Wine–Lovers Invited to Become Virtual Winemakers
Beginning today, Columbia Crest — a Washington winery — will help the online community of wine–lovers create the Crowdsourced Cabernet Sauvignon from the beginning stages of the vineyard all the way to bottling and selling the wine through a new online experience.
Over the next 18 months, a new interactive website, will allow everyone from casual drinkers to wine aficionados join the process of winemaking, and determine how the grapes are tended, irrigated, harvested and blended through weekly votes.
Participants will have access to weather analytics, season–by–season data, past data and time–lapse camera shots down to the individual grape.
Additionally, Columbia Crest head winemaker Juan Muñoz Oca will offer expert advice and answer questions from the community to assist with the winemaking process every step of the way.
Columbia Crest has set aside an acre of reserve grapes in its estate vineyard for the project. At the end of the process, approximately 1,000 cases of the Crowdsourced Cabernet 2014 vintage will be available for purchase in the U.S., online and in the Columbia Crest tasting room in Paterson, Washington, and will also be sent to leading wine publications to be rated alongside other premium wines.
The company will support the project with new advertising and social media campaign that will invite people to become honorary winemakers.
Columbia Crest was founded in 1983.
