Feb 11 – Heathen Wines & Wine Tours

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Guy

I bet many of you have been to California Wine Country or gone on a wine tour to many of the growing regions in the USA or Europe.  If you have, you know that to get personal treatment and special tastings is often not easy if you’re not in the biz.  My guest this week is Heath Porter and he can help!

Porter is the owner of Heathen Wines & Wine Tours, and hosts tours around the U.S. and to other countries to offer guests an insider’s perspective on wines and spend some time with winemakers at work in their vineyards. He also recently launched his own Heathen Wines label, with two wines currently available for sale and more in the works.

Come travel with Heath Porter, a 5 star sommelier who has run some of the most revered wine programs in the United States. Travel in true Porter style as he has for over 20 years through regions around the world! Want to mingle with the best winemakers, chefs, winery owners and food and beverage professionals in the world?  Follow Heath on Twitter and Facebook.

Traveling with Heathen Wine Tours grants you “back door access” to wineries and unknown regions anywhere and everywhere. We chill in wineries and cellars and taste wines from barrels and private collections.  Did I mention that Heath makes wine too…

When the pandemic struck, wine tours came to a halt, and while he was still hosting virtual wine tastings over Zoom video calls, he had a little too much time on his hands — which led to what Porter described as maybe the riskiest decision he could have made during the pandemic. “Obviously when you eat, drink and travel, when the pandemic starts, you lose your entire existence,” he said. “I thought to myself, ‘What’s the stupidest thing you could do? I know, I’ll start my own wine label like a moron.’”

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2020 Juggernaut Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Cool breezes and damp fog build character in this Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. French oak complements bold red fruit and floral aromatics with a veil of vanilla, waffle cone and toasty oak. Both graceful and vigorous, this wine opens with a perfume of white flowers followed by persistent flavors of red cherry and berries. ABV14.5%  WW91

A class act Pinot Noir at a great price ($18.99) from the Bogle Family available at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road. Grab a few and join me this week 🙂

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Feb 4 – Let’s Celebrate

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Guy

My guest this week is Natasha Newton with her new book “Let’s Celebrate – A Low-Carb Cookbook for Year-Round Entertaining“

Bestselling author of Southern Keto and Southern Keto: Beyond the Basics, Natasha Newton, levels up entertaining with 115 carb-conscious recipes for every occasion. If you’re living a low-carb or keto lifestyle, you may be intimidated by the idea of hosting a mix of carb lovers and carb avoiders, but fear no more. Natasha Newton brings you the ultimate guide to healthy entertaining with her easy and delicious crowd-pleasing recipes.

In Let’s Celebrate, Natasha delivers low-carb, keto-friendly appetizers, salads, main dishes, desserts, and beverages that feature her distinct Southern style. She makes any gathering fit your lifestyle without forgoing flavor and familiarity. Let’s Celebrate is packed with everything you need to host a memorable gathering, including:

  • Tips and checklists to help you prepare for entertaining
  • Table setting ideas for casual and formal celebrations
  • Themed menu ideas with shopping lists
  • Easy-to-follow recipes that use accessible ingredients
  • And more!

Along with full-color photos for each of this book’s 115+ recipes, you’ll find make ahead tips, allergen information, and nutrition breakdowns. Natasha also walks you through planning a party, shopping for ingredients, stocking a bar, and setting a beautiful table. Let’s Celebrate is carb-conscious entertaining made easy!

Sample recipes:

  • Hot Pimento Cheese Dip
  • Slow Cooker Party Meatballs
  • Bacon Ranch Fauxtato Salad
  • Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
  • Better Than Anything Cake
  • Bloody Mary Bar

Natasha Newton, Keto expert, recipe creator, and bestselling author, brings you a low-carb version of hospitality. Aimed at bringing healthy meals to your guests, Let’s Celebrate demonstrates just how possible it is to accommodate everyone with food sensitivities, allergies, special diets, or medical conditions. Natasha is on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter

Natasha Newton brings an approachable model to the ketogenic lifestyle. She’s the voice and personality behind the popular Instagram account @ketoislife, which publishes recipes and other keto related content to more than 350,000 followers. Natasha began her ketogenic journey in 2014 to lose weight and battle her food and sugar addictions. In addition to shedding pounds and maintaining, she discovered that a keto lifestyle came with a whole host of other benefits: she had a new lease on life. Being a native of Kentucky and longtime resident of Tennessee, Natasha offers low-carb recipes that have a distinctive southern flair. She truly delivers the sought-after pleasures of down-home southern cooking. Natasha is the author of bestselling books Southern Keto and Southern Keto: Beyond the Basics. Her newest book, Let’s Celebrate: A Low-Carb Cookbook for year-Round Entertaining will be released January 2023.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2020 Two Vintners O.G. Gewürztraminer from Yakima Washington
Have you ever wanted to venture off the beaten path and try something new and unheard of? This is that wine, uncontrollable floral and citrus aromatics practically jump out of a glass of this wine. While the nose screams sugar, the palate will pleasantly surprise you with a dry finish, rounded off by a beautiful orange color. This wine is sure to turn heads wherever it is served. aBV13.2% 100% Gewürztraminer

“Started in 2012 this wine gets better (and wilder) with each vintage. We started making this wine in neutral oak barrels but in the 2019 vintage were able to get some Spanish clay tinajas (giant clay pots) to use in the winemaking process for this wine. This is the traditional way Orange wines are made and it adds just another layer of texture and flavor to the wine that was missing with the oak. This wine ages on the skins for 8 weeks before we press it off and continue to age it out before bottling. That 8 weeks on the skins gives that awesome orange color to the wine and the geek factor that blows customers away.”

Wine Enthusiast 90
Winemaker Morgan Lee says he wants this wine to be “weird,” and it is—in a good way. Fermented in a clay pot, the aromas offer expressive notes of ginger, orange peel, lychee and flower. The palate brings a textured feel while remaining light on its feel. Mineral notes are threaded throughout. It’s part intellectual pleasure and part hedonism.

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Jan 28 – Sedona part-2

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Guy

This week is the continuation of Food, Wine, Relaxation and Fun in Sedona Arizona, part-2!

Up first is Aaron Douglas to talk about the healing and relaxation offered by the High Vibe Collective in Sedona.

Aaron is a certified 500 hour Yoga instructor, CranioSacral bodyworker and Peaceful Body wellness practitioner. His mission is to anchor a large population into their bodies to allow create new generational patterns.

High Vibe Collective is the concierge of retreat experiences in Sedona, customizing synchronistic alignment for the highest good of all. Drop into the local frequency of the healing vortex of Sedona for customized retreat experiences, created for your specific journey in this place in your timeline.

After a relaxing and healing visit to High Vibe Collective, let your new found energy propel you to the quaint and welcoming tasting room for AZ Stronghold Vineyards in Old Town Cottonwood.

Guy, Terry and Winemaker Jason

We had the opportunity to sit down in the tasting room with proprietor Terry Glomski and winemaker Jason McCluskey of AZ Stronghold Vineyards. If you have never visited Arizona’s Verde Valley AVA you’re missing some fine wine.  While grape growing in Arizona is not new, the growth in vineyard land and producing wineries is fantastic in the last decade.  Terry Glomski has a lot to do with that. He says…

“Arizona Stronghold Vineyards’ wines are the expression of the fierce and wild Arizona terrain. We pride ourselves on being pioneers and farmers first, who use the landscape of Arizona to produce unique and prized wine that will compliment any occasion or collection. Each harvest is meticulously cared for year-in and year-out and every wine and blend is treated as an individual. We recognize that quality fruit is the key to all winemaking endeavors. Our wines showcase the originality of the southwest highlands and accent the terrain, which can be enjoyed in each glass of Arizona Stronghold’s amazing Site Archive wines as well as our signature, regional blends. The varietals are grown near Willcox, Arizona at our Bonita Springs Vineyard as well as fruit sourced from various other local vineyards. We are focused on crafting Arizona grown wines that express the highest quality and value our wild and fierce region has to offer.”

At the Bonita Springs Vineyard in Willcox, they grow: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Malvasia Bianco, Malbec, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Semmion, Pinot Noir, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Cab Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Trebbiano, Marsanne, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Muscat, and Norton.

In addition, they also source fruit from their neighbors from vineyards across Arizona including Willcox, Elgin, the Young, Kingman, and the Verde Valley.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2019 AZ Stronghold Lozen Red Blend

This year is a blend of two varieties, cabernet sauvignon and malbec. It’s effusively aromatic, with blueberries, blackberries, Rainier cherries, leather, cedar, and baking spices. On the palate, the tannins are well-integrated and support flavors of Rainier cherries, cacao, blackberries, black currants, and vanilla. This wine is as age worthy as any other vintage of Lozen but is also drinking incredibly well now. Enjoy within the next 15 years.

While you can’t get this wine here now, visit azstronghold.com and order some…or better yet, plan a trip to Sedona and visit the tasting room 🙂

For those who crave a recent arrival here in the Flat Lands, check out this wine at Jacob’s on North Rock Road:

2021 Bull by the Horns Paso Robles Cabernet 
The fruit was destemmed, 3-5 day cold soak, followed by pump-overs and punch-downs 3 times a day during fermentation. Aged 10 months in stainless steel tanks, and French barriques, 20% new oak. Offers sugar-dusted black currant and cherry, birch beer, espresso, chocolate mint, black licorice, maple candy. Classic, authentic Cabernet structure, true to varietal, fine tannins that stretch to a long, refined, and graceful finish. ABV14.5%

WA94 Points – Robert Parker
WE90 Points – Wine Enthusiast

 

 

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Jan 21 – Visit Sedona part-1

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Guy

The next two weeks are all about our recent trip to Sedona Arizona.  If you haven’t been, you need to!  It’s a 15 hour drive non-stop and you gain an hour going to Mountain time.  Or break it up and stop half way at one of the many hotels and tourist stops along Interstate 40.

My first guest is Susanna Cota-Robles from the Arabella Hotel Sedona located at 725 Highway 179 Sedona, Arizona 86336 Phone: 855-649-1200.

Relax by the pools, soak up the sun, enjoy a glass of wine by the fire pit while a local musician serenades you. Explore the night sky with astronomer Dennis Young, and see if you can find the milky way.  Take a walk up to a private vista to watch the red rocks glow in the sunset. Cruise through town on a bicycle to see local sights just minutes away. Dine at Sedona’s newest and most talked-about restaurant, Mole’ Fine Cuisine of Mexico, here on site.  The Arabella Sedona is where your adventure begins.  Arabella is on Facebook too!

Mole’ Sedona is a spectacular restaurant with a great wine list, amazing Margaritas and cocktails served by some dedicated professionals who not only enjoy working there, but are extremely well trained and knowledgeable.  This is one of several restaurants in the Wild Thyme Restaurant Group that are in Sedona. Follow the group out on Facebook.

Joining me later in the program is Donny Segall, Sedona Regional Director for the restaurant group.

“Wild Thyme Group is proud to introduce you to our collection of restaurants where you will experience mouth-watering creations crafted from the freshest ingredients. We specialize in every aspect of food and beverage excellence, including restaurants, hotels & resorts, banquets, special events, catering, and all-around genuine hospitality. We do so much more than just food.”

In addition to Mole, you must try Stagecoach Country Roadhouse, Shorebirds Coastal Eatery and the more casual Jaybirds Nashville Hot Chicken.  We had the pleasure of experiencing all of these first class restaurants and enjoyed every morsel and sip!

If you like to shop in addition to eating the options are many.  We had a great visit to the artsy shopping area near Arabella called Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village.  Noted for a wide array of Arizona desert and Native American art, there’s so much to see as well as eat.

Just walking around Tlaquepaque enlivens your senses as you delight in the splashing sounds of courtyard fountains, the vibrant colors of its abundant gardens and the mouth-watering aromas wafting from a nearby restaurant as sumptuous feasts are prepared. Spend some quality time strolling the streets and browsing the shops of the arts village.

And when hunger pangs hit, you don’t have to leave the property. Just head to one of Tlaquepaque’s five exceptional restaurants…where collectively there are sumptuous dishes and the perfect beverage choice to satisfy any palate.
…
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
Two fine wines from Burgundy and J. C. Perraud
Grapes are pressed whole-cluster and fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged in both tank and older French oak barrels (less than 10%) on fine lees. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

2020 Bourgogne-Pinot Noir
This Burgundy Pinot Noir from Domaine Perraud reveals a fresh gourmet nose with bright cherry and bramble nose. The palate is soft, balanced and lively. An elegant long lasting finish echo’s the aromas on the palate!
…
2020 Macon Villages-Chardonnay
The 2020 Domaine Perraud Macon Villages opens to lovely aromatics of crisp apple, honey blossoms, lemon peel and hints of salty minerals adds even further appeal. On the palate this brings flavors of citrus, orchard fruits, honey and crushed limestone that resonate through the finish
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Jan 14 – Pasta Grannies

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Guy

My guest this week is Vicky Bennison with her latest book “Pasta Grannies”

Vicky Bennison spent many years working in international development in places like Siberia, South Africa, and Turkmenistan. The next decent meal was always on her mind and so she began writing about her culinary adventure, from mushroom hunting with the Russian mafia to cooking zebra stew near Lake Turkana in Kenya! She is the author of The Taste of a Place, and co-wrote Seasonal Spanish Food with José Pizarro.

WINNER OF THE JAMES BEARD AWARD FOR SINGLE SUBJECT

SAVING TRADITIONS AND SHARING SKILLS, ONE GRANNY AT A TIME!

“When you have good ingredients, you don’t have to worry about cooking. They do the work for you.” – Lucia, 85

Learn how to make pasta like Italian nonnas do. Inspired by the hugely popular YouTube channel of the same name, Pasta Grannies is a wonderful collection of time-perfected Italian pasta recipes from the people who have spent a lifetime cooking for love, not a living: Italian grandmothers.

For a nonna, love is putting food on the table, and pasta is the perfect vehicle to make precious ingredients go further. Featuring easy and accessible recipes from all over Italy, you will be transported into the very heart of the Italian home to learn how to make great-tasting Italian food. From pici – a type of hand-rolled spaghetti that is simple to make – to lumachelle della duchessa – tiny, ridged, cinnamon-scented tubes that take patience and dexterity, every nonna has her own special recipe. Pasta Grannies brings together the huge diversity of these authentic dishes and also celebrates the expertise, life and extraordinary stories of the amazing women behind them.
Get a copy NOW!  Follow Pasta Grannies on Facebook and Twitter

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2019 Bodegas Catena Zapata Cabernet Franc
This 100% Cabernet Franc is sourced from the family´s historic vineyards in San Carlos. Here, the sandy-loam soils and mountainous climate yield a wine with concentrated ripe red berries, a touch of eucalyptus and black pepper, robust tannins and smooth lengthy finish. ABV13.6%  @bodegacatenazapata

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate WA93
The incredible 2019 Appellation San Carlos Cabernet Franc is super elegant, fresh, varietal, nuanced and complex. A wine like this often costs more money than the price point of the appellation range, but it feels like a bargain anyway. This is an updated version of the 2018, with precision and symmetry. It’s vibrant and lively, velvety and focused.

 

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