Dec 26 – Join Good Life Guy’s New Zealand Trip 2010

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Guy

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my wine loving friends!

new-zealand-wine-pure-discovery

This week it’s all about my New Zealand wine and food trip that you can be a part of…We depart on Sunday April 25, 2010 and enjoy seven days of first class touring from Auckland south to Marlborough.  We’ll see many of the essential tourist sites in addition to learning all about the wines of the many growing regions as we traverse the entire coutry.  My guest is our host for the trip Bert Queenin, a New Zealand based travel expert and wine and food enthusiast. 

Prospect Vineyard, Hawks Bay NZ

Prospect Vineyard, Hawks Bay NZ

Fresh and vibrant, New Zealand’s wine and food is amongst the best in the world. Taste is paramount. Talented and innovative chefs combine ingredients freshly harvested from garden, land and sea. Pacific influences, organics and indigenous foods make it unique.

New Zealand is a premier new-world wine country, producing award-winning wines that reflect the clean air and sunshine. Top quality wines are exported to cellars worldwide. Leading wine regions include West Auckland, Gisborne, Martinborough and Hawke’s Bay in the North Island and Marlborough, Central Otago and Canterbury in the South Island.

The Basics:

  • First class accommodations as listed or similar
  • All transfers and tours by private charter motorcoach
  • Sightseeing at some of NZ’s must see attractions
  • The services of experienced, English-speaking driver/guides
  •  (1 lunch includes wine and 3 of dinners include wine)
  • Round-trip coach excursion airfare from Wichita, Kansas

Click here for all the details

The Good Life wine of the week, available at Jacob Liquor Exchange…
2008 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc

whitehaven ab08winemaker’s notes:

Mid straw, with lemon tones. Vibrant currant-leaf, citrus and gooseberry aromas, with freshly cut herb undertones. A full flavored, medium bodied wine, with an abundance of archetypal currant and gooseberry flavors, that linger on the dry, clean finish.

Summer salads, poultry and shellfish, such as Marlborough’s famous green shell mussels, as well as lobster and white fish.

critical acclaim:

“Pale lemon yellow hue. Lively aromas of yellow fruit and stone fruit with soft herbal undertones. Bright acidity and a fine balance of minerals with green and yellow fruit. Cool-climate acidity and lovely, well-balanced citrus notes. Neatly melds New and Old World qualities.”

92 Points

The Wine News

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Dec 19 – CIA Soups, Duval-Leroy Champagne

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Guy

When the weather turns cold, there is no better time for a steaming bowl of soup…

My guest is Chef David Kamen from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).  David is the spokesperson for the many great books the CIA has produced and has been on the show many times in the past.   The New Book of Soups is a winter winner!

cia soupThe CIA has updated and expanded the selection of recipes for The New Book of Soups. The New Book of Soups contains all the recipes you’ve come to enjoy from the original Book of Soups plus 30 brand new recipes and more than 130 new full-color photos. We also added a chapter devoted to stews as well as Shopping for Soup Ingrendients, a valuable resource for planning your trip to the market. The New Book of Soups is the home cook’s ultimate guide for the preparation of delicious soups and stews for any season or occasion.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week featured at Jacob Liquor Exchange
duvalleroy parisA little bubbles to make your Christmas bright!
NV Duval Leroy Paris

Gold, straw-yellow color with abundant mousse, delicate fine bubbles, and aromas of  elegant fresh fruits, white flowers, honeysuckle and hazelnut.  This fine moderate priced Champagne is a pleasure to drink…and the fancy bottle is cute too. 🙂

Duval-Leroy continues its tradition of exceptional champagnes with a silk-screened bottle, signed by its favorite artist, the American painter LeRoy Neiman. He evokes Paris, the city of lights, a symbol of “art de vivre” and luxury.

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Dec 12 – Entertaining, Olsen Estates Petit Verdot

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Guy

entertain cover

My first guest is Denise Vivaldo with her new book, perfect for this time of the year…The Entertaining Encyclopedia

The reliable and easy guide to planning any event – from dinner parties at home to weddings, birthdays and banquets.

This is the essential guide to planning any event on budget and with all details considered. In today’s challenging economy, people are rediscovering the fun and frugality of hosting parties and throwing their own celebrations, and The Entertaining Encyclopedia is the only do-it-yourself guide they will need. Every phase of entertaining is covered, from how to write and create your own invitations to deciding on a theme and planning and serving the food — even advice on getting rid of guests who have overstayed their welcome!

Also included are 200 recipes and 25 comprehensive menus, allowing readers to plan and host any gathering, from a picnic-boxed lunch to a Chinese banquet to an Oscar-night party. These recipes are foolproof, straightforward and loaded with insider tips and ideas, whether entertaining on a budget or planning a large event.

Then it’s all about Olsen Estates with Martin Olsen!

2007 Olsen Estates Petit Verdot

2007 Olsen Estates Petit Verdot

Black cherry, tobacco and chocolate surround a core of blackberry and cassis with a long luscious finish. 

  • 92 points: Wine Advocate
  • Bronze, San Francisco International Wine Competition
  • Gold, Seattle Wine Awards, 2009
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Dec 5 – Home Catering and New Classic Family Dinners

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Guy

chefH-picPlanning on a little holiday entertaining…don’t want to do all the work, yet still have a class act dinner for 8, 10 or 12 in your own home?  You need my guest “Chef H!”  Harry Pape has been a BIG part of the charity scene for many years, donating his culinary talents to many great live auctions.  Now that former business executive Pape has a little more time on his hands, he is doing in-home event creation featuring several great menus and some creative wine pairings.

It’s not too late to find a date for your holiday event and let Chef H do all the work, you just provide the table, linens and the guests…Harry does it all.  Tune in for this fun show.  Check out www.chefh.net 

There’s more food, wine and fun for your ears in the second half…I’ll be talking to Chef/Restauranter Mark Peel about his new book – “Family Dinner Night”

A sumptuous collection of the best “Family Dinner Night” recipes from Mark Peel’s award-winning Los Angeles restaurant, Campanile

For more than ten years, acclaimed chef Mark Peel has used Campanile’s Monday night dinner menus to present his own special takes on popular comfort food dishes like eggplant parmesan and beef goulash. In New Classic Family Dinners, he shares recipes for more than 200 of his best-ever versions of family favorites such as Macaroni and Cheese with Wild Mushrooms, Steak with Anchovy Butter, and Monkfish Osso Bucco.

Peel’s explanations and excellent guidance make it easy to follow the recipes, both for those relatively new in the kitchen as well as for more experienced cooks. 
Click here to get a copy NOW!

…and the Good Life Guy Wine of the Week:

2003 E. Guigal Chateauneuf-du-Pape

guigal cht du pape80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and 5% Mourvèdre and others from 45 year-old vines. A deep dark red in the glass with aromas of spices and mature red fruits. In the mouth, round tannins with powerful complexity. A rich unctuous wine with notes of mature plums, hazelnuts and red fruits. A very rich wine full of harmony and balance.

Serve with: Red meat, game bird and cheese.

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Nov 28 – Recipes from Historic California, Wine Trials 2010 & Campo Viejo Reservea

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Guy

Product Image Recipes from Historic California (A Restaurant Guide and Cookbook) (Hardcover)

My first guest, Linda Bauer is the author of a series of books featuring Recipes from several states that highlight some of the off the beaten path destinations for great food.  Her and husband Steve have added recipes from each of these great destinations.

Although part of America, California has a good deal of state-exclusive culture. “Recipes from Historic California: A Restaurant Guide and Cookbook” is an exploration of California’s culinary culture. The recipes of historic restaurants serving food one won’t be able to find anywhere else in the state are spotlighted. “Recipes from Historic California” is a delicious sample of California, and something that the adventurous eater and cook will relish.

 

winetrials2010In the second half I’ll tell you about a great new book by Robin Goldstein & Alexis Herschkowitsch called “Wine Trials 2010 – 150 Wines under $15”  Updated for 2010 and covering 50 percent more wines, it’s the breakthrough wine guide that enamored the media⎯”Devilishly delightful” (Dallas Morning News), “Everyday wine drinkers can rejoice” (Newsweek), rattled the snobs⎯”Malicious duplicity!” (Wine Spectator) ⎯and caught the attention of consumers looking to drink better wines for less.

Now the hardworking authors and editors, along with a double-blind panel of wine experts and consumers, blind-tasted wines under $15 that will be available to consumers in 2009 and 2010. The Wine Trials 2010 will reveal the 150 winners of this year’s competition⎯the best wines on the market for under $15.

 

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week: 2004 Campo Viejo Reserva – Rioja
campo viejo 04One of the wines featured in The Wine Trials 2010!  A great value red wine from one of my favorite producers in Rioja, this lighter style blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, and Mazuelo is a perfect match if lamb is on your holiday entertaining menu.  My first taste of Campo Viejo was the 1964 Gran Reserva at a small restaurante in the village of Torrejon when I was stationed in Spain in the late 70’s; it was this wine that my wife and I fell in love over during long dinners.  😉

Winemaker says; Ruby red with a golden hue at the rim, bright and deep. Complex nose. On the fruit side, it reveals the sum of the sensations contributed by the grape varieties used in its blend: cherry, black plum, ripe, juicy blackberries. The time spent in the cask brings cloves, pepper, vanilla, coconut, enriched by the aromas which evolve during the time in the bottle. Smooth, balanced mouth-feel, elegant and full, with a long, lingering finish.

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