Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/133302
So What Are We Looking For? Here's a Sample! The Deets What: Send us a story and photo that details your greatest adventure, in or out of the wine business. We'll also need your Thorny Rose tasting notes, so don't forget that! Who: YoU, the wine buying professional for today's hip young consumer! When: Deadline for entries is July 5, 2013. email entries to ThornyRose@tastingpanelmag.com or upload story, photo and tasting notes to our Facebook page WhY: one lucky winner will be a guest blogger on The TASTInG PAneL website and have the chance to share their tasting notes with The TASTInG PAneL's social media for six months. oh yeah—did we mention the $1,000 cash prize and full page profile? For rules, questions and to enter, please email ThornyRose@tastingpanelmag.com. You can also enter by sharing your story, notes and photo on THE TASTING PANEL's Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/ TastingPanelMag. We're ready to be inspired! I was working hard at my desk one afternoon, when my roommate tapped me on the shoulder and stuck her laptop in my face. "You have to read this," she said. The email read: "Looking for partners to join in an excavation adventure." You see, this came to me at a point in my life where I needed a change. A big change. I decided at that moment, "I'm going to do this." The freeway north was a breeze but quickly turned fierce as we got into the winding interstate. My heart raced; everything began to get brighter as the elevation climbed and the trees spaced out. After hours of driving, we finally pulled into this small town with nothing but a mercantile, a bar and a lonely gas station at the only intersection within miles. That night, I got the lowdown of how things work. We were digging for obsidian on sacred grounds so there's no heavy equipment used. All the work has to be done by hand. Everyone leaves at 7 a.m. and works until 4 p.m. with a break for lunch. I was the only girl in a group of big, gruff, biker men. We met the whole crew in the mountains early the next morning. They had already started working earlier in the year on an above ground pit. I was shown how to swing a pickaxe and we got to work. Eventually, the rhythm of the axes, rocks and shovels became like music and after so many hours I seemed to forget what I was doing and just noticed the sunshine on my face, the cool afternoon winds, and that sweet smell of thousands of juniper trees. I grew to know and love each member of my surly crew like my own family. The eight weeks came and went—I stayed. It wasn't my time to leave yet. I continued to work with my new family for the next four months. The pain of the work was minimal but the love from my surly crew has stayed with me forever. thorny Rose Cabernet Sauvignon is smooth and easy to drink. Full of blackberry and strawberry notes, this Cab finishes with cocoa and a hint of spice. Mac McAlister-Lumming Wine Buyer, Remedy Liquor, Glendale, CA june 2013 / the tasting panel / 87 may TP0613_080-119.indd 87 5/23/13 5:30 PM