Starting November 1st we’ll be launching a fun, tasty, educational, wine buying club that features one ConsciousWinery per month. What’s special about a ConsciousWinery? They follow ConsciousWine’s 4 Principles: 100% organically grown grapes, sustainably (or holistically farmed), creating vital products that rock! All wineries on consciouswine.com have been ‘vetted’ in person to meet these principles. Our focus on the website and in CW’s Winery of the Month Club will be primarily wines & wineries from the West Coast of the United States.

What’s special about CW’s Winery of the Month Club?

Lots! Club Members receive a Winery of the Month 2-bottle pack either monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. You choose how often you want to receive a pack at time of sign up. You can change this at any time. The pack ranges in price from $50-$70 plus shipping, handling & taxes (where applicable). Shortly after each month’s packs are shipped, Club Members receive an e-mail which includes 3 main features:

1. The date, time and link to attend a Club Member Only Webinar where Jeff Weissler (aka The ConsciousWineGuy) will taste the 2 wines in the pack, introduce the ‘Winery of the Month’, share wine & food pairing ideas, take questions, and probably embarrass himself a little. The webinar will be 30 minutes in length. You can taste along at home or just gather some ideas for when you do enjoy the wines. A separate e-mail will be sent to all Club Members on the details of being part of the on-line event. If you don’t attend the actual event, it will live on YouTube & ConsciousWine’s Facebook Page.

2. A list of all the wines presently available from ConsciousWine’s Winery of the Month. If you choose to place an additional order (12 bottle minimum with mix & match allowed) within the calendar month that the winery is highlighted, you will receive a special 20% discount off the normal retail prices!!!

3. A short introduction to CW’s Winery of the Month, and links to both information on the winery & the wines in the club shipment.

 Additional Club Member Features & Benefits:

1. The Menu & The Wine List Video Series–6 videos created to help you with pairing wine & food while dining out.

2. Discounts on all ConsciousWine Dinner’s, Events & Tours!

3. You’ll be entered in a monthly drawing for a 1 hour consultation with Jeff Weissler (aka The ConsciousWineGuy) on anything wine.

4. If you’re traveling to West Coast Wine Country you can call for a 1 hour consultation (FREE only as a Club Member) to help make your trip rock! Tell us what you like in wine & we’ll tell you where to go. You’ll have a hand tailored itinerary based on ConsciousWine’s commitment to supporting vital choices to both palate & planet. Normal rate for this service is $75/hr.

How do you sign up for CW’s Winery of the Month Club?

The sign-up on the website will be available the end of the 1st week in October.

For now, you can comment on this post, drop us a note at info@consciouswine.com or call 541-531-7653 and we’ll get you hooked up!

Totally excited to be getting this together & looking forward to sharing these amazing wines with you.

Cheerio!

Jeff & The ConsciousWine-ers

In Basic Wine Enjoyment, Jeff's Blog, Tasting Wine, The Shop, Uncategorized, Wineries | Tagged with california, education, oregon, organic, sustainability, the 4 principles

Wine ratings can be seductive. What score did it get? Did it make it over the threshold that means go get it? Ratings can also be intimidating. Do you need to understand the wine the way the reviewer does to enjoy it in all its lofty pointedness?

Outside of all that lives our scoring system. This one was created to help you as the drinker of a particular wine, decide what you think about it. Specifically, based on your experience of the wine, should you go buy it again? I came up with this system as the buyer for a large wine shop to 1) help me buy wines to stock the store’s shelves, and  2) empower the consumer with a fun little measuring stick.

When I was growing up, 65 was a passing grade in school. It didn’t get your parents off your back, but it was officially passing. I used that basic idea to create ConsciousWine’s 10 point Scoring System which will help empower YOU to know when YOU like something and if it’s priced by the seller in a way that makes the whole thing sing. To utilize this system you need to know the wine’s price before you taste it. While keeping in mind the price and taste of the wine you’re working with, notice which phrase below resonates strongest, and you will have the wine’s score.

10 -You love the wine so much you’re going to tell no one & hoard it all for yourself.

9 – You love the wine so much you’ll tell all your friends about it.

8 – You like the wine enough at its price that you’ll buy it multiple times.

7 – You like the wine enough at its price to buy a single bottle.

6 – You like many things about this wine, but not enough to buy it at its price.

5 – It just doesn’t leave much of an impression.

4 – You don’t really like it, but you’ll drink it anyway.

3 – You don’t really like it, and you’re debating finishing what’s in your glass.

2 – You don’t like it, and you won’t finish what’s in your glass.

1 – Oh Waiter!

As a retailer, my focus was on filling the store’s shelves with wines scoring an 8 or better. That way if I sold it to you, chances were above a 65  that you’d be back for more.

Moving forward on ConsciousWine, you’ll see more wines with scores. If you see a “CW-8″, that means I thought it was a wine that if you bought once, you’d be back for it again.

Is a score subjective? When I give a score, there’s years of experience and subjectivity dancing together.  Mood, food, air time, having visited the winery, who you’re enjoying the wine with, the attention you put into drinking the wine, wine knowledge, and what you look for in wine overall determine your preferences in any given moment. Utilizing this system might help you remember your wine experiences, buy more things you like, and give you a fun way to think about wine and share with friends.

What’s in a score? That’s all up to you. Oh Waiter!

For a couple of wine videos to watch with a glass of wine in hand, check out:

-The Pleasure In The Glass

-The Wine & Food Experience

In Basic Wine Enjoyment, Jeff's Blog, Tasting Wine | Tagged with rating system, scoring, tasting notes

May is Oregon Wine Month, and the Oregon Wine Board is welcoming it in style with “Unwine’d”, a major event in Portland on Sunday, April 29^th.  More than 85 wineries and over a dozen restaurants will be showcasing extraordinary wine and food, casting a spotlight on the incredible breadth and depth of Oregon’s fertile, vibrant landscape.

Unwine’d is being held at Portland’s Left Bank Annex, from 3pm-6pm. Trade and Media early access is from 2pm-3pm.  Tickets are just $50 and can be purchased through the Oregon Wine Board’s website.

ConsciousWine is honored to have been invited and is especially proud to participate in Unwine’d, and to join our colleagues in celebrating not just the overall growth and success of Oregon’s wineries and farms, but specifically the growing and thriving community of organic and biodynamic farms and vineyards.

To demonstrate just how spectacular these wines are, ConsciousWine’s Jeffrey Weissler will be pouring at least two exceptional wines from Cowhorn Vineyards located in Jacksonville and Dominio IV located in McMinnville.

Don’t miss a chance to see Jeff Weissler in person, sharing and talking wine.  Jeff is an expert on wines made from organic, biodynamic grapes and a passionate advocate for what’s happening in Oregon.

Come to Unwine’d on April 29^th and say “hi”!

In Blog Roll, Conferences, ConsciousWine, In The News, Jeff's Blog, Media, Sustainable Practices, Tasting Wine, Winery Events | Tagged with biodynamic, education, events, Food Related, oregon, organic wine, sustainability, Travel, willamette valley

We have a pretty cool way to enjoy wine that’s summarized in a few videos. You’ll feel like a “wine-know” without even trying. Ready? Continue reading “Basic Wine Enjoyment” »

In Basic Wine Enjoyment, Demystifying Natural Wine, Jeff's Blog, Tasting Wine, Wine & Food | Tagged with education

What Thanksgiving wine is on your table? What pairs well with the orchestra of foods Thanksgiving offers? Thanksgiving wine is not so much about a particular flavor, but about the wine’s ability to match up lots of flavors. Think of it like a catcher’s mitt. The pitcher throws a variety of pitches and the catcher catches them all. A wine to handle them all is what we call a Thanksgiving wine! Continue reading “Thanksgiving Wines” »

In Jeff's Blog, Tasting Wine, The Shop, Wine & Food, Wineries | Tagged with ambyth, brooks, cowhorn, dominio iv, Food Related, lumos, michel-schlumberger, tasting notes, Thanksgiving

Studying biodynamic® vineyards and practices can be a brain twister but the proof is in the bottle. What they share is an approach to the health of the whole farm and eco-system of which they are a part. Attention to detail, a tight relationship with the assets of the farm, understanding the farm as a closed nutrient system, and working in tune with nature’s rhythms and cycles are pieces to what makes a biodynamic vineyard what it is. Continue reading “Biodynamic Vineyard: Dominio IV’s Three Sleeps” »

In Biodynamics, Jeff's Blog, Storytelling, Tasting Wine, The Shop, Wineries | Tagged with biodynamic, oregon, tasting notes

Scinagro! What’s that? That’s Organics spelled backwards. I got so fed up with the present definition for organic wine that I threw myself into a mission: reframing organic wine as a positive in the fine wine lovers mind. Continue reading “Organic Wine” »

In Demystifying Natural Wine, Jeff's Blog, Storytelling, Sustainable Practices, Tasting Wine, Wineries | Tagged with natural wine, oregon, organic, organic wine, tasting notes, Vitality

Tasting notes for wine were on the agenda for our gang of 3. Our mission was older wine, and a note taking stream as air and wine danced together. Cabernet Sauvignon from California producer, Michel Schlumberger has a style and personality filled with nooks and crannies. Our palates, pens and imaginations were focused on tasting notes for wine. Continue reading “Tasting Notes for Wine: Michel Schlumberger Cabernet Sauvignon” »

In Digging Deeper, Jeff's Blog, Tasting Wine, Wineries | Tagged with Beverly McKenzie, california, Chanda Miller, tasting notes

How I first heard of them…

On the menu at The Winchester Inn in Ashland, Oregon was a “blind tasting” of four topnotch, highly regarded Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. My favorite was the only one I had never heard of, the ’06 Brooks Janus. I was on a mission for further discovery, and my palate soon landed on two other vintages of Janus, along with the best Oregon Riesling I’d experienced to date.  I was happy to learn they had a strong commitment to sustainability, biodynamic® farming, and natural winemaking. Continue reading “Brooks Winery Joins ConsciousWine Family” »

In Jeff's Blog, Tasting Wine, The Shop, Wineries | Tagged with biodynamic, oregon, organic wine

When my long term best friend & wine buddy calls me and says help; I need wine & food pairing help. I am at his mercy, regardless of how jealous I am of his wine stash.  I surrender to my friend in need, and jump to the task at hand.  Good food & wine pairings… lets see what we can create! Continue reading “Good Food & Wine Pairing: A call for help!” »

In Digging Deeper, Jeff's Blog, Tasting Wine, Wine & Food, World | Tagged with Dinners, Food Related, French Wine, recipes

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