{"id":6124,"date":"2016-06-16T20:41:50","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T03:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artisanwineclub.com\/?p=6124"},"modified":"2016-06-16T21:56:01","modified_gmt":"2016-06-17T04:56:01","slug":"lummi-island-wine-tasting-june-17-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/lummi-island-wine-tasting-june-17-16\/","title":{"rendered":"lummi island wine tasting june 17 ’16"},"content":{"rendered":"

(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked)<\/em><\/p>\n

Friday Breads <\/span><\/strong>(email us to get on the preorder mailing list! )<\/em><\/p>\n

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Oops! Janice has been away this week, so no bread pickup this Friday. Look for her pre-order email in your box Sunday or Monday for next week’s<\/em> offerings…!<\/p>\n

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Ros\u00e9 Season!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"DSCN1490\"<\/a>Yes, folks, the ros\u00e9 shrine<\/a> at the top of the stairs now now displays about about ten different ros\u00e9s. Yesterday and today have qualified as Perfect Ros\u00e9 Days– sunny with lots of big puffy white clouds accenting lots of clear Blue Sky, temperatures perfect (pushing 70), a light breeze, everything in Full Bloom.<\/p>\n

Nothing beats a pre-dinner glass of ros\u00e9 on the deck on days like these. Raise your glasses to the Magic of Summer and repeat after me:\u00a0\u00a0 “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…!”<\/em><\/p>\n

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Mont Sainte-Victoire
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This week’s ros\u00e9 is from a region about 25 km east of Aix en Provence<\/em>, and just south of the base of Mont Sainte-Victoire, <\/em>a favorite subject of Paul Cezanne, who lived in Aix. Apparently Cezanne became enamored with the mountain on a train ride across the bridge near the foot of the mountain in 1878, and subsequently did numerous paintings<\/a> of it. In most of them the railroad bridge, with its many Roman arches, can be seen in the landscape…can you find it?<\/p>\n

Provence, of course, has set the standard for the style of ros\u00e9 that has become immensely popular around the US in recent years, and this wine is a typical blend of 35% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 25% Syrah, and 10% Rolle (aka the smooth and flavorful Italian grape vermentino<\/em>).<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/em>The Underground Wine Project
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The “Underground Wine Project” is a collaboration among Mark McNeilly and Mike MacMorran of Mark Ryan Winery<\/a> and Trey Busch of Sleight of Hand Cellars<\/a>. We first met Trey some years ago when he was winemaker for Basel Cellars in Walla Walla, which is still worth a visit next time you are in Walla Walla, if only for the curiously overstated decor.<\/a> We also attended a wine dinner back in those days at Oyster Creek down Chuckanut Drive featuring wines from Basel with Trey there to pour them. In particular I remember that he had hastily bottled (and not yet filtered or labeled) some of his newest white blend, called “Forget Me Not,”<\/em> a traditional White Bordeaux blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon.<\/p>\n

All you need to know is that raw oysters have always been a bit challenging for me, but with the Right Wine I can heartily enjoy at least a few. And in my modest experience, the “Right Wine” definitely involves sauvignon blanc, and it is a toss-up whether the best pairing is with a White Bordeaux (blend of sauv blanc and semillon) or the straight, minerally, sea-scented sauvignon blancs from the little area at the eastern end of the Loire Valley, including Sancerre, Quincy or Reuilly. The common thread seems to be that ancient soil, rich in millions-of-years old seashells, still sing a salty song of open ocean\u00a0 that resonates Mightily with the Briny Oyster.<\/p>\n

But I digress. The main point is that many of you are familiar with Trey Busch’s wine, because we have long carried his very popular “Renegade” second label; his “Renegade Red” has been an over-delivering favorite with most of you for several years now. Very Western in style, his wines are not at all Shy, and this is particularly true of the Underground Wine Project wines, which put their Fruit right in Your Face, where you are moved to Jump In and Wallow. So it is with that introduction we announce the new vintage of Underground Wine Project’s “Idle Hands,” from 100% Washington Syrah from Red Heaven Vineyard on Red Mountain, Washington State’s premier wine appellation. You’re gonna like it!<\/p>\n

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The Return of Dreamtime!
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\n\"dreamtime1\"<\/a>As both of our Regular Readers will note, last July, on a sudden Irrational Impulse, we Bought a Boat (Dreamtime)<\/em> the day after we Sold a Boat (Layla).<\/em> According to Popular Wisdom, the Two Best Days in a Boatowner’s life are The Day You Buy and The Day You Sell. The Big Takeaway here is that we were Giddy on Boat Buying and Selling—what could possibly Go Wrong?<\/p>\n

Well, anyone who has lived long enough to have Spent Some Time with Murphy knows that Life is Cyclical. Or as Ecclesiastes might say, a Time for Everything In Its Season. And don’t forget Murphy’s Most Important Corollary– when things DO go Wrong, it will be at The Worst Possible Time, as it was when a Seriously Unusual Gale hit Lummi Island late last August which tore our Baby Boat from her mooring and cracked her open on the rocks near the ferry dock.<\/p>\n

All these months later, after a LOT of Work, Dreamtime<\/em> is back in the water and being Refitted for Service. And in Deference to Good Omens, we are happy to report that on her Maiden Voyage yesterday of at least several hundred yards from one slip to another at our dear Squalicum Marina, we were moved to Stop and Hail at our friend (and Wine Merchant Extraordinaire) <\/em>Laurent’s boat about halfway across the Marina, only to find that we were crashing an ongoing Wine Tasting. I mean, Really, does it get any Better than This?!! And yes, next weekend you may expect to reap Dividends from this highly impromptu Tasting, which included a number of very tasty and well-priced white wines…!<\/p>\n

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This week’s wine tasting
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Waitsburg “Three” White ’14\u00a0\u00a0 Washington\u00a0\u00a0 $15<\/strong>
\nGrenache Blanc, Marsanne, and Picpoul from Boushey Vineyard: Bright, light yellow; aromas and flavors of orange zest, pink grapefruit, quince, and menthol,\u00a0 with a\u00a0 mineral and anise notes.
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Gassier Esprit Ros\u00e9 ’15\u00a0 France $15 <\/strong>
\nA very clear ros\u00e9 with shades of peach; floral nose with white and yellow fruit notes (peach, apricot, pear); in the mouth, round and delicate with notes of white peach, mandarin and grapefruit.<\/p>\n

Anciano\u00a0 5-Yr Tempranillo Riserva \u201908\u00a0\u00a0 Spain\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $11<\/strong><\/span>
\n<\/em>Aromas of damp earth, mocha, tobacco, and black cherry. On the palate it is sweetly fruited, easy-going, and nicely balanced leading to a seamless, fruity finish.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bocelli Sangiovese Italy $14<\/strong>
\nBright,, lush, and appealing; deliciously ripe and smoky, with notes of marasca cherry, granite, and rhubarb compote. Finish is long and dry, with admirable acidity that makes the palate taut and pleasing<\/em><\/p>\n

Idle Hands Syrah \u201913 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Washington\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $27<\/strong>
\nA classic Red Mountain Fruit Bomb with plenty of ripe cherries, blueberries, and hints of Chambord liqueur,\u00a0 spices, and lusciously smooth texture. Big and fruit-forward with the density and power that has become the hallmark of the Underground Wine Project.<\/em><\/p>\n

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(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked) Friday Breads (email us to get on the preorder mailing list! ) Oops! Janice has been away this week, so no bread pickup this Friday. Look for her pre-order email in your box Sunday or Monday for next week’s offerings…!       Ros\u00e9 Season! Yes, folks, the […]<\/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-6124","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\/6124","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=6124"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6141,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6124\/revisions\/6141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}