Wine Intro

I am writing this to share that Charlton and I are in the wine business!!!!

I LOVE wine and last week I stumbled upon a wine tasting where something truly magical happened.

I thought I was just picking up my friend where a few people would be drinking wine and that we would be on our way. I got to the house, I rang the doorbell, no one answered. I rang the bell again. Still no answer. So, I let myself in expecting to see someone. After glancing around and seeing no one, I heard an eruption of laughter and clinking of glasses. I walked into that room, saw the wine, grabbed a glass, and wondered how did I not get invited to an event like this.

I have been fortunate to taste and enjoy great wine. Years ago I attended a beautiful wine event in Telluride Colorado and began to learn about wine and to appreciate the art and craft of it. I haven’t stopped tasting since.

This past year for my big birthday Charlton and I went on a Windstar Cruise from Lisbon to Rome. We stopped in 15 ports in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy and we drank local wine from every place we visited. There is something absolutely magical about tasting wines while visiting the winery. That is one of the things I love most.

After coming home I bought a few bottles of wine I usually enjoyed, but something didn’t taste right. I figured it was because I had been drinking European wine, or that maybe it was just because I was drinking on the vineyard. Whatever it was the wines I was buying at home just tasted off.

Until last week…..

Each wine at this event was fresh and vibrant. They tasted like the wines I had in Spain, France, and Italy. These wines were alive. I was blown away and transported back to those amazing experiences in Europe. This was what I had been looking for.

I thought this was just an impromptu gathering of wine friends when I asked, “Where do you get these wines.” It turns out that this wine sold through a direct sales company called Scout & Cellar which is committed to finding the best clean-crafted wine available. Sarah Shadonix, the founder, has a very compelling story. You can read her whole story HERE but the bottom line is she was an attorney and decided she wanted to quit her “real” job and become a sommelier. As she was working through her levels she started getting severe migraines. ( I have heard from a LOT of women that they get headaches from wine drinking). She thought she was going to have to give up her dream. She went on vacation with friends who were French and drank only French wine and didn’t get a headache! It was then her analytical mind took over and she decided she wanted to test the wine. She took some wine to a lab and this is what she discovered:

Most mass-produced wines are filled with:

• Over 250 chemical additives
• Up to 350 ppm of sulfites
• Up to 16g of added sugar or sweetener concentrate
• Ferrocyanide
• Ammonium phosphate
• Copper sulfate
• Mega purple color additive
• GMO ingredients
• Over 80 different kind of pesticides
   

Once Sarah stumbled upon the truth about mass-produced wine, she promised to discover and deliver a cleaner, healthier, better option. “Chemicals belong in a swimming pool,” she says. “Wine should be as natural as possible.” So she started scouting. Sarah hit the road and she hasn’t stopped. Her mission: To scour the world, discovering the best clean-crafted wines and learning exactly what goes into them. She treats every outing like a full-blown excursion. She studies growing methods. She walks the vineyards of prestigious wineries and humble up-and-comers. She develops lasting relationships with each and every vintner. She labtests each release. And to this day, she gets really excited and flips out a little for every bottle she comes across. She does all this because she’s as passionate about delicious wine as she is about getting them into the hands of everyone she meets.

That, in short, is what Scout & Cellar is all about and that is why Charlton and I are now in the wine business.

So, there are a couple of ways you can try some of this delicious wine:

• You can come the studio where you can pour yourself a small taste (legally I cant pour it) I will have one bottle open at a time

• Come to a tasting

• ORDER ONLINE

• What’s awesome is that there are new bottles released every week. There are small batch wines and the price point is really reasonable ($24-40)

• If you make an order over $100 shipping is free

• You get a discount when you become a wine member and sign up for a wine club

• You can get free wine and make some money if you host an event. They are a ton of fun!

• AND there is a fantastic opportunity to make some money or at the very least pay for your wine habit if you become a consultant.