Vinny Liscio, my partner in ConsciousWine, asked me if I wanted to do a cable TV show during my visit to New York. A good friend of his, Dr. Lou Bisogni, is a chiropractor with a show called Healthy Frontiers. He just so happens to be the chiropractor for the NY Yankees baseball team, which makes my brother happy since he’s a lifelong Yankee fan. I, on the other hand, think I was born in NY Mets clothing. Was that too much information? Continue reading “ConsciousWine Talk on Healthy Frontiers” »

In Basic Wine Enjoyment, Demystifying Natural Wine, Interviews, Jeff's Blog | Tagged with Interviews, new york, organic wine

After two whirlwind weeks of events, winery visits, and meetings, it was time to party!

The furniture was rearranged, wines decanted, foods gathered, glasses cleaned, handouts printed, BBQ put in position, people showered and dressed – everything was ready for action. Forty guests were on their way and the first to arrive was… Henry Ponzio! Continue reading “Our New York Launch Party” »

In Jeff's Blog, Storytelling, Wine & Food, Wineries | Tagged with events, new york

On “the morning after,” at Tazza Cafe, Megan and I settled in for some rehab at a Somers, NY caffeination station pit stop. Within minutes we were chatting to discover the location of an excellent cannoli. We’d heard rumors of some locally the previous night, while consuming the ends of the dessert plate. Continue reading “The Morning After” »

In History, Jeff's Blog, Storytelling | Tagged with events, new york

The weather’s warming up and it’s picnic time! What are your favorites to eat and drink?

From a wine point of view, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir are the first three varietals I run to. What’s nice about them is that they pair well with a variety of foods, often have lower alcohol levels (making them perfect for warm weather), and pair great with salty foods. Continue reading “Spice Up Your Summer Picnic” »

In Guest Bloggers, Jeff's Blog, Restaurants, Wine & Food | Tagged with new york, recipes

Barbara Shinn and David Page moved from San Francisco to New York, and in 1993 started a thirty seat culinary hotspot in Greenwich Village called Home. Their passion and focus was on local food and wine. Before long, they created a New York first… a wine list consisting exclusively of regional wines. Continue reading “There’s a Biodynamic Vineyard in<br/>New York” »

In Biodynamics, Jeff's Blog, Tasting Wine, Wine & Food, Wineries | Tagged with new york, organic wine

It’s been over two weeks of NY adventuring and this Oregonian (a former New Yorker) is just about ready to go home, but not before celebrating what we’ve been working on for several years.

On June 3, my partner Vinny Liscio and I are hosting a ConsciousWine event to say, “Thank you,” to a lot of folks who’ve helped bring this idea, website and business into being. This is only the beginning, but every once in a while it’s good to stop and pause and remember how you got to where you are. Continue reading “In a New York State of Mind” »

In Biodynamics, History, Jeff's Blog, Storytelling | Tagged with new york, Vinny Liscio

Natural wine… is a topic of hot debate. What exactly is it? How do you qualify it? Is there a certification for natural wine?

It is defined differently depending on who you’re talking to. Natural Wine is not a legal term, and has no certification. On May 23, 2011, in midtown Manhattan, a brand new, exciting business called The NY Wine Salon conducted a well attended public event. The goal was to dig deeper and add some clarity to the conversation around natural wine. Continue reading “Natural Wine” »

In Demystifying Natural Wine, Digging Deeper, Jeff's Blog, Natural Winemaking | Tagged with events, new york, Travel

It has been over four years since my last adventure to the Big Apple. I have maintained my belief in “MAGIC,” my code word for hiding my fantabulous fanaticism for the NY Mets, Jets and Knicks (with a few vowels thrown in).

Thinking about New York is one thing, but the emotion it arises is another. The NY food scene spoiled me rotten. Actually my Mom and Dad did. They started it anyway. I think they invented credit cards so I could fully embrace my life-long pursuit as a wine lover, passionate storyteller, filled with experiences of people, food, wine and travel, all ending with interest accumulating on a credit card balance. Continue reading “New York, New York” »

In Jeff's Blog, Storytelling, World | Tagged with new york

I was helping a customer who wanted an organic wine.

Suburban Wines & Spirits carried over 2,500 hand picked (mostly personally tasted) selections. I was the wine buyer there, and we prided ourselves on offering wines you’d want before you knew you wanted them.

Two particular shelves in the store were qualitatively at lower levels than desired. One was the Organic Section. Organic Wine, by definition and law in the United States means that no sulfites could be added.

The resulting wines were notoriously inconsistent. Sulfites have been used since Roman times as a preservative. They prevented oxidation and bacteria from running wild. Yet, Organic Wine meaning no sulfites added, led to a wildness, which was not making many a fine wine lovers’ taste buds happy. Continue reading “One Day at a Retail Store…” »

In Basic Wine Enjoyment, Demystifying Natural Wine, Jeff's Blog, Storytelling | Tagged with new york

In 2002, I was running Suburban Wines & Spirits in the New York City area. A sales rep came into the store with six wines he hoped to sell me. These six wines happened to be from six different countries. As we tasted, what stood out was that all the wines were plush and lush, low acid, very easy to drink on their own, high alcohol, and were missing any distinctive flavors whatsoever. Continue reading “What inspired ConsciousWine: Part 1” »

In History, Jeff's Blog, Storytelling | Tagged with natural wine, new york

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