{"id":7263,"date":"2017-09-07T21:42:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T04:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artisanwineclub.com\/?p=7263"},"modified":"2017-09-07T22:19:43","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T05:19:43","slug":"lummi-island-wine-tasting-september-8-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/lummi-island-wine-tasting-september-8-17\/","title":{"rendered":"lummi island wine tasting september 8 ’17"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Bread this week<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Multi Grain Levain –<\/strong> Made with a sourdough culture and using a flavorful mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A nice mixture of flax, sesame sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some polenta add great flavor and crunch. And just a little honey for some sweetness. A great all around bread that is full of flavor – $5\/loaf<\/em><\/p>\n

Braided Challah –<\/strong> a delightful soft loaf made with bread flour, lots of eggs, sugar and vegetable oil, with no butter or milk. Makes great toast and even better french toast- $5\/loaf<\/p>\n

And for pastry this week…<\/em><\/p>\n

Individual Cinnamon Rolls<\/strong> – Made with a rich sweet roll dough that is full of eggs, butter and sugar. The dough is rolled out, spread with pastry cream and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled up and sliced into individual rolls for baking. And boy are they delicious!! – 2\/$5.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Tator Talk<\/span>
\n<\/b><\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>We spent much of the early part of the week waiting in the Post-Labor Day Weekend\/ Pre-Ferry-Drydock Exit Extravaganza…several days of two-hour waiting lines getting on or off the Island. Tator went to our regular Vet two of those days, and yesterday went to the Ultrasound Vet for a very detailed internal exam. The Good News is that no major abnormalities or growths were discovered. The Less Good news is that, tests being what they are, there is still no definitive explanation for her condition.<\/p>\n

Today delivered more Good News, though, because through the day today she has shown more energy and focus than for several weeks. One hopeful interpretation is that indeed her weakness and muscle wasting the last several weeks have been artifacts of the high doses of prednisone she started with. Now that we have tapered off the prednisone to small doses, while her red cell count has climbed into the “low normal” range, the changes we are seeing might be the “bouncing back” we have been looking for as her red cell count has been increasing.<\/p>\n

We are keeping all our paws crossed. In the meantime, keep those Healing Vibes headed her way…!<\/p>\n

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Comparing Pleasures<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Culture is Multidimensional. Many of us got a Good Taste of that in Ryan’s presentation series at the wine shop several years ago on The Art of Wine.<\/em> The format was to pick a region, and then to explore the wines, the food, the art, and the literature. Each component of the exploration yielded a Dimension of the Region.<\/p>\n

In this week’s tasting we offer two seductive red wines, one from Italy and one from Spain. The Tommasi Poggio Al Tufo Rompicollo is a Tuscan blend of sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon. Tuscany enjoys an archetypal Mediterranean climate, with rolling hills, seasonal rains, and hot, dry summers. The Maremma region of Tuscany extends toward the sea on the west, and allows both Italian and French Bordeaux varietals in regional wines. Look for a richness typical of the volcanic limestone soil and climate and a relaxing raisiny softness that wafts through your senses.<\/p>\n

Contrast this with our comparably-priced offering from the Priorat region of Spain;<\/em> the Esplugen<\/em> blend of Garnacha, carinena, cab sauv<\/em>\u00a0represents a somewhat similar volcanic soil in a more austere micro-climate. In Priorat the vines must dig very deep (30 feet or more) into the dry layers of rocks and sand to find enough water to survive. This results, especially in the case of Old Vine Carinena (my One Wine Weakness…!),<\/em> in Dark Wines of Depth and Subtlety. In comparison to the rich and seductive Super-Tuscan sangio-cab blends, the Priorat blends show the Austerity of their Roots as Deeper and Darker Shades of Red. Musically, if the Rompicollo is Rich and Opulent, the Priorat is Complex and Profound, Deep and Resonant. And Both are Delightful!<\/p>\n

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Mar a Lago Update: Hurricane Season<\/strong><\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

The Big News this week is (sort of)<\/em> about Hurricanes. Last week Harvey smashed into the Texas Coast and liked it so much it stayed around for a few days to keep sucking up water from the Gulf and dropping it onto Houston and the Gulf Coast. This week Florida prepares for Hurricane Irma,<\/em> with the Highest Winds Ever Recorded for an Atlantic Hurricane, on the order of Two Hundred Miles Per Hour. All you need to know is that the Force of Wind is proportional the the Square of the Velocity. That is, each time you double the wind velocity, you quadruple<\/em> the destructive power of the wind. So a two-hundred mph wind has 100 times<\/em> the destructive power of a 20-mph wind, not “just”10 times! <\/em><\/p>\n

These Hurricanes seem to have made for Strange Bedfellows yesterday, when the Tweetster Made a Deal (OMD, he really Can Make Deals…?)<\/em> with the Democratic Leadership that was pretty much of a Major Eff-Yu to McConnell and Ryan, judging from the Steam billowing from their ears.<\/p>\n

Then today, the Tweetster sent a Special Tweet at the request of Speaker Pelosi (it’s almost Romantic!)<\/em> and has been Delighted with the Great Publicity all this has gleaned for him. So he is Pleased. Let us hope All the Dems will be taking note: Public Approval is now The Coin of the Realm <\/em>for Policy because he is Addicted<\/em> to it! Watch out, Republicans…once the Tweetster Gets It that the Accolades of the Many are Much More Satisfying than the Condescending Tolerance of the Powerful Few, he might actually Get Liberal Religion. Remember…you heard it here First!<\/p>\n

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This week’s wine tasting<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Cloudlift Updraft \u201913\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Washington\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $18<\/strong>
\nBordeaux-style blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon; aromas of apple blossom, mango, papaya, and lime; flavors of Bosc pear and juicy tropical fruit leading to a palate-cleansing rush of citrus acidity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bieler\u00a0 Pere et Fils Ros\u00e9 Cuv\u00e9e ’16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 France\u00a0 $12 <\/strong>
\n<\/em>Pale brilliant orange. Bright, energetic and focused nose of fresh red berry, orange zest and honeysuckle. Juicy raspberry and cherry flavors with a core of tangy acidity; silky and perfumed on the refreshing finish.<\/em><\/p>\n

Crios Malbec ’15 \u00a0\u00a0 Argentina\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 $14
\n<\/strong>Bright, dark red. Redcurrant, black cherry, ripe strawberry and spices on the nose; sweet red fruit flavors are complicated by earth, licorice and menthol; creamy fruit is firmed by smooth tannins…a terrific value.<\/p>\n

Esplugen Priorat \u201914\u00a0\u00a0 Spain\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $17<\/strong>
\nGarnacha, carinyena, cab sauv; Priorat\u2019s famous slate soil and arid climate give this wine great intensity and structure, with deep and complex aromas of rich ripe fruit, toast, and a long pleasing finish .<\/em><\/p>\n

T<\/strong>ommasi Poggio Al Tufo Rompicollo \u201912\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Italy\u00a0 93pts \u00a0 $17<\/strong>
\nO<\/em>pulent, with an Amarone-like raisiny nuance to the ripe, soft red cherry, sweet spice, and herb aromas and flavors. Velvety, opulent, well balanced and smooth, with long, lush, smooth tannins. Terrific buy!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(note: some photos will enlarge when clicked) Bread this week Multi Grain Levain – Made with a sourdough culture and using a flavorful mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A nice mixture of flax, sesame sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some polenta add great flavor and crunch. And just a […]<\/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-7263","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\/7263","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=7263"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7283,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7263\/revisions\/7283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}