Columbia Crest Crowdsourced Cabernet

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Columbia Crest. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

 

 

I love to drink wine. In fact, I consider myself an expert in consumption (note, by that I mean downing glasses, not sommelier status!). But I would never think I'd have the opportunity to decide how a wine is made...until now.
 

Columbia Crest is the first winery to crowdsource a wine from vineyard to table. They had people vote on how the wine would be made. All of the details - from grape tendering to irrigation and harvesting - were decided by weekly votes on CrowdsourcedCabernet.com. Votes made by people like you and me. Pretty awesome, right?
 

This voting and wine making took place last year and now that the product, Crowdsourced Cabernet 2014 vintage, is aging in barrels, Columbia Crest is seeking its first ever, Executive Crowdsourcing Officer (ECO). The ECO will be an ambassador to the online crowdsourcing community, travel to Columbia Crest Winery in Paterson, WA and work alongside head winemaker Juan Muñoz-Oca to help create the 2015 vintage.
 

Just like the wine-making decisions, the ECO is also decided by a vote. And that position is open to the regular Joe like you and me. The bad news is Columbia Crest is already down to the finalists so you can't enter. But fingers crossed that the position will open up again in the future and you and I can apply. Here are ECO details:
 

o   The position is open to all fans and lovers of wine, and the public has the opportunity to weigh in on the position by voting for the ECO on CrowdsourcedCabernet.com now through 8/24 .
o   The winner will be awarded the title of ECO, an all-expensed trip to Columbia Crest Winery during the 2015 harvest season in September, a $2,500 prize and more.
 

To learn more about this awesome campaign, visit the Crowdsourced Cabernet Web site.



 

Birthday Week!

In addition to the Jennifer Anniston wedding on Wednesday, it was also my birthday! Way to overshadow me, Jen. Whatever, it's fine. I may have not had a celebration as big as hers, but I did have a great birthday week that included...

so.many.cupcakes.

AWOLNATION at The Hollywood Palladium

Lots of time with friends, including Kate

A Kevin From Work screening. Tune in Wednesday for the premiere on ABC Family, it's fun!

And my favorite part of the weekend - James Bay on the Santa Monica Pier! I've been obsessed with him for a few months and love him even more after his live performance. Plus he's hot and British.

Not pictured, I also went to a Brent Morin stand-up comedy show Tuesday. You may know him from the TV show Undateable. Super funny dude.

Birthdays aren't a big hoopla for me anymore, which at first I was bummed about this year. Then I realized, it is not about bar hoping. It's about great friends who I am able to spend quality time with and I'm a very lucky gal!

Roadtrip! Seattle to Portland

Picking up where I left off on PNW trip, after Seattle was a roadtrip to Portland. I was especially excited because I'd never been to Oregon before.

First up on the adventure was a stop in Astoria to relive some of my childhood with The Goonies! We saw Mikey's house and walked along the beach where the pirate ship and the families were pictured at the end of the movie. The town in small and quaint and the beach was so beautiful. If you plan a visit, know that the beach (Cannon Beach) is located about 45 minutes south of Astoria and definitely worth the drive. Check out Haystack Rock!

After our coastal exploration we headed into Oregon and dropped off our stuff at the hotel. I highly recommend DoubleTree by Hilton Portland. It was priced well and the staff was great. It is on the other side of the river, but if you have a car it's no big deal at all. Cabbing would be easy as well.

First order of sightseeing was the Portland Aerial Tram which was so scary! I'm a sucker for a view and always go to observation decks but I am terrified of heights. Like I get dizzy, nauseous, and can't stand without feeling my knees buckling a bit. But I manage to pull myself together. Anything for a picture, right? This tram was something else though. The whole dangling over the city, and swaying and bouncing on track was not OK with me. BUT if you aren't bothered by height, or can muster up the courage, you should do it. It's only $4.50 for a hop-on-hop-off as roundtrip ride. The view really are worth it.

That night we did a Portland Underground Tour. I am obsessed with ghost tours. I do one in every city I visit. Not only is it fun to be spooked, but it's a great way to learn about the city's history and get a feel for the layout and neighborhoods. This tour was not very good, though. We were in a sketchy area so I was scared of actual people, not the ghosts, the whole time. Our tour guide even got into an argument with a random drunk dude on the street.

The next morning we drove out to Multnomah Falls and it totally made up the the night before. Just look at this beautiful waterfall. These pictures don't even do it justice. While it's a bit of a drive and parking is a mess, you have to make the trip if you visit Portland. It was my highlight of the city!

Seattle Sights

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of heading up to Seattle to see One Direction (don't forget to read that post ;) and made a vacation out of it. My flight in was delayed several hours so in addition to missing part of the opening act at the concert, I also missed out on some sightseeing. Luckily I'd been to Seattle before, but it was definitely a bummer.

Despite the setback, my amazing host, Christina, indulged my touristy need to experience the city so we did some exploration via foot, car, boat, and an elevator to the 73rd floor of Sky View Observatory. This place is incredible! If you visit Seattle, put this on your must-do list. It's less than $15 and boasts breathtaking 360 degree views. As the tallest public viewing area west of the Mississippi it makes the Space Needle looks so tiny! Check out the picture below from 902 feet above.

Stop by Thursday for my Portland roadtrip recap!