Oregon Wine Goes Social

In honor of Regional Wine Week (sponsored by Drink Local Wine), I'd like to take a moment to draw your attention to a new monthly tasting group with a focus on Oregon wine. The Oregon Wine Social which has recently emerged in Portland, brings Oregon wine country directly to the city. Thinking beyond urban wineries and giant wine festivals, each month this wine group presents a fantastic opportunity to taste a variety of producers from all over Oregon wine country in a very intimate venue.

This ain't no wine festival though. With limited tickets available, you won't be fighting your way through crowds thick as fog seeking wines and conversation with the producers. Instead, you'll discover interesting wines, time with the winemakers, cozy venues and clever food pairings from the restaurant of choice, all while mingling with other local food and wine lovers.

The next Oregon Wine Social celebrates the 2013 Grape Harvest on Wednesday, October 16th from 5:30-7:30pm at 23 Hoyt. This months guest wineries are Ghost Hill Cellars, Imbue Cellars and WillaKenzie Estate. In addition to the food, wine and great company, fun prizes and tickets to future events will be up for grabs. A few tickets still remain, but get them before they're gone.

Oregon Wine Social "Harvest Celebration"

Wednesday, October 16, 2013
5:30pm-7:30pm
Where: 23 Hoyt 

RSVP is required by Tuesday October 15th. $30 per person

Ticket price includes wine tasting from the 3 featured wineries, and special appetizers prepared by 23 Hoyt. 

Tickets are very limited and will sell out quickly. Ages 21 and over only. 

Click here to purchase Tickets

Like them on Facebook, to stay in the know about upcoming events, I do.

Another Oregon Winery Steps into the Spotlight

Come closer. I have a secret I'd like to whisper in your ear. There's a new winery in town and I know you want to know all the juicy details before everyone else does.

Since I’m always on the lookout for new wines and wineries to share with you, when I heard about the upcoming Grand Opening of the Hyland Estates tasting room in Dundee this weekend, I knew you’d want me to get and spill the latest dirt.

So, digging in deep, I visited the tasting room a couple days shy of their big debut and met with the winery's Tasting Room Manager Eric Baldwin, who shared with me all he knew about the Hyland Estates story and let me preview the wines.

Purchased in 2007, Hyland Estates is owned by the NW Wine Company (i.e. Laurent Montalieu and Danielle Andrus -Montalieu of Solena Estate) and though the 200-plus acres have been supplying preium grapes to many of Oregon's most prestigious wineries since 1971, the Estate is just releasing its inaugural bottlings and providing a stunning venue in which to preview them.

The swanky tasting room is located in the original and remodeled residence on the grounds of the NW Wine Company. From the outside it looks like a modest home, but inside, in complete opposition, it's all sleek, elegant surfaces with bold, vivid art and a trendy (chichi?), upscale feel.

Producing just over 500 cases a year, Hyland Estates wines are boutique wines, but with 200-plus acres of vines at their fingertips, the winery is poised to accommodate demand. “Always being a vintage away of having more production is a nice position to be in”, says Baldwin. Though the vineyard is planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Muller Thurgau, they don’t make a Chardonnay or Muller Thurgau, preferring to focus on very limited production of Pinot Noir, Riesling and Gewurztraminer. 

The vineyard is situated in the McMinnville AVA on ashy and volcanic Jory and Nekia soils. The lovely 2010 Hyland Estates Pinot Noir ($35) showed aromas and flavors indicative of the region, with an abundance of dried cranberries and juicy, dark plums as well as pleasant notes of vanilla cola, moist earth, lingering smoke and roses.

Though not available for tasting on my visit (but hopefully in time for the Grand Opening, and definitely by Thanksgiving weekend), the winery is scheduled to release two additional higher end Pinot noirs; one is a clonal selection called Hyland Estates Coury Clone ($60) and the other, the Hyland Estates Founders Selection ($100), was crafted from just one chosen barrel and then aged for a full two years (only 28 cases of this wine was produced).

Providing an alternative to Pinot gris, the winery is also featuring their bone-dry 2010 Hyland Estate Gewurztraminer ($25), bright aromas of white grapefruit, pear and orange blossoms. The 2009 Hyland Estates Riesling ($25) was very untraditional as far as Riesling goes, and simple, if not flat, with green apple and citrus.

Visit the tasting room for their Grand Opening celebration November 19^th and 20^th where the wines will be presented alongside tasty morsels. If you can't make it for that weekend, stop by the next time you're out and about in Wine Country; you'll be glad you did.

Open daily from 11-5
20980 NE Niederberger Road, Dundee OR
Join them on Facebook or call them directly at (503) 554-4200

Speaking of being out and about in Wine Country, next time you are, be sure to include a stop at the Red Hills Market in Dundee (which is really so much more than just a market); it's seriously worth making a special drive from Portland just to come here. I discovered their holy-cow-good roast beef sandwiches worth road tripping for (and quite possibly even considering for a last meal) and though it's tempting to try and keep that goodness all for myself, I loved it so much, I want to scream from the rooftops about how great this sandwich was.

Wander around while you wait for your food and you'll find local charcuterie and cheeses, house-made baked goods, locally made products, books, home decor, and 100-plus local wines and craft beers you can enjoy on-premise or to-go. All their craft sandwiches and pizzas are wood-fired and come served right in the roasting pan for a rustic, warm, homey feel. There's even cocktails, locally roasted coffee and fresh nosegays for whatever pick-me-up you so desire.

Consider the Wine Taster's Survival Box, which contains a selection of cured meats, cheeses, olives,  chocolate, a fresh baguette and 2 waters, add a view overlooking the Valley or a vineyard and tell me it doesn't result in complete and utter satiation. Peruse the Red Hills Market menu on their website, then be the hero and avoid the lunch rush by calling ahead with your order, (971) 832-8414.

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One a side note, when Eric poured the Pinot Noir, one of the bottles was clearly corked, meaning it was flawed and smelled fowl, being adversely affected by the presence of TCA in it. I remember reading a tweet from my definitively Portlandian friend Jenny Moshbacher (@secretcrumpet on Twitter), who’s also a writer for the fabulous and informative wineblog NW Wine Anthem, about how putting saran wrap in a TCA-tainted bottle cured the problem right up. I mentioned this to Eric and setting off on an epic experiment, he went and procured a piece of saran wrap, which he then crumbled into a ball, stuffed into the neck of the bottle, jiggled down into the wine and stuffed the cork back on top. We went about our chat and when we were wrapping things up, we decided to check on the “experiment”. What was once a completely unpalatable bottle of wine, was somehow transformed into one smelling of fruit and spice instead of mold. Magic? Seemingly.

Apparently, according to an article in the New York Times from Andrew Waterhouse, a professor of Wine Chemistry at UC Davis who exposes the secrets of the magic trick, the reason it works is that the culprit molecule in infected corks (2,4,6-trichloroanisole) is chemically similar to polyethylene and actually binds to the plastic.

Thank you Jenny for your superior wine-salving skills and for sharing your super-sleuthy and MacGyver-like wine knowledge with those of us smart enough to follow you.

Willamette Valley Vineyards Hosts Upcoming Chef's Night Out

Willamette Valley Vineyards has begun selling tickets to their upcoming Chef’s Night Out on Sunday, October 3^rd. I know it’s hard to even think about Fall right now, as we sit deep amidst the heat of the summer season, but it will creep up all too quickly, of that, I am certain.

Be a part of this event and you’ll enjoy 46 different restaurants, caterers, wineries and other beverage purveyors in the quintessential fundraising event for Marion-Polk County Food Share.

Tickets can be purchased on or before August 1st for $65; $75 if purchased after August 1st. Order tickets by calling 503-581-3855, ext. 315. Get your tickets now, and put your mind at rest that you won’t miss a thing.

The line-up’s pretty hot, check it out… then call.

45^th Grill @ Keizer Renaissance Inn

Adam’s Rib Smoke House, Salem

Airlie Winery, Monmouth

Alessandro’s Ristorante & Galleria, Salem

Amadeus Café, Salem

Amity Vineyards, Amity

J. Bella’s  Ristauranté, Independence

Bentley’s Grill, Salem

Bethel Heights Vineyard, West Salem

Bon Appetit at Willamette University (new)

Café Mam, Eugene (new)

Cascade Baking Company, Salem

Clemenza’s Italian-American Café, Albany (new)

Coelho Winery, Amity (new)

Creative Catering by Roth’s Fresh Markets, Salem

DaVinci Ristorante, Salem

First Burger, Albany (new)

Flight Deck Restaurant & Lounge, Salem

Grand Vines Wine Shop & Bistro, Salem

Griffin Creek, Turner

Hauer of the Dauen Winery, Dayton

Illahe Hills Country Club, Salem

Loustic Catering, West Salem

Morton’s Bistro Northwest, West Salem

Mystic Wines, West Salem

Odom Southern Wine & Spirits, Portland

Prudence Uncorked, Salem (new)

Rogue Ales & Spirits, Newport

Salem Keizer Culinary Students

Silver Grille Café, Silverton

Spirit Mountain Casino Cedar Plank Buffet, Grand Ronde

Spirit Mountain Casino Legends, Grand Ronde

Sybaris, Albany

Trinity Vineyards, Salem

Van Duzer Vineyards, Dallas

Vitae Springs Vineyard, Salem

Vitality Food & Spirits, Woodburn

Willaby’s Catering & Event Design, Salem

Willamette Burger Company, Salem (new)

Willamette Noodle Company, Salem

Willamette Valley Cheese Co., Salem

Willamette Valley Grill, Salem

Willamette Valley Vineyards, Turner

Witness Tree Vineyard, West Salem

Youngs-Columbia Distributing, Salem

Z’IVO Wines, McMinnville

So Many Pinots… Too Little Time

There she was, in a position she never thought she’d find herself in. A lavish Pinot party was being thrown and she alone would be host to five very seductive guests, five sultry strangers. How the night would play out, no one could be sure, but she planned to indulge in each of them. And she meant to talk about it… a lot. She even intended on judging them and how they measured up and would tell everyone she knew.

She welcomed her guests to her home; two native Oregonions, one from California and two from Argentina, adding some international flavor to the group. She knew which guests were planning to be there, she had invited them all—and she attentively prepared each of them for the pleasure they were about to share. Undressing each one slowly, focusing solely, intently and deliberately on one while the others watched with Pinot envy, she exposed a hint of their essence and breathed them in slow and deep. Their heady aromas filled her body and teased her with delight as she patiently moved from one to the next, opening them up, releasing just a glimpse of their unique promise. She sighed, looking at them all with wonder, “What ever will this one be like and what is it that you have to share with me?”

She tenderly touched each, stroking and then gripping their smooth necks, unsure where she’d exactly start… what she’d explore first. That exotic Argentinean was giving her hot and heavy “do me” eyes, so she decided then and there, Argentina would be last. She’d begin with the local flavors first, and venture out from there; though she had a wild side, the safe and familiar sometimes holds a certain allure. At some point, a feeling of decadence washed over her like a powerful ocean wave and she found herself drenched in emotion, feeling blessed with abundance no one person should know.

She would make the first move, but things degraded quickly. The ratio was five-to-one: them against her, her against them, her drinking them in, them waiting for her, her lips on one and then another, each of them teasing her and tormenting her with their lustiness… one after the other, individually and collectively, until eventually they all came together in what some might view a frenzied climax of indulgement… a pinotrgasm (the ‘t’ is silent) if you will. She’d never enjoyed five at once… wow. And then she put it down in words:

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2008 Pinot Noir Founders Reserve: The nose of this wine immediately calms and soothes you with its smooth and silky aromas… almost as if it were Al Green whispering in his deep and throaty voice, “Oh yeah baby, just drink me in and let me take you over, I can show you a night like no other. Stop thinking, just open up and let me in for a soulful experience of the vine.” The strawberry and floral notes draw you in, while the tart cherries, smoked meat, earth and funk provide an “anything but vanilla” experience of Pinot Noir.

Panther Creek 2007 Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir: The deep ruby color of the wine captures your attention the same as a pretty girl might. You wonder about what’s beneath the surface, surely there’s more than meets the eye. The fragrance is captivating… expect this wine to press you against the wall with its beautifully balanced, harmonious, yet detectable juicy black plum, tart cranberries, cassis, earth and violet notes that add subtle notes of femininity and grace to an otherwise powerful and dominating wine.

Consilience 2006 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir: The deep ruby color of this wine immediately sets the stage and you know you’re in for something a little bit different. It will lick your lips and flick your tongue with sweet blueberries and blackberries, though there’s still a bit of that Northern California “earthiness”. Know what you’re getting into with this one though: it’s pretty hot, will get you drunk and finishes quick.

Alpatago 2007 Pinot Noir (Patagonia, Argentina): Deep and dark, you swirl thinking you may have discovered something complex and mysterious only to discover it’s about as misleading as a man on a first date. The wine lacks structure, is fairly viscous and overly tastes of American oak.

Alpatago 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir (Patagonia, Argentina): Rico Suave—pure charisma, this wine could be the life of any party with bright and playful acids and its strong backbone. More rich and intense than your typical Pinot noir, it fills your mouth with ripe plums, figs and black currants.

Until we sip again…

Cheers!

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Read more about the #PinotNoir Twitter Tryst 2010 from fellow bloggers:

Wine Tonite — and The 2010 Pinot Noir Smackdown Award Goes to…

Suburban Wino — P-Day 3

DRINKnectar — Keep Your Hands Off My Pinot

The Wineing Woman — Pinot Noir Wrap-Up

The Vino File — 3 Pinot’s Head to Head for #PinotNoir

The Amateur Gastronomer — Taste, Talk and Tweet: Pinot Noir

Kramer Vineyards Blog — Tweetup Roundup: Pinot Noir Twitter Tasting

Dude-Approved Oregon Rosés

My most recent adventure involved my husband and myself blind tasting eight bottles of Oregon rosé—I was sure to win him over. Read the story on Cork'd, you'll find reviews of each of the wines as well as the story of my husband's conversion to pink wine.

Lose Yourself In Time at Helvetia Vineyards

If you’re looking for a break from fast-paced city life and seeking some long lost country-style hospitality, you’re sure to find it at Helvetia Vineyards. Established in 1982 by one of the friendliest men in Oregon’s wine industry, John Platt will guide you through his wines, talk to you about the farm’s rich history and, if you’re lucky, he might even hop in your car for a ride up the road to give you a tour of his winery.

Founders John Platt and Elizabeth Furse Elizabeth planted grapes in 1982 originally to supply home winemakers and actually hadn't considered making wine at the time. Their intent was to grow something to satisfy the requirements of farm tax deferral, and wine grapes seemed the likeliest of crops. Later, when these very same home winemakers started winning awards, John's interest in winemaking was sparked. 1996 brought about their first commercial crush and they’re now producing 1,300 cases of estate wines from their 10-acre vineyard located on a southwestern face of the West Hills at the northern tip of the Tualatin Valley (which is actually still within the Willamette Valley).

Winery mascots Jake and Coco are the real greeting committee at Helvetia Vineyards, and even on a spring day that was as soggy as breakfast cereal after sitting in milk a bit too long, who could possibly resist sloppy, wet kisses from a face like this?

The winery’s visitor center is located within a 100-year-old historic farmhouse which now features a display of some of the original winemaking equipment found in the cellar as well as hammocks, horseshoes, croquet and picnic tables to help make your country retreat complete.

While admiring an old framed photo of the original residence, John relayed the story of how this photo was actually a postcard sent to the owner, Jacob Yungen, from his daughter Elise expressing her troubled situation as a single mother while trying to raise her young children. She had mailed it from Reedville, Oregon with a message scrawled on the back asking for help. Looking at that ancient photo of Jacob sitting on the front deck while his daughter Elise gathers her children at the back door moved me in a way which seemed to send me whirling backwards through time. I wondered who took that photo. I could imagine how drastically different her life must have been—to be a woman in 1900. Can’t you just feel their struggle? As I looked into their faces, I tried to understand their relationship. Why is Jacob sitting on the front deck while his daughter and grandchildren stand out back? The house’s air was thick with stories of labor and love, of people and time and I wanted so much to just breathe them all in; yet their secrets remained as elusive as the apparitions themselves. John brought me back to the current century by offering me a tasting of his wines.

Miss Kitty (the resident floozy) affectionately swirled around my feet as I swirled my wine in my glass. She kept me company while I enjoyed a 2007 Chardonnay that was a bit like that tropical vacation I so badly need. With notes of banana cream pie and kefir lime adding a nice twist of tartness, it was like eating dessert while on that tropical vacation… double bonus, all for the value price of $13.00. Ka-ching!

The 2008 Pinot Noir had just been bottled three weeks prior to my visit, and though very young and fruity (put that baby to bed), amidst the sweet strawberries and tart cranberry smell, I detected a bit of barrel funk that’s sure to add elements of intrigue as this wine develops. John offered me a bit of smoked salmon, which brought out a lovely earthy component in the wine, similar to freshly dug truffles. He said he gears his wines towards smoked salmon, and I don’t know how he does it, but he’s right, the combination was very complementary.

John didn’t have to twist my arm to convince me to drive with him over to the nearby winery for some barrel tasting. Jake and Cocoa apparently didn’t want to miss the opportunity either as they ran alongside the car trying to keep up. I thought I lost them, but apparently, they knew just where we were headed and caught up with us before I could even park the car. The wines in the barrel room were listening to some Jazz a la NPR’s Prairie Home Companion (so that’s where that funk in the wine came from) while we tasted an 09 Pinot Noir already developing some nice complexity showing similar moist earth and truffle notes as the 2008 vintage. Sensing I must be a rosé fan, John went to great lengths to siphon off some 2009 Pinot Noir Rosé for me from the Rose Vineyard, a one-and-a-half acre block that doesn’t ripen up quite like the rest. The wine was vibrant and teased my nose with smells of comforting memories of childhood—bubble gum, watermelon and strawberries. Like a fountain of youth, too bad it wasn’t bottled yet.

I dropped John back off at the old Victorian estate and it occurred to me how history has a way of shaping perspective, molding thoughts on your own reality like a lump of clay. Looking up at the windows of the house, envisioning whose faces have looked out of that glass over the years, it occurred to me how closely connected we all are no matter how much time separates us. When Jacob Yungen wrote home about his new life in Oregon, he said, "The North wind howls here every time it frosts. However, the grapes often ripen full and wonderful." So, the house is still here, there are just new faces peering out the windows. The grapes are still ripening, wine is still being produced and families are still gathering on the farmhouse estate where time has a way of just slowing down so much, it’s almost as if it never existed. I guess things haven’t really changed all that much. Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Finding Freedom in Oregon Wine Country Tour

On the day I set out to meet newlywed friends Becky and Zack at Willamette Valley Vineyards, the countryside was both covered and quieted with fog thick as a shroud. Becky arrived ready for Oregon rain fully decked out in her trendy yellow galoshes free to splash in puddles as her heart so desired (missed photo opp number one).

Willamette Valley Vineyards is all about location, location, location. Just south of Salem, and ideally situated directly off I5, its sloping vineyards and watchtower facility regularly lure travelers from their destinations. Founded by visionary Jim Bernau in 1983, Willamette Valley Vineyards lies on a 50-acre estate of red Jory soil, where originally a plum orchard, blackberry bramble and scotch broom blanketing the land. The winery was built in 1989—that and the underground cellar were carved into an ancient volcanic flow (also part of what makes the soil so rich). Now owning more than 300 acres, Willamette Valley Vineyards has grown to become one of Oregon’s largest and most recognizable brands.

The winery offers public tours every day at 1:00 pm, but we were a bit early so we passed on the tour and stayed to taste—though I bet the tour would have been great and really feel like I missed something (if you plan to visit, keep this in mind)! Willamette Valley Vineyards is extremely focused on wine education and they’ve also built a new Wine Center in McMinnville complete with maps and information about the regional soils.

Katie, one of the friendly tasting room staff, greeted us with a pour of their 2006 Griffin Creek Viognier first and then their Chardonnay along with the classic story about how guests always say they don’t like Chardonnay until they try this Chardonnay… hmmmm, haven’t heard that one before. One thing about tasting with friends is you get honest feedback. I was tasting something unpalatable and indefinable in their Chardonnay which my friend Becky accurately termed “funk.” This is why I love tasting with friends. They not only tell you like it is, they even give you the words to accurately describe it—thank you Becky! Clearly not my favorite (or Katie’s, as she actually honestly admitted to us before our tasting – go Katie!!). My preferred wine was their 2007 Tualatin Estate Pinot Noir, smooth yet luscious, beginning with a huge nose of black cherry, blackberries and vanilla and following with a mouthful of strawberries, cranberries, smoke, graham and spice.

When it was time to leave, I followed my friends for a change, as they were endowed/armed with internet and GPS. Driving along washboard dirt roads, my Jeep was smiling as she was getting splattered with mud, feeling at home again after years of city driving. Zack was enjoying his German automobile a bit too much and I was struggling to keep up with him, but he eventually led us directly to Ankeny Cellars and the all the glorious surprises in store for us there, thanks Zack.

If you’re ever in the market for a winery “experience” go to Ankeny Cellars. This time of year (winterish), the outdoor ambiance is more imagined, but located next to Ankeny Wildlife Refuge, one could envision sitting on their deck sipping wine while watching predatory and migratory birds flying overhead. In the dead of winter and pre-dawn of spring, it was still just a graveyard of trellis and vine beholding all the promise of the coming season.

Kathy “The Wine Duchess,” as she’s been nicknamed by Ankeny’s winemaker Andy Thomas, graciously poured for us. Planted in 1982 by Joe Olexa (who has four college degrees, none of which have anything to do with growing wine), the vineyard is located on the southernmost slopes of the Salem hills producing roughly 2,000 cases annually all from estate fruit (they also sell grapes to Kings Estate, Redhawk and Brooks). As Kathy poured us the 2006 Hershey’s Red Pinot Noir, she told us how Hershey the dog has sadly been missing since November 2009. A beautiful tribute to Hershey though, and at $15/bottle, this wine with cherry and tobacco flavors was a tremendous value.

Another wine easy on the wallet and of particular interest was the 2006 Ankeny Crimson. With its strong Port nose, this Marechal Foch-Pinot Noir blend was inky and heavy with dark fruit. It was truly an unexpected combination, and in the words of Kathy our host, “it’s like two wines in one” … fascinating, and at $12.00 bottle, not a real risky investment either. I didn’t particularly care for it, but my companions thought it was good. We all have different palates.

Kathy told us we could take a hike—up the hill that is, past the grapevines, goats, cows, llamas and emus, to a one-acre clearing of 85 marked and 12 unmarked graves comprising Cox Pioneer Cemetery. I later learned that the cemetery was founded by Thomas Cox, Salem’s first storekeeper, and that his wife Martha was the first person buried there in 1949. An old barn from 1851 still stands on the property today, which I didn’t see and am still remiss about that lost photo opp too… another time, perhaps when the weather is fairer.

My friends and I parted ways as they continued to explore some regional favorites while I had the sweet wines of Honeywood Winery on my radar. I ventured back into the Salem hills once again GPS-free and flying by my own instincts and the seat of my pants. Quite miraculously, and without so much as a wrong turn, I arrived at Honeywood’s Salem winery.

Honeywood Winery officially opened the day after prohibition ended making it the oldest continually operating winery in Oregon. Founded in 1933 by Ron Honeyman and John Wood, it was originally called Columbia Distilleries (producing brandies, cordials and liquors), and though they objected to the merging of their names, somehow—and naturally—Honeywood stuck.

The winery offered an enormous selection of wines (18 different varietals!), above and beyond the mead and 34 fruit wines they’re famous for. When you’re handed a list with over 50 wines and told to select five, even the experienced taster is overwhelmed. I had no idea what I wanted to taste, I’ve never been there before—I really wanted to taste it all… or most of it. Well, actually I really don’t want to taste 34 different fruit wines (how many ways can you spell berry, ugh?), but five wines really didn’t give me enough of a chance to taste what the winery has to offer either. Of what I did taste, I enjoyed a non-vintage Muller Thurgau tart with lime and a touch of warm anise. As I drove away, I started thinking about those fruit wines and how I bet they’d be great for cooking—sauces, syrups, dressings and marinades of the most memorable kind! Hmmm, great thought… too bad it was moments too late.

I also thought more on tasting in the southern Willamette Valley. In addition to enjoying some great Oregon wines, you won’t break the bank and you’ll also find educational tours, history, hikes and beautiful settings to enjoy it all. I always treasure my drives through wine country; the roads are open and long and even with the windows closed, there’s this sense of having the wind in your hair—I guess it’s a feeling of freedom. I saw a huge Red Tail Hawk on a fence post right off the road, so I pulled over to try and capture his magnificent image on digital film. He sat still while I changed lenses on my camera and he sat still while I slowly and casually approached him. And as soon as I got close enough and brought my camera up towards my face, he was off with the swiftness of a glider, the grace of a ballerina and the sheer power of an airplane. I pouted a bit thinking the day’s theme seemed to be about missed opportunities, but as I saw the hawk flying off into the distance, I realized it was really about the glorious gift of freedom instead. Until we sip again…

Cheers!