Apr 16 – Norton Brewing & Alzavino Wine Tavern

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Guy

Up first is Dan Norton of Norton’s Brewing. Dan and the gang at Norton’s Brewing is celebrating 4 years since he opened one of Wichita’s most popular craft breweries.  Dan, former head brewmaster at River City Brewing struck out on his own 4 years ago and has enjoyed great success.  The hallmark is still producing an ever expanding array of creative brews.  This celebration includes not only the new menu but several new beer and beverage options as well as live music.  Now that’s GREAT food, beer and FUN. www.nortonsbrewing.com The BIG event is all day SATURDAY AT 11:00 AM – 11:59 PM, 125 N. St. Francis
More info on Facebook  @nortonsbrewingcompany

Later in the show I’ll be talking to Danielle Harmon, co-founder with husband Ken, of Alzavino Wine Tavern in Delano.  We just had a great AIWF event this past Sunday and brought 45 wine enthusiasts to sample some fine wines from the serve-yourself wine taps where you can plug in your pre-charged wine card and select 1, 3 or 6 ounce pours of the wines being offered. They have a creative shareable plates, warm flatbread pizzas and interesting desert boards to accompany wines by the glass or bottle from their extensive wine list.  www.alzavinowinetavern.com

Danielle says:
“OUR VISION FOR ALZAVINO is for this to be that immersive experience. A cozy home away from home. Warm and inviting. We want to create something special for both the “newbies” and the nearly Somm level. Never tried wine? We’ll have sixteen different wines ready for you to discover your preference. Already know what you like? We’ll have something that caters to your tastes as well.

But no matter who you are, we hope that this is the place where the ambiance, the experience, the hospitality, and that single glass of wine will be the perfect combination that results in “amazing.”

ENJOYING A GLASS OF WINE is about much more than just the taste. It’s the sights, sounds, smells—the entire experience—that plays into that single glass of wine.”

Alzavinno Wine Tavern – 1001 W. Douglas Ave in Wichita’s Delano District

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
Grace Hill Wineries just released ICON red wine
On April 9th, Grace Hill released their newest wine Kansas Icon. It’s called Icon because it’s made from Chambourcin, the state grape of Kansas, the picture on the label is of the iconic grain elevator in Burns, Kansas, and was painted by Phil Epp, an icon of painting Kansas landscapes. 100% Chambourcin, aged in second use barrels for a hint of oak to accompany bright cherry flavors from the state of Kansas!  Alcohol 13.00%
Only available at the winery!

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Apr 9 – Unique Snacks from “Pretzelvania

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Guy

My guest this week is Norman Cross, Director of Sales for Unique Snacks.

Unique Pretzel Bakery is a sixth-generation, family operated business based in Reading, PA, the Pretzel Capital of the World. In 2020 and ahead of the business’s 100th anniversary in February 2021, the company rebranded as Unique Snacks to pursue added growth in other healthy snack categories. All of the company’s crunchy and flavorful Unique Pretzels are made from a secret family recipe—slow-baked in an all-natural process that sets them apart. Unique Pretzels is home to Unique Splits, the original split-open pretzel, hollow Pretzel Shells, and other healthy, delicious pretzels that deliver a serious crunch. These aren’t just pretzels, they’re Unique!  www.UniqueSnacks.com   Follow Unique Snacks on Facebook & Twitter

We’ll be tasting and talking about some of the products from this family run company.  You can get one day deliver from Amazon, order some today and support Folds of Honor.

Unique Snacks has been a proud supporter of Folds of Honor since 2018, raising more than $36,000 to create at least seven scholarships for service members’ families. While several national charities focus on the needs of veterans, few organizations have provided as much support as Folds of Honor to the families of our nation’s fallen or disabled service members.

Folds of Honor is a national nonprofit that uses 91% of all donated funds to provide academic scholarships to the families of our nation’s service members. Since 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded more than 35,000 scholarships, including 6,500 in the 2021-2022 academic year.  www.FoldsofHonor.org

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2016 Altitudes ixsir Rouge, red blend from Lebanon
Warmth, sharpness, maturity and character are the dominant traits of this wine. Imprinted with mature fruits, its delicate and complex bouquet balances an oaked aroma with red and black fruits. Notes of blackberry and blackcurrant blended with a fine ‘empyreumatic’ touch give the wine a soft and complex character. Its final silky taste makes it a pleasant and accessible wine, to share in a relaxed environment. ABV14%

35% Cabernet, 26% Caladoc, 22% Syrah, 17% Tempranillo aged in French oak for 6 months.

Learn more here!

Find this wine and others from Lebanon at Jacob Liquor on N. Rock Road

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Apr 2 – LODI!

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Guy

My guest this week is Randy Caparoso, author of the newly released “LODI! – The definitive guide and history of America’s largest winegrowing region.”
Learn more about Randy

From the Foreword by Mike Dunne
(veteran wine journalist, Sacramento Bee and San Francisco Chronicle)

“Almost a fifth of California’s wine grapes are harvested at Lodi each fall, including more than a third of its Zinfandel and almost a third of its Cabernet Sauvignon. Yet, Lodi also is the country’s most underappreciated wine region as gauged by such standards as price, tourism and restaurant wine lists.

But this book will change that. Lodi! represents a rare and timely meeting of the right person in the right place at the right time. The author, Randy Caparoso, has lived in Lodi only a decade, marking him forever as a newcomer in an enclave where grape-growing and winemaking families often go back four or five generations.

But with a relentless curiosity, a knack for fluid and vibrant story-telling, and a talent for capturing photos worth twice the customary 1000 words, Randy has used his time wisely, drilling deep into Lodi’s wine culture — its history, challenges, personalities, pivotal place in California and accelerating evolution into the state’s most surprising and exciting grape-growing and winemaking territory. So eager was Randy to discover Lodi that when he moved there he lived his first five years in a cottage in the middle of a vineyard.

Lodi! is a logical outgrowth of Randy’s role as freelance blogger and social-media director for the Lodi Winegrape Commission. Over the past 10 years he has churned out a steady stream of enlightening and entertaining posts, photos, speeches and articles, all about Lodi’s vineyards and wines. With the speed and sharp eye of an owl patrolling a vineyard, he has used that perch for ready access to the sites, archives and key players that define Lodi as a fine-wine region, and now has assembled what he has gleaned into one smooth and authoritative narrative.” Follow Randy on Facebook & Twitter. Check out his photos on Instagram

Order your copy today!

This book is one of the finest wine region books ever!  I have a bunch of wine books from all over the globe and for most every wine region of note.  I can’t overemphasize the completeness of every aspect of this book.  Beautiful photography, explicit graphics and in-depth history of this vast American Viticultural Area in addition to the people and grapes that made it famous! Order your copy, pick up a couple of Lodi wines at your local wine merchant and spend an evening with this book, you’ll be hooked and it will take you a week or three to digest all it has to offer.
Cheers,

 

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2019 Michael David Winery “Freakshow Zinfandel – The Fire Mistress”
Adding a softer, sexier side to Michael David’s band of Freaks, this medium bodied Zin spotlights wild berry and coffee aromas while flirting with notes of peppery spice. Flavors of black cherry, dark chocolate and sweet tobacco amaze the tongue with a fruit-forward, tantalizing finish. ABV15.5% 17 months in mostly American oak.

Freakshow Zinfandel is the third installment in the Freakshow lineup, following a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Red Blend. The Dazzling Fire Mistress pays homage to the wineries roots in Lodi, a region known for exceptional Zinfandel. Typically known as a bold varietal, Freakshow Zin shows the softer, sexier side of Lodi Zin, focusing on the distinctive bright fruit and spice characteristics for which our heritage varietal is known. Learn more here 😉

Grab a bottle or two at Jacob Liquor Exchange and join us!

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Mar 26 – Modern Table

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Guy

My guest this week is Kim Kushner, author of a great new book Modern Table: Kosher Recipes for Everyday Gatherings.  Originally scheduled to release in early April, now it looks like the book won’t be available until early May.

The Modern Table, presents kosher cuisine in a fresh, contemporary light. Jam-packed with 75 simple and delicious recipes, entertaining ideas, and menu inspirations, this beautiful cookbook is designed to make every get-together memorable―whether it’s a casual midweek dinner or a full-on Shabbat feast. It includes quick and healthy dishes for busy lifestyles, such as Honeydew with Sea Salt and Lime-Poppy Seed Drizzle, or Leek and Butternut Squash Soup. Fresh, vibrant salads like Grilled Peaches, Burrata, and Mint highlight seasonal offerings, while a delectable Slow-Cooked Lollipop Short Ribs rivals your favorite restaurant dishes. Recipes such as Spicy Green Tahini, Za’atar Cauliflower Steaks, and The Orange Blossom Chiffon Cake with Rose Petals celebrate Kim’s Moroccan and Ashkenazi-Canadian heritage. Also featured are table setting ideas, informal and formal menus, simple floral inspirations, and culinary gifts. The Modern Table is an elegant collection of delicious, fresh, seasonal, beautiful recipes that also happen to be kosher. It is the culmination of ideas inspired by years of gathering to form connections around the table.

Kim Kushner is a teacher and the author of three best-selling cookbooks, ‘I ♥ Kosher’, ‘The New Kosher’ and ‘The Modern Menu’. Raised in Montreal, Canada, Kim learned to cook at an early age from her Moroccan-born mother and spent summers with family in Israel. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, she has developed recipes for Food and Wine and Chile Pepper magazines and has worked as a private chef. In 2005, she launched Kim Kushner Cuisine and now travels the world teaching her wildly popular cooking classes. As a mother of four, a culinary instructor, and an author, Kim’s cooking style reflects her busy multi-tasking life.

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2020 ixsir Altitudes White Blend from Lebannon
This blend of a Lebanese indigenous grape and two noble southern varieties presents an elegant swirl of golden glittering robes. Stainless fermented Obeideh, Muscat and Viognier offer Muscat and floral notes of rose and jasmine that dominate the nose. The palate follows the nose and reveals fresh aromas with a nice citrus acidity. It is a harmonious wine, suave and very pleasing. IWC90/100

Available at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road 

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Mar 19 – Buena Fé Organic Tequila Quenchers

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Guy

My guest this week is Andrew Bushby, co-founder of Buena Fé – The World’s First 100% USDA Organic Tequila Quencher.

Pure Brands has introduced Buena Fé, a USDA-certified organic tequila-based beverage which will be widely available in the US this spring.

Buena Fé organic tequila quenchers are blended in the heart of Jalisco, Mexico. The ingredients in Buena Fé include organic 100 percent blue weber agave tequila blanco, organic fruit juice, organic agave, organic natural flavors and sparkling water.

Buena Fé organic tequila quenchers are currently available in two flavors: watermelon strawberry and mango pineapple. Each flavor is sold in a 4-pack ($14.99 per pack MSRP). The brand will debut on shelves in select states including Kansas, Washington, California, New Jersey, Michigan, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York in the coming months. Each can is 140 calories or less and free of preservatives.

“The introduction of Buena Fé follows more than eight months of searching, blending and batching to create a proprietary formula that meets our standards,” said Buena Fé co-founder Andrew Bushby. “Our mission is to create cocktails that are better for the consumer and better for the environment. We believe we have created the cleanest and tastiest tequila quencher in the world.”

Buena Fè was created by Bushby and Patty Baer as a counterpoint to low-quality, artificial ingredient-laden canned beverages made with inferior mixto tequila — and as a reaction to the dearth of ready-to-drink, organic tequila beverages available in the US. Buena Fé is directly translated to “In Good Faith.”

Later in the show I’ll be talking to Fe Vorderlandwehr Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Association here in Wichita about the upcoming fundraising BREAKTHROUGH Memory Gala at Mark Arts April 29, 2022.  6:00 p.m. Cocktails – 7:00 p.m. Dinner & Program.
Craft Cocktails – Gourmet dinner – Live Auction – Dancing with Manhattan

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week: 
2019 Sean Minor Sauvignon Blanc
Vibrant and juicy, this Sauvignon Blanc is rich and complex.  Showing golden straw color and displays aromas of lime, orange blossom, melon, grass, and a touch of tropical fruit notes. On the entry, the juicy grapefruit acidity integrates well with a medium body mid palate mouth feel. The kiwi, green apple, and peach flavors evolve into a hint of minerality that adds complexity to the finish. ABV12.5%

Food Pairing Notes: Crab with garlic lemon butter, panko-coated, deep-fried shrimp, Humbolt Fog cheese, mixed fruit tart

Tasting Panel 90

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