Feb 15 – Exploration Place, Death by Chocolate

My guest is Laura Roddy VP for Advancement at Exploration Place.
Laura joined Exploration Place in 2021 after five years in a similar role at Mark Arts. She is also a former president of the Junior League of Wichita and has worked as a contributing editor for The Journal of the Kansas Leadership Center, copy editor for the Dallas Morning News and public information officer for the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature.

Laura earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Spanish from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in communication from Wichita State University. She has been an Exploration Place member since 2006, spending countless hours enjoying the exhibits. Once, as a Girl Scout leader, she and her troop even camped out overnight in the Where Kids Rule exhibit.

Laura and I will be talking about the history, exabits, expansion plans, and the upcoming “Death by Chocolate” event March 1st.

The State’s Premier Science Center
E
xploration Place, The Sedgwick County Science and Discovery Center, is Kansas’ premier science center, inspiring a deeper interest in science and technology through creative and fun experiences for all. Exploration Place is a mission-driven 501(c)(3) not-for-profit institution supported by admissions, membership dues, public support, and voluntary contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations.

In Partnership With Sedgwick County
Through a partnership with Sedgwick County, Exploration Place currently receives support and is recognized as the Sedgwick County Science and Discovery Center. The County’s mission is to cultivate a healthy, safe and welcoming community through exceptional public services, effective partnerships and dedicated employees.

World-class Shark Exhibit Makes One of Its Debut U.S. Stops at Exploration Place
WICHITA, Kansas – After traveling halfway around the world, a spectacular new exhibit will
bring Exploration Place visitors face to face with Earth’s most formidable ocean predators.
The Australian Museum’s acclaimed Sharks exhibit brings an immersive ocean experience to
Wichita during its exclusive regional appearance Feb. 7 through May 4.

Requiring seven semi-trucks to transport, Sharks is one of the largest traveling exhibits ever
staged at Exploration Place. It includes 10 life-sized, scientifically precise shark models,
including the legendary Great White, the peculiar Hammerhead and the extinct
Helicoprion – a 270-million-year-old creature whose spiral-toothed jaw earned it the
nickname “Buzzsaw Shark.”

Celebrating 25 Years of Exploration
Join us for Exploration Place’s 25th Silver Anniversary,
a celebration honoring 25 years of inspiring curiosity
and fostering discovery in our community. Enjoy over
two dozen tasting stations featuring Wichita’s best food
and drink as we commemorate this milestone. As we
celebrate our achievements, we also look forward to the
next 25 years of exploration and innovation. Let’s make
lasting memories while toasting to the incredible
journey of Exploration Place and the exciting future ahead!

Tickets are on sale now!  Get Tickets 300 N McLean Blvd, Wichita, KS 67203
Come to the event and stop by The American Institute of Wine and Food booth,
we’ll have some fine wines and Bourbon to sample!

Later in the show I’ll be offering some fun cooking ideas for cold weather and
complimentary wines that pair nicely. Guy’s NOT Chili – Chili

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2021 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles CA
With attractive aromas of black fruit and spice, this smooth,
ready-to-drink Cabernet Sauvignon is made in Paso Robles
with the same care as the highest quality, traditionally
crafted Bordeaux-style wines. Our grapes are hand-picked
and sorted by-the-berry for consistent quality and flavor.
JUSTIN Cabernet Sauvignon then spends fourteen months
in traditional small oak barrels to impart depth and
complexity, highlighting the exceptional balance of flavors
and textures that the unique climate and soils of Paso
Robles add to the classic Cabernet.

Warmly aromatic with ripe red and black cherry notes,
cigar box, and toasted oak with savory elements of vanilla
and caramel with fresh sage, and hints of cocoa.

 

95 points, Gold Medal, London International Wine Competition

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Feb 8 – Air Fryers and more!

My guest this week is Cathy Yoder with her latest book “Air Fryer Recipes – 150+ Yummy Air Fryer Recipes”  If you are looking for quick, easy things to make for Super Bowl Sunday, look no further.

We will be talking about Air Fryers in general and how to entertain your football fans with ease!

Widely regarded as the “Queen of Air Fryers,” Cathy Yoder—a mother of eight—wanted to prove that air fryers could do more than reheat frozen foods and leftovers. So, she documented her journey on YouTube. Today she boasts over 742,000 YouTube followers and yet more across other socials, over 6 million video views and tens of thousands of cookbooks sold. At Yoder’s EmpoweredCooks.com multimedia platform, users have access to numerous resources: her “Air Fryer Recipes” cookbook filled with over 150 recipes; an array of specialized digital download air fryer recipe e-cookbooks; an air fryer cooking catalog with over 300 video recipes; cooking accessories; a transformative video course; and interactive “Cooking with Cathy” class sessions that happen live, in real time. Yoder also offers a curated selection of budget-friendly tools and resources through her online store, PineandPepper.co that provides an array of video instruction and other resources specific to the joy of air fryer cooking. Her FabulesslyFrugal.com platform is rife with recipes and tips on how to live a healthy, wealthy, wise life full of independence and confidence.

Here’s some of Cathy’s most popular SUPER BOWL  Game Day Air Fryer Recipes Sure to Score

Guy’s NOT Chili – Chili

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week: Force and Grace Paso Robles Cabernet
This Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is dense yet delicately textured. In the glass, it offers concentrated ripe black cherry, raspberry fruit leather, cassis, and velvety tannins that complement the rich fruit beautifully. The finish is persistent yet wonderfully harmonious, with layers of berries, caramel, and notes of lingering blonde tobacco. 14.2% ABV.

Decanter 93 Points!
A really lovely, restrained effort from Paso Robles by Jean Hoefliger. Not to say the wine isn’t powerful, full-bodied, or richly layered with a tapestry of inky dark black and blue fruit. It is all that, but immense structure and building tannins also create freshness and energy. Most fruit sources are from east Paso. Hoefliger had to pick specific sites earlier to avoid overripe flavors, and he left a good portion on the skins for almost 35 days to build a tannin structure.
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Jan 25 & Feb 1 – Two great shows from the past

Good Life Guy is escaping the cold weather and on a well deserved vacation.

I’ll be back live on Feb 8th.  🙂

 

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Jan 18 – Flying Toad Farms

Sure it’s the middle of winter and you miss fresh garden offerings. But those who make it happen are working already to prepare for the Spring growing season.  Today I’ll be chatting with Josh Wheeler from “Flying Toad Farms”  Flying Toad brings fresh produce to both the Derby and Wichita Farm market.  The store and garden shop is located at 112 West Main Street in Oxford Kansas.

 

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Jan 11 – Benziger Family Wines

My guest this week is Chris Benziger from Benziger Family Winery. Chris and I first met in Miami at the Florida International Winefest at the Doral Ocean Beach Resort.  I had met parents Bruno & Helen at the winery when they were primarily producing Glen Ellen wines, the first label to be called Proprietors Reserve.  So much has changed and for the better. Many of the family members have retired from the wine business, but Chris is still there and sharing the family story and promoting Benziger’s quality wine making.

Chris Benziger – VP, Brand Ambassador
Still in high school when the Benziger family moved from White Plains, Chris finished his senior year in wine country. He went on to earn a degree in marketing from the University of San Francisco while spending summers, weekends and every spare moment working at the winery. He officially joined the Benziger Family Winery in 1993. Chris oversees the home ranch and is dedicated to the thriving Biodynamic ecosystem of the estate: shepherding the Benziger flock of sheep, tending to the estate vegetable and fruit trees, and producing Biodynamic preparations for our vineyards. Chris feels that the only way to communicate the quality of the wines he promotes is by having the soil from the vineyard in which he’s endorsing under his nails. Chris also travels to major markets and promoting Benziger wines around the country.

Chris NOW

Chris and Guy THEN (1989)

Benziger Family Winery

Good Life Guy’s Wines of The Week:

2023 Benziger Family Sauvignon Blanc
Fresh and elegant, our Sauvignon Blanc invites you in with aromas of bright apple, fresh grass, pineapple and melon. Enticing citrus flavors are followed by complex minerality. The wine’s acid is both balanced and integrated, giving it a textured mid-palate and an elegant softness. ABV12.5%

2022 Benziger Family Chardonnay
This wine has a beautifully balanced style that is fresh, yet oaked with creamy notes. Ripe white pear and mango aromas combine with creamy meringue notes. The cool coastal location of the vineyards enhances the acidity in the wine giving it a long savory finish.
ABV14%

2021 Benziger Estate Obsidian Point Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep and inky ruby in color, but light on its feet, this Cabernet gives waves of saturated cassis and blackberry aromas on the nose. The palate is fresh and bright, with flavors of raspberry coulis, dark chocolate, coffee, spiced plum and cinnamon. Some grip of tannin shows on the finish and this wine should age gracefully for five to 10 years. ABV14.5% WE91

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