After some initial bites and pairings, we officially welcomed everyone and walked to the table, which was hidden in a hollow of a service road next to one of those vineyards, rich in fall colors. We lined that table with sunflowers and set each place setting with an acorn, balancing the burst of end of summer sunshine with the oncoming contraction of fall.

After a long winter, spring always starts achingly slowly, taking its sweet time to unfurl until the whole world seems to stutter into life all at once. It’s easy to give into impatience and miss those first few days, when the bravest trees start to bloom but the weather hasn’t quite decided which way to turn.

We lucked out with a perfectly stunning day, weather-wise, and a wonderful group of guests to gather around the table. After a welcome cocktail and tasting room tour, we walked up the hill to a the barn full of barrels of aging whisky, where the table was set outside the open doors of the cask room. The entire area smelled like whiskey due to the legendary “angel’s share” of evaporated spirit hanging in the autumn air.