Yeah! Peak of the Week 8/9 New Wines, Bird Pics, Anadama

Winery Happenings
Bottling day wrapped for us on Friday and 11 new Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! wines are out of tank and into bottles. Designed by Brian Steely, the newest Yeah! label graces seven of the wines and depicts elements of California wildlife such as the magnificent condor amid a contrasting backdrop of deep green, gold, and blue representing the state’s diverse natural landscape. The wines are phenomenal, and we are eager for you to try each one. They are truly California Energy Wines.

Birds
It’s all about the ladybirds. We suggest you check it out for the incredible photos of some fabulous birds and also for the telling tale of how often female birds are overlooked by wildlife photographers and scientists due to their more muted colors, which allows them to blend into the background. “Year after year, members of a female-bird-focused group called the Galbatross Project watched as the winning photographs tended to neglect females. “In species that have different feather patterns between females and males, we would usually see the males represented, because often they were the ones that were brighter or bolder,” says Purbita Saha, senior deputy editor at Popular Science and a founding member of the Galbatross Project. We are glad to know this group exists and are bringing attention to the female winged ones out there.

Anadama Bread*
Growing up on Cape Cod, my mom always made her own bread rather than buy it in the store. There was oatmeal, cinnamon raisin, and, most importantly, Anadama. Made with flour, cornmeal, and molasses, anadama bakes up to be a slightly dense, slightly sweet slice that just begs to be slathered in butter and jam or layered with roast beef, mayo, and fresh tomatoes. Call me nostalgic - I won’t deny it - but when summer starts leaning in to the sweat-soaked hot yoga of August but you can also just barely begin to smell the ferment of fall early in the mornings, a cup of coffee and slab of anadama toast are the excited dot under a day’s exclamation point. I find the salty-sweet, slightly savory taste pairs well with the ’22 Marvelous Mourvèdre OR the ’22 Summer Salters Rosé II. How’s that for Yankee ingenuity?

Ride Captain Ride*
Recorded way back in 1970 by Floridian rock band Blues Image, the song tells of a ship that sails from San Francisco, offering a ride to a land of freedom. Alas, everyone on land is too wrapped up in daily life’s hassles to notice, so the ship sails off, never to be heard from again. Heavy handed with the metaphors? Absolutely. Still, that doesn’t mean it won’t give you goosebumps as you dance around the living room singing along, which you surely will – this is one of those classic songs you’ve heard so much you know the lyrics by osmosis. Now, while Blues Image does a fine job, my personal favorite version is this Phish cover from 1992. Speaking of Phish, if you’re in the northeast or aren’t afraid to drop everything and travel there these two Vermont flood benefit shows are looking to be a mighty fine time for a great cause.

*A very special thank you to friend, fellow New Englander, and do it aller, James Joiner for contributing content to this Peak of the Week.