{"id":496,"date":"2010-12-09T23:46:43","date_gmt":"2010-12-10T06:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artisanwineclub.com\/?p=496"},"modified":"2010-12-11T19:48:50","modified_gmt":"2010-12-12T02:48:50","slug":"wine-tasting-december-11-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wine-tasting-december-11-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Wine Tasting December 11 ’10"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lots of ANNOUNCEMENTS\u00a0 this week, so read carefully!<\/p>\n

First, a glance at the calendar tells us that both Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Saturdays this year. Since we are only open on Saturdays, that means a really short month for your favorite wine shop, basically this weekend and next weekend. So….<\/p>\n

Announcement #1:<\/strong> We’re open only two more weekends before Christmas and we have some great gifts<\/strong> that will make it easy for you to whittle down that shopping list without leaving the Island.\u00a0\u00a0 In addition to the always appropriate special bottle of wine, we have some handsome DECANTERS<\/strong> and great little corkscrews<\/strong>.\u00a0 And for the foodies, we have bottles of prize-winning ITALIAN OLIVE OIL<\/strong> from a Tuscan winery…spicy and bright. freshly pressed and age-dated, perfect for finishing a savory holiday dish.\u00a0 And of course 2# rounds of Pleasant Valley Cheese<\/strong> are always welcome gifts.\u00a0 And Truffles!<\/strong> See Announcement #2!
\n<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Announcement #2: There WILL BE Holiday truffles for Christmas!\u00a0 You can order them until Monday, December 13<\/span><\/strong> by calling Pat (758-2959), or Janice (758-2559 and they’ll be ready for pickup next Saturday, December 18, at the wine shop.\u00a0 Boxes of 4 different truffles, beribboned, make tasty, attractive house gifts or stocking stuffers at $5… and you can order them in bulk if you’re hosting a crowd at $1 each.<\/p>\n

Announcement #3: For our loyal followers we announce the<\/span> Fifth Annual East Coast New Year’s Eve Gala Extravaganza <\/span>from 7-9pm on New Year’s Eve! <\/span><\/strong>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 Rabbit. <\/em>You young folks can move on to your next party, and we old timers can get to bed at a decent hour! It’s our chance to thank you for your support this past year, and to look ahead to more fun in aught-eleven. Mark your calendars and start planning your finger food!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Announcement #4:New Year’s Eve will also be sort of Rich’s “retirement party”<\/span><\/strong> from WWU (the Day Job that has kept this place going the last five years)<\/em> and therefore a bit of a milestone, eh?<\/p>\n

So how does this happen? For years and years and years “retirement” is something you plot about and dream about (lemme see, if I make<\/em> this much for another four hundred years, maybe someday…)<\/em> and it is always way, way far away, and then, seriously, ALL OF A SUDDEN here it is you’re a bloomin’ geezer and they’re moving your boxcar over to that rusty, overgrown siding in the middle of bloomin’ nowhere! It’s times like this when your wine cellar, like your pantry, can become a great comfort…ahhhh.<\/p>\n

Last week was a quiet blur, about a dozen guests…Sorry, forgot to take pictures!<\/p>\n

Since the holidays are upon us<\/strong>, and since we will only be open two more weekends this year,<\/strong> we would like to put in a plug for some of the Good Stuff we keep in the Bunker. It’s been a tough couple of years for all of us economically, and here on Lummi Island, we have been squeezed about dry over the ferry, and every once in a while you just have to say well this is really depressing, so wtf, let’s open a Really Great bottle of wine<\/em> and celebrate, because if not now, When? And if not we, Who?<\/p>\n

In case you didn’t know it, Washington has two of the best wineries in the World, Quilceda Creek <\/strong>and Betz<\/strong>, and we have essentially every wine either of them has made in the last five years.<\/strong> These wines have been sold out for years every place else, but here they are for you right here on little Lummi Island!
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

QC’s signature cabernet<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong> is unique in all the world in having garnered perfect 100 point ratings<\/strong> from Robert Parker four of the past six years, and almost perfect <\/em>99’s the other two. It also makes two other cabs, an occasional merlot, and a red blend, all exquisite and all here for you. Why not treat yourself or that special wine lover?<\/p>\n

Betz<\/a><\/strong> is a small winery in Woodinville little known outside Washington, which has also consistently scored high ratings in the wine press for both their Biordeaux blends (cab) and their Rhone blends (syrah\/grenache).\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

This week’s wines:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rex Hill pinot gris\u00a0 ’09\u00a0\u00a0 Oregon\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $14\u00a0 WS89pts<\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/em>Light, polished and appealing for its spearmint-accented pear and apple flavors; lingers enticingly on the delicate finish.<\/p>\n

Villa des Anges Cab Sauv 09 France $10<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong>A wine of great freshness, intensity and concentration. Well-structured, offering aromas of black cherries, with hints of red pepper and light, spicy cumin\/coriander notes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Domaine Faury Syrah Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes ’08 France $18<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong>Herbs, spice, white pepper, and dark cherries predominate initially;opens up from red raspberry to pomegranate.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pomum Shya 06 Washington $33<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/strong>Bright and racy cherry, raspberry and cola aromas wrapped in an intensively perfumed nose of exotic spices and aromatic herbs. The full body mouth feel shows great acidity, tremendous structure and endless fruit<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lots of ANNOUNCEMENTS\u00a0 this week, so read carefully! First, a glance at the calendar tells us that both Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Saturdays this year. Since we are only open on Saturdays, that means a really short month for your favorite wine shop, basically this weekend and next weekend. So…. Announcement #1: […]<\/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-496","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\/496","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=496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}