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January 21, 2009
Burning Hawk - Sparking Solutions
Partnering With You to Help Our Avian Friends
Dear Friends,
The Burning Hawk team hopes you are in good spirits and that your wine glass of optimism for 2009 is at least half full. We are starting off the new year with a revised newsletter that we hope will bring you a great deal of valuable info about our wines, our people and our work to address avian conservation issues. In addition, we are working hard to provide you with many ways to team up with us on our vino and wildlife inspired quest to making a difference…one sip and one tangible action at a time.
In this edition we:
• Prepare to send Burning Hawk wine to the odd-bird who can name our newsletter
• Seek your help improve raptor habitat at our nation’s landfills
• Update you on the project in Mongolia to save the endangered Saker Falcon
• Announce our Phoenix Affiliate Program
• Share our Valentine’s Day special offer
• Introduce you to Silverado Farming, the team that grows grapes for Burning Hawk
• Are amazed by photos of Peregrine Falcons herding & hunting Starlings
Name This Newsletter Contest (Deadline February 6th)
 Every newsletter needs a catchy name and ours is no different. So instead of racking our brains in isolation we thought we’d team up with you. The world of bird and raptor lingo is ripe with great words and phrases. As the Bird Freak team wrote in their recent blog posting Burning Hawk Wines provide a great “Bird-of-Mouth” moment . So we hope you have a hoot of a time, just wing it, and let your creativity fly. We welcome all suggestions from odd-birds like you.
Here’s how you can help. Get together with your friends (preferably with a bottle or two of nice wine which happens to be dedicated to avian protection) brainstorm a bunch of name ideas and send your top picks to us. The winner will earn two bottles of Burning Hawk Red! Deadline for submissions is February 6th, 2009. Please reference the Burning Hawk newsletter name contest in the subject line. We will announce the winner in our February newsletter.
We appreciate your help!!!!!
Conservation Alert – Raptors Down in the Dumps
 The recent plane crash in New York has alerted many of you to the massive problems associated with birds hitting planes. Our initiative was inspired by the problems associated with birds and powerlines. Well, now there’s another problem that’s flown across our radar screen – birds and landfill methane flares!
We recently read an article titled Making Landfill Methane Burners Safe for Hawks written by the bloggers at Audubon Birdscapes. This post, as well as another from Bird Chaser, alerted us to the threat posed to raptors by poorly constructed flares at landfills around the country.
So a group of us have been networking and strategizing about what to do. The first step being taken is to encourage the folks at the US Fish and Wildlife Commission to look into this issue and provide more oversight. Stella Miller, President of the Huntington Audubon Society has developed an online petition to urge the US Fish and Wildlife Commission to be more active on this issue. We have also reached out and have received a good deal of support from the EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program.
This is a classic issue where bringing people together in a proactive fashion can help address the issue and prevent needless conflict and litigation. What is needed is for regulators, conservation groups, and landfill operators to come together to better understand the issue then come up with effective solutions. There is an entire field devoted to this sort of collaborative work. It’s called Environmental Conflict Resolution or ECR. If you are interested in learning more about this field check out the US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution.
We’ll be sending out another update in the next newsletter. But for now here are the actions you can take:
• Sign the petition
• Send this newsletter or the petition link to your friends
• Send us your stories or anecdotes if you have experience with this issue
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Saving the Saker Falcon in Mongolia
Previously, we wrote about a collaborative project to save the endangered Saker Falcon in Mongolia. The Saker is an endangered species which is threatened by poorly constructed and maintained powerlines. The project, led by biologist Rick Harness in collaboration with the National University of Mongolia and other organizations, is making steady progress. 
The American Birding Association has generously allowed you access to a recently published article about this project in their latest edition of “Winging It.” Please download this article and also take some time to learn more about the ABA.
Download the PDF
ID = members
Password = migr@te
If you are interested in learning more about this project and how you can help, please email Rick.
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Announcing the Phoenix Affiliate Program
Supporting organizations and small businesses that, like us, are for the birds
 In recent months we have received numerous inquiries from bird conservation and rescue organizations regarding how Burning Hawk Wines can lend a philanthropic hand (or a talon). We have been working hard to find a way to work with any organization that is for the birds, not just fund one project or organization. So after much thought we have developed and are honored to announce the Phoenix Affiliate Program. This program creates a vehicle for Burning Hawk Wines to partner with small businesses and non-profits for mutual benefit. Qualifying organizations that have a focus related to birding and bird conservation can become a fundraising beneficiary by helping raise awareness of our bird and conservation focused wine initiative.
For every person who purchases Burning Hawk Wines through your website and/or identifies your organization as their desired beneficiary by faxing in an order you will be eligible to receive 5-8% of the total net sale as a donation. Outreach assistance and wine discounts for non-profit fundraisers and events are also available. To receive information and an application please email us.
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Say “I Heart You” With A Glass of Burning Hawk Wine
 We hope you will consider saying “I Heart You” by sharing a glass of Burning Hawk wines with that vino-sipping, bird-loving sweetie of yours. In addition, for those of you who want to stock up on Burning Hawk Red, we extend the following offer. Receive an additional 6 bottles for any purchase of two cases or more. Use the code FREEBIRD at checkout. Shipping and handling charges still apply. This promotion lasts until Valentine’s Day.
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The Farmers Behind Burning Hawk Red – Silverado Farming
 To be honest, many cause-related or philanthropic brands lose sight of the fact that in order to have a sustained positive impact it is important to have world-class product. For the team at Burning Hawk it starts with the farmers who steward the land and the quality of the grapes they grow. In this issue of our newsletter we’d like to introduce you to our friends at Silverado Farming, the farming team responsible for growing the grapes that become Burning Hawk Red Wines.
Burning Hawk Red Wine is what is called a Bordeaux blend of 5 varietals of red grapes, in our case grapes that are farmed in the world famous Napa Valley Appellation and watershed. We select grapes from multiple Napa properties, each chosen for their particular soil types, microclimates and ecologies. Silverado Farming , led by veteran viticulturist and farmer Pete Richmond, is responsible for managing the vineyards and growing grapes of unsurpassed flavor and quality. From the early days of this initiative, we have been very impressed by Silverado’s management, their approach to land stewardship, their farm worker treatment practices and their contributions to the broader community.
Depending on the vineyard and particular situation Silverado applies organic, biodynamic or sustainable farming practices. There is no “one” approach used by Silverado Farming in the vineyard. Rather, they carefully assess each property as a whole system to identify what is the most efficient and responsible set of tools and techniques. One practice that impresses us is their use of native and nitrogen-fixing ground covers which improve soil fertility which reduces the need for artificial fertilizer. And to control rodents they install owl boxes and raptor perches avoiding the need for artificial pesticides. Finally, Silverado has one of the most respected farm worker compensation programs in the Napa Valley and each year they contribute a percentage of their funds towards the construction of much-needed farm worker housing.
As harvest kicks into gear, the team at Silverado carefully hand picks each cluster of grapes and loads them into bins. These bins are transported to our Carneros Winemaking facility which has been constructed from the ground up to be one of the most energy, water and resource efficient winemaking facilities around. In our next newsletter we will provide you with a detailed overview of our winery in Carneros and our fabulous team of winemakers. But for now we hope you appreciate this information about Silverado Farming. We are proud to work with Silverado and thankful for the quality of grapes they contribute.
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Nick D. is at it Again – Absolutely Unreal Photos of Falcons Hunting Starlings
 Nick Dunlop is Burning Hawk’s Chief Avian Photography Officer (CAPO) responsible for all the great pictures on our website. A few months back his work was featured in the book Falcons of North America. When not working as a real estate appraiser, Nick spends as much time as possible roaming wine country hoping to catch photos of his favorite birds of prey.
This year Nick hit the jackpot from a bird watching and photography standpoint. He was out scouting for birds in the Dry Creek Valley and witnessed a remarkable phenomenon — Peregrine Falcons herding and hunting starlings! Each year Starlings move in by the thousands to munch on grapes in the vineyards. And while this can create frustration for grape growers it serves up a wine country buffet for the falcons. Check out these photos at Nick’s website (hint: look under Portfolio & New…Peregrines Hunting).
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A Sincere Thanks From the Burning Hawk Team
The entire team at Burning Hawk extends our thanks to you for reading this newsletter. It is an honor that you are enjoying our wines, pitching in ideas and taking part in the evolution of this philanthropic brand. You can expect to hear from us again in February. In the meantime if you have questions, ideas or requests please call us at 707.836.5492 or send us an email.
The Burning Hawk Team
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