move on to your next party, and we old timers can get to bed at a decent hour! We have grown quite fond of this annual chance to thank all of you who have visited, schmoozed, chatted, laughed, and enjoyed yourselves with us this past year, and to look ahead together to more fun in <em>aught-fifteen<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the deal: We provide the space and the wine, and you bring your most delectable finger food to share. <em>BEST DISH WINS A NICE BOTTLE OF WINE<\/em>! Mark your calendars and start planning your finger food.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: maroon;\"><strong>Winery dogs <\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-opt-id=500454521  data-opt-src=\"http:\/\/www.greatnorthwestwine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Murray_Syrah.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"135\" \/>It&#8217;s hard to say if this wine <em>(see notes, below)<\/em> is as good as I thought when I first tried it. Ordinarily I am not seduced by just another Pretty Label&#8211; you know, it&#8217;s What&#8217;s Inside that Counts, right? But alas, we all have our little Weaknesses, and yeah, like many of you I am a sucker for cute dog photos. So you should all buy this wine just for the label, and if it&#8217;s any good, well, all the better. As it turns out, it&#8217;s from a pretty reliable source; the fruit is from Washington State&#8217;s most hallowed wine region (Red Mountain), and the producer is Hightower Cellars, usually a source of pretty good wine.<\/p>\n<p>Then there is also the other thing&#8211; almost every winery has a Winery Dog. For some reason they are usually getting on in years (it&#8217;s a senior position), are pretty laid-back, and pretty friendly. The big events of the day often involve standing up, shaking, and ambling to a more comfortable spot as the sun moves the shadows around. You know, sunny spot to sunny spot on cold days, and shady spot to shady spot on hot days. They have something to teach us, these icons of the wine industry&#8230;!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: maroon;\"><strong>This week&#8217;s wine tasting<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Shooting Star Chardonnay &#8217;12\u00a0\u00a0 California\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $12<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Big aromas of citrus and apple; round on the palate, with stone fruit flavors and nice minerality on the crisp finish.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Casa Contini Biferno Riserva &#8217;09 Italy $12<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>80% montepulciano, 20% aglianico; wonderfully smooth and balanced, with smoky blackberry, chestnut, and peppery aromas.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Monte Tondo Valpolicello\u00a0 &#8217;12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Italy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $16<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>A blend of some ripe and some raisined grapes gives this wine body and texture, along with notes of sour black cherry, spices, roses, and violets. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Steele Outkaste Red &#8217;11 Mendocino $16<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>53% zinfandel, with syrah, tempranillo, petite sirah, and petit verdot; aromas of black pepper, raspberry, and cobbler, with palate of brambly blackberry, cassis, and spices.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hightower Murray Syrah &#8217;11 Washington $16<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>From legendary Red Mountain grapes; Ripe, rich and utterly enjoyable; lush red berry fruit followed by a complex, meaty mid-palate and a long finish.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bread Friday &#8211; Sonnenblumenbrot (German Sunflower Seed bread) &#8211; white flour, rye, and loads of yummy roasted sunflower seeds. $5\/loaf &#8211; Buckwheat with walnuts and honey &#8211;\u00a0 gorgeous and loaded with flavor. $5\/loaf &#8211; Breakfast treats &#8230;&#8230;..Chocolate Babka rolls in honor of Hanukkah; sweet egg bread dough filled with chocolate, butter and a hint of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wine-tasting"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4832"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4842,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4832\/revisions\/4842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}