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Hope you all had a great Christmas and are ready for the New Year. Did you get a bunch of wine gifts? 🙂
If you are a wine lover and like to keep track of what you drink, see wine ratings of other users as well as professional ratings store and rate your favorites and even track the wine in your cellar, you need Vivino!
Vivino is an online wine community, database and mobile application where users can buy, rate and review wines. Vivino was founded in July 2009 by Heini Zachariassen and Theis Sondergaard. As of 2014 ,Vivino has a wine database containing over 3 million different wines, and has 6.8 million users.
Take a photo of any wine label and instantly learn that wine’s rating, reviews, and average price. All supplied by the world’s largest wine community of 12 million wine drinkers.
1st up is Stephen Favrot, VP of Marketing at Vivino. The application and web site have changed significantly since I first started using it in early 2012. Co-Founder Heini Zachariassen was on the show in October of 2013. There is so much information to explore and use in addition to learning about wine you may want to buy or have purchased already. You can even buy wine through the App, and I’m talking some great deals. Check it out www.vivino.com
Want to see what I have been drinking? Follow “GoodLifeGuy” after you download the app or click here to see my wines, ratings and more. I have rated over 1200 wines and am currently ranked 426 out of many millions of users here in the USA.
In the second half I’ll be talking to my brother-in-law Chaz Robinson. He and wife Maggie have been busy building a company called “Sweet, Sour, Salty” and selling pickled locally grown produce sourced near their production facility in Virginia. While Chaz has an extensive background as a Chef at some great restaurants and has developed, ran and executed a great Denver restaurant called Shells & Sauce, I think he has found his true calling. The Pickle Master will tell us all about his story and the products produced. Note to self: Pickled Garlic is one of many must have jars…hope he brings some for Christmas day.
Follow them on Facebook and check out www.sweetsoursalty.net
Then…
Instead of a wine of the week, how about a fine Kentucky Bourbon with a cool name.
Bower Hill Single Barrel Bourbon
In 1794 a group of approximately 600 Mingo Creek militiamen surrounded Federal Tax Inspector John Neville’s fortified home, rebelling against the Excise Whiskey Tax of 1971. The farmers and militiamen taking part in this “Whiskey Rebellion” were fighting for the very same principles which fueled the American Revolution, and during the attack on Neville’s home – Bower Hill – two rebel leaders were killed, including Revolutionary War Major James McFarlane. Upon completion of the two-day battle, Neville’s home was razed by fire, and now, Bower Hill and the Whiskey Rebellion are commemorated with a new rebellious spirit, Bower Hill Single Barrel Bourbon.
Distilled and aged in Louisville, Kentucky, Bower Hill Single Barrel Bourbon has a warm amber appearance and an aroma of vanilla spice and rich, charred oak. On the palate, there are more spicy oak tannins complemented by lush fruits and wheat toast, leading to a long, smooth finish defined by caramel and popcorn.
Bower Hill Single Barrel Bourbon just hit the market in 2015 – be the first to pick up a bottle today at Jacob Liquor Exchange…tell them Good Life Guy “Bower” sent you!
77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec aged 20 months in barrel, 40% American oak. Dark red in color, on the nose the wine smells of blackberry, black cherry, and clove, with background notes of coffee and vanilla. On the palate, the wine bursts with fresh fruit, cherries, and blackberries. A seamless arc of flavor flows into a slightly smoky finish. Versatile with food, this wine pairs well with grilled red meats and vegetables, pork tenderloin and heavy cheeses
Join Thomas Jefferson and his fascinating guests at 25 fact-based dinners at Monticello, the White House, Paris, London, Philadelphia, and the French wine country featuring three of his passions: wine, food, and travel. The guest list is a who’s who of great people of the time including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John and Abigail Adams, Meriwether Lewis, James and Dolley Madison, John Paul Jones, Marquis de Lafayette, and many more. Jefferson loved to have friends and guests to dinner and no expense was too much. By combining good food, fine wine, and interesting conversation with the three rules of his table, “no toasts, no politics, and no restraints,” his dinner parties were sought-after social events.
Super-Quick Muffin Tin Meals are the new way to eat comfort food without the calories. Easy-to-make, one-dish cups mean you can make perfectly proportioned meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks…for the whole family! And you can enjoy your favorite comfort foods in guilt-free, smaller helpings. Melanie LaDue dishes up 70 recipes that are no-fuss and delicious and that get more than muffins from a muffin tin. A few quick tricks and easy preparation turn classic flavors into standout dishes that make eating and cleanup a treat. Start your day with Pancake Bites, serve an after-nap treat of S’mores Bites, or create party Caprese Bites that will make you feel like a superstar. Kids love eating cupcakes for dinner, and now they can with 70 great recipes complete with nutritional information.
Wine Spectator
That’s right, the Mr. Food Test Kitchen and Wheel of Fortune® have teamed up to bring you the officialMr. Food Test Kitchen – Wheel of Fortune® Collectible Cookbook, featuring more than 160 quick and easy recipes inspired by the show.
Historically, cocktail bitters, drinking vinegars, and even infused syrups were originally used for curing sickness with high concentrations of beneficial (healing) herbs and flowers. The slight alcohol base of bitters kept the often-fragile ingredients from rotting in the age before refrigeration. Bitters in the modern cocktail bar are embraced as concentrated and sophisticated flavor agents, although they are still used in holistic healing by herbalists. Shrubs add both tart and sweet notes to a craft cocktail or mocktail. They sate your hunger and quench your thirst, while stimulating digestion and good health of the gut.
Warren Bobrow is the creator of the popular blog 
A complex assemblage of primarily Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Brut Prestige opens with gorgeous layered white blossom aromas, followed by creamy vanilla, citrus, stone fruit and melon. With elegant acidity and crisp structure, this medium-bodied sparkling wine displays an excellent mousse and a rich, lingering finish. Refreshing acidity and fruit character makes Brut Prestige an excellent food wine. #54 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2014, WS91