Consulting Wine/The Wine Firm, Intl.

I came across this post and was deeply moved by Miles' story. This is such a relevant topic matter as the world struggles to 'consider one another'. Larry Levin, Thank you for bringing this into view here on this platform as I may have never come across it in the circles I run around in. This may have been 6 months ago, but the timing is perfect. I'm not sure exactly what the status is of the full film but I can't wait to see what Miles' and the other visionaries on his team do with this story. NK #epilepsy #consider #wisdom #winemaker #underthelights #wellness

It's not (just) about the taste. There are other reasons why people buy wine... My latest piece for Meininger's International https://lnkd.in/eHZ2q_kp (Image by Midjourney AI)

Wines and Spirits: Sound of Music for real. Leading with gratitude. In his efforts to escape Communism and lead his family to freedom, my Father failed every single time, except once. He was a rising star in the scientific field, and he saw his future in America. 1. In his first attempt during the 1956 Hungarian revolution, my Father and his small group of college students were led by an undercover agent straight to the Soviet troops, and were jailed. 👉 It was a good thing because otherwise, he and my Mother would never have met, and you would not be reading this. 2.  A subsequent escape attempt, this time alongside my Mother, revealed a perilous path through East Germany, a route laden with risks and uncertainties. Confronted with the moral dilemma of drugging his child for safety, my Father's steadfast refusal steered him to a pivotal decision that influenced the course of our journey. 👉 It was a good thing because this route had a low chance of success. 3. The third attempt was via the former Yugoslavia. My parents read about Hungarian border towns, where the population was able to get day passes to visit Yugoslavia. There went our life in Budapest; we moved to a tiny border town where we could see the border guards train German Shepherds to capture/kill the escapees. We tried the Yugoslav path via the Adriatic to Italy twice, and my Father abandoned it each time as the risk was too high. My brother was only three years old, and my parents came up with another plan instead. 👉 It was a good thing because they found a safer, more elegant solution. 4. The final attempt was to exploit the bureaucracy of the Communist system. I will not get into great detail---still some fear around this--but it worked. It was July 3rd evening, and I remember being in the backseat of the car with my brother. Our vehicle was being searched by drunken border guards. My parents were questioned, but the guards were tired and they gave up. I remember the border gates rising, and coming down behind us, while the gates to Austria were still shut in front of our car. I can't imagine what my parents were feeling in that moment. An eternity later the Austrian guards raised the gate, and all I could hear was "Herzlich willkommen in Österreich" as we entered the country. As political refugees, we stayed in Austria (Alpine pic below) for many months to wait for our visa to the United States, and I went to school there. The greatest moment was when we landed at JFK to begin our new lives here. In the span of 18 months, I went to five schools in three countries, with two languages I had to learn on the fly. On the eve of 4th of July, I am so grateful for my parents and always, this great country that welcomed us. #wine #spirits #cpg #freedom #entrepreneur #business #CPG #FourthofJuly #vc #privateequity #entrepreneurlife #America #USA #vineyards #wineries #craftspirits

In 2022, I was asked to be a speaker at the Green Wine Future Conference specifically to speak on the Technology of the Globally Patented Flexcube Evolution, the worlds only non-plastisol polymer vessel for aging of wine, spirits, and beer (ok, cider too!). I asked NOT to speak on the Flexcube but on the disconnect between oak conservation science and the topic of #sustainability specific to the wine industry. The organizers of the Conference stated, "yes, Nick, your suggested topic of bridging the disconnect between Conservation Science and wine is relevant, but we only want you to speak specifically on the Technology of the Flexcube. On day 1 of the Conference, I was honored to be present as a supplier of future technologies that possess the capacity to save massive amounts of natural resources while providing incredible and indiscernible results to aging wine in a barrel. There are several keys to this topic that are disregarded by the multiple products on the market suggesting claims but simply become cheaper alternatives to barrels, utilizing marketing gimmicks and 'copycat' language rather than providing viable alternatives to barrel aging. This may be offensive to a few of those plastics manufacturers, but I have tried every alternative only to conclude that I believe it is a disservice to the winemaking community to portray something that simply is just not true. Day 1: Green Wine Future: – Session 5: HARNESSING NEW TECHNOLOGIES & SERVICES TO BUILD GREATER SUSTAINABILITY– 1) The technology revolution in the wine sector over the past decade has been astounding with more data to act upon, resources to leverage, and greater understanding of the challenges we face. 2) These experts will show a series of new products and services that could revolutionize our business as we know it by conserving and reducing resource use, offering better data on which to make production decisions, and helping consumers make better buying decisions. SPONSORED BY: AGROVIN Moderator: Kevin Atticks Prateek Srivastava Ole Nielsen Germán León Nicholas M. Karavidas Marco Bezzi Christian DeBlasio That's the 1-2 punch! I don't sell products to 'sell' things. When I discovered the Flexcube Technology (not the Sales Pitch), I determined to locate only the finest products in certain grape and wine processing functions and offer them to my friends.....this became Flexcube West. We are aging wine in a range from $12,000/ton Napa AVA wines to no-oak north coast Chardonnay & Sauv Blancs to Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel to Paso Robles Rhone blends discovering how to make better wines for much less investment (because of the affordability of finer quality alternative solutions). If you are a winemaker or winery production staffer or owner & want to taste the results of these wines aged in the Patented Flexcube, please reach out to me and I'll arrange for a private tasting. #flexcube #winemakersforum #techtalk4wine #naturalresourceconservation #conservation #winemaker

It's clear inviting visitors to simply belly up to the tasting bar for a wine flight is no longer enough. Love this piece from Kathleen Willcox in The Drinks Business about wineries introducing totally unique experiences to capture the hearts and minds (and palates) of new audiences looking for more. #wine #winebusiness Doffo Winery Damian Doffo Vergenoegd Löw The Wine Estate Halter Ranch Levantine Hill Estate

Beauty is always near to us. Sometimes we miss seeing how close it is when our vision is obstructed with clutter. So today, No epic scenes of standing on a cliff doing a mule kick, just a quiet simple sunrise in beautiful place close to home.....peace & beauty are always much close than we think. With the heat of the week about to hit us straight on, and the continuing saga of oversupply, and global wine trade ‘adjustments’, it seemed to me we might simply need to cool our jets. Preparing for this next week, it’s full of; 🧪🍷blending trials with EBX - Solutions de Tannins Oenologiques 👨🎨 New label designs for upcoming client contract bottling; 🚢 Finalizing Flexcube order for harvest; 🤝 Negotiating Contracts for new partnerships and harvest equipment orders. ⚖️ Eeviewing case documents for vineyard litigation #expertwitness work. I’m glad it’s a short week! Until then….. Good morning from Wine Country!🍷🌻 #sunrise #contemplation #wine #winecountry #photography

https://lnkd.in/ggnyXCfy had the pleasure recently in speaking to these legends, had some fun, talked all things Ben Murray Wines , my journey and my view on the wine industry as a whole. enjoy the listen!

More isn’t “better”. 30-40 years ago, it was possible to view a good portion of the film and content media that was being produced. Today, it isn’t reasonable to view, let alone digest, all of the major player film and content media developed. Soon, the word ‘influencer’ will be relegated to impossible to consume silos of topic matter and the new “influencer” will (maybe?) a digital cranial compressor of information that we’ll plug into to update our frontal lobe digitizers. In the meantime, there’s a large handful of forward thinking content developed by those who have committed decades to the betterment of wine and its systems. Not my words, but this. Read at your own risk to digitally transform yourselves. #digital #marketing #branddevelopment #winemakersforum #DTC #digitalmarketing

I am writing a new book slated for publication later this summer and launching a campaign to unite people committed to transformational change in the wine industry. In "The Perception Project: Understanding and Communicating About the Illusions We Call Reality," I am diving deep into the fascinating world of human perception. The focus is on how our sensory systems shape our unique realities and influence our beliefs, values, and interactions with others. This book is designed to guide you through the various components of the human sensory system, the hurdles of descriptive and interpretive language, and the impact of personal perception on effective communication. While my background is in wine, the insights offered here are widely applicable to self-understanding, interpersonal relationships, marketing, hospitality, and personal growth. "The Perception Project" is intended for anyone curious about the science of perception and the art of communication, and it is intended to provide a better understanding of individual differences, opinions, values, and beliefs. I ran into this great blog post by Dennis Morrison that articulates the challenges the wine industry faces and states, "As Albert Einstein famously noted: 'We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.'" He follows with the insight, "....the fundamental problem is the wine industry itself, not the members of that industry. So, the members cannot resolve the problem without a fundamental re-thinking of what that industry actually is. The industry has a customer problem — the current industry attitude seems to be: 'we make this, and you should buy it', whereas it needs to be: 'you want this, and so we had better provide it'. That is, we must, as they say, change or die." https://lnkd.in/gKa-d4ZJ

When I first met Greg Burns 24 years ago, this own-rooted Carignane vineyard was already 91 years young! At 115 years old, the vineyard is vibrant, healthy, and very much in balance in its deep-rooted Tokay series sandy loam soil. As part of an organized objective to raise awareness for the protection of Old Vine Vineyards, Sonoma Winemaker & Consultant Lisa Bishop Forbes is walking this historic ground as a possible addition to her private and now evolving eclectic portfolio. The leaves are cool to the touch showing that these vines are happy in moist ground far below the soil surface on this 90 degree summer day. Old vines in California are threatened by the massive oversupply of grapes in California and will only survive if winemakers, such as old vine lovers like Lisa Forbes, Randy Caparosa, Greg LaFollette, and Tegan Pasalaqua embrace and promote these ancient chroniclers of time & character. #oldvines #winemakerslife #lodi #techtalk4wine #EBX #winemakersforum #winemaker Lisa Bishop Forbes Evan Damiano Tegan Passalacqua Randy Caparoso Jason Haas HISTORIC VINEYARD SOCIETY