Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/148134
PHOTO: TOM CLARK Rappelling into Air by Jeremy Wood I let go, expecting to fall. But the knot holds and, for a moment, I am weightless. Then I swing forward and my legs perch against the damp rock, my hand clasping desperately onto the rope. I push my weight, testing the strength. Feeling secure, I look down and trail the rappelling line 300 feet to the ground below, then trail the line up a few feet to where it disperses over the top of the cliff. Somewhere I can longer see the rope is tied around a massive boulder. Pulled taught. Stretching. Bearing my weight. My eyes close and the wind brushes across my face. Somewhere I no longer am lies 55 miles of the Opeongo River, zig-zagging through the Province of Ontario, in a region officially known as the "Unorganized South." My canoe sits where the river meets the mountain—the mountain that creates the cliff faces; the cliff face I am now dangling over. My eyes open. I look down again, down into the 300 feet of air. I whisper the trip's mantra to myself, then shove off the rock with my legs and lower myself as I do. 290 feet of air. Shove. Mantra. 280 feet. A little bit at a time. No need to rush. The only race is against death. Shove. Mantra. Repeat. Slowly. Carefully. Shove. Mantra. The ground. I stand with my neck craned, looking up at the cliff face I have just rappelled. Somewhere I soon will be lies another 55 miles of river to be crossed in a canoe. There is food and water to carry, weather to battle, cold nights to endure. I whisper to myself. The trip's mantra: "I haven't come this far to give up now." Wine & Climb TASTING NOTE: Thorny Rose 2012 Sauvignon Blanc This pale, slightly golden wine hits you with a big bouquet of lemon-lime and fresh-cut grass right out of the bottle. Upon first sip, a parade of lemons, starfruit, kiwi and Granny Smith apple hit the tongue with classic secondary hints of mineral and apple skin to round off the finish. A delightfully refreshing wine at a delightful price! Perfect on the beach, at a picnic or with any meal involving chicken, pork, shrimp or shellfish. LET'S GET TO KNOW WINNER JEREMY WOOD A LITTLE BIT BETTER "It was one of those moments where the sun beam hits you and the angels sing the high note," says Jeremy Wood, Wine Buyer at Orlando's Total Wine and our Thorny Rose competition winner, when describing the moment, years ago, when he tasted a nameless 1997 Barolo Riserva with his chicken cacciatore. "I looked at my friend and said, 'Woah! I didn't know wine could do that.' He replied, 'It's out there if you look for it.' After that, I began my education." Growing up with a French Canadian family, Wood was always around wine and spirits and was curious about them from a young age. However, after he turned 21 and started exposing himself more and more to what was out there, he quickly got bored. "It was just the normal stuff that I was unimpressed by. It wasn't until that experience with the chicken cacciatore that I really realized what was out there." A move to sunny Orlando and a needed career change left Wood applying for a job at a wine shop. "I knew that I was interested and that I could learn a lot there," says Wood. Despite earning a 20% on the aptitude test during the interview, Wood was still the one person, out of 300, they decided to hire. "Suddenly, my education kicked into high gear. I couldn't believe how much there was to learn. Now, years later, Wood has a pretty good understanding of all things wine and he loves using that knowledge. "My favorite part of my job is when I'm able to open a customer's mind to something they might not have come across on their own. I love challenging people's palates and introducing them to new favorites." So when did Wood pick up the adventurous hobby that lead him to winning our competition? "A group of friends and I were all living in one big house and we discovered that there was rock-climbing gym not far from us. We decided to try it out and I became hooked right away. There's this moment of complete peace when you're on the rock wall, about 10 to 15 feet above the ground, where the only thing you can and should think about is 'Where is my next move?' That's it. That's all you have to think about. It's exercise and therapy." —Breanne DeMore august 2013 / the tasting panel / 117 TP0813_104-132.indd 117 7/24/13 9:41 PM