Sep 20 – You Can Wine Too!

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Guy

If you are wine enthusiast, you may have wondered how you could become a winemaker and make your own award winning wines.  Whether you’re an aspiring vintner, a small business dreamer, or simply someone who loves a good comeback story with a glass of red in hand, this book is a must-read.

My guest this week is David Sheldon with his new book “You Can Wine Too: From Fairy Tales to Nightmares, My Path to Drinking Wine Every Night”

Follow the author as he makes a life-changing decision that will determine his future for the next fifty years. Starting in the corporate world, he then ventured into his own plastics business. After twenty years, he finally “retired,” only to devote every spare moment to establishing two vineyards, a winery, and a small-scale farm raising Red Angus cattle. Defying the odds in this consumer-driven business, he has managed to zig, then zag, his way through a myriad of challenges-some forced upon him, while others he’ll forthrightly admit were his own doing-as he tries to find the right formula for the business. Not without his fair share of reflective thinking, he shares his stories and imparts a bit of the wisdom he has. Get a copy NOW!

About the Author:
“My Path to Drinking Wine Every Night”, a memoir and entrepreneurial story published in March 2025. His career began in the corporate world, where he held positions at companies like UTC, TRW, and King-Seeley Thermos. Despite professional success, Sheldon struggled with corporate politics and the pressure of high-stakes roles, eventually developing stress-related health issues, including angina symptoms.

After thirteen years in corporate life, he made a bold transition into entrepreneurship, running a plastics manufacturing business for two decades. When he retired at age 55, rather than settling into quiet leisure, he pursued an entirely new venture by starting two vineyards, opening a winery, and managing a small Red Angus cattle farm. His memoir captures the unpredictable highs and lows of that chapter, offering an honest look at the lessons, mistakes, and personal growth that came with starting over.

The book blends humor, introspection, and business wisdom as Sheldon reflects on his journey of reinvention. More than a story about wine, it’s a reflection on resilience, risk-taking, and finding satisfaction in life’s second acts. His nightly glass of wine becomes both a ritual and a symbol of survival, joy, and perspective.

David R. Sheldon is the co-founder of Hampton Roads Winery in Surry County, Virginia, along with his wife, Diane. Their story is one of vision, grit, and a love for wine that turned into a full-blown family venture. From vineyard rows to Red Angus cattle, David’s second act in life is anything but quiet

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week: 
2022 LAROCHE MAS LA CHEVALIERE CHARDONNAY, IGP PAYS D’OC, LANGUEDOC, FRANCE. 
La Chevaliere Chardonnay is a clear pale straw color. Strong citrusy aromas on the nose, with yellow-fruit richness. Bright flavors of ripe fruit; good balance and aromatic finish. La Chevaliere, or “the knight’s lady,” is a reference to “Mas La Chevaliere” which is literally the “farmhouse of the knight’s lady,” the Laroche winery in southern France where this wine is produced. 100% Unoaked Chardonnay ABV13%

WE 92 – This wine is substantial, but doesn’t brag about it. It opens with a nose of bright-green orchard fruit and hints of lemon curd and gooseberry. Intriguing wisps of concentration emerge on the midpalate and continue through to the long finish.

Normally $16, Sale at Jacob LIquor on N. Rock Road $9.99

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Sep 13 – Vermont Farm to Table

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Guy

Two great guests this week, Sisters Nora and Jenna Rice. We’ll be talking about their latest book “The Vermont Farm to Table Cookbook.”  This cool book has over 50 fresh and local recipes for every season.  If you’re are like me Fall and Vermont seem to go together. 🙂

The Vermont Farm to Table Cookbook is an ode to the flavors and ingredients of Vermont. Featuring over 50 recipes focused on fresh, local ingredients, this homegrown cookbook is your invitation to savor the bounty of the Green Mountain State. The Vermont Farm to Table Cookbook is a celebration of Vermont’s unique flavors, focusing on recipes that utilize locally grown meats, dairy products, and vegetables. Experience a full year in a Vermont kitchen—every dish flows with the rhythm of the land, no matter the season. Featured recipes include:

• Herbed Ricotta Stuffed Chicken
• Potato and Wild Leek Gratin
• Asparagus and Goat Cheese Frittata
• Maple Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops
• Blackened Peach Salad
• Summer Berry Maple Pavlova
• Roasted Delicata with Cider Syrup
• Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
• Apple Celeriac Salad
• Maple Fudge

With expert tips, beautiful photography, and a variety of dishes to suit any taste, The Vermont Farm to Table Cookbook is a love letter to all the colors and flavors of Vermont.  Learn more at vermontfarmtotable.net

Jenna and Nora Rice have deep roots in Vermont. growing up on a farm in the Connecticut River Valley, both sisters discovered their passion for farming at a young age, working with dairy cattle and helping their parents in the garden as early as 5 years old.

After finishing school, Jenna stayed in Vermont, where she settled on a 5 acre homestead and began a successful career in photography and creative marketing, working with Vermont food and beverage brands to elevate their stories through creative marketing.

Nora attended culinary school in England before working in restaurants all over the world, from Ireland’s only Michilin starred pub, to an Italian Agrotourismo and a caterer in New Zealand, before returning stateside to open her own catering company, Roaming Roots Kitchen.

It was once the two sisters found themselves reunited in Vermont once again that the idea for farm to table was born. Combining Nora’s culinary skills, Jenna’s photography and design abilities, and a shared love for local food, the pair developed, tested and photographed recipes for Vermont Farm to Table, using only locally grown and produced ingredients to create dozens of delicious and unique foods, bringing a sense of place and flavor of Vermont to readers with each recipe.  Get a copy NOW!

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2023 Cline Family Eight Spur Zinfandel
Grapes are hand-harvested at night, sorted, and gently destemmed. Fermentation is natural and warm with temperatures peaking at 90ºF. Wine is left on skins for 18 days, gently pumped over twice a day, then three times a day at peak fermentation before dropping to once a day for the final 8 days. The wine is then gentle pressed into separate fractions for malolactic fermentation in barrel as it ages for 15 months in 40% new French oak.  ABV15%
92-Tasting Panel

Tasting Notes
Eight Spur Zinfandel displays loads of bright strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry flavors with hints of cinnamon, tobacco leaf and vanilla. Medium-full bodied with balanced acidity, and fine-grained tannins, the finish is opulent and long.

Get some today at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road or your local wine merchant.

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Sep 6 – “Hope is Served” and Jordan Cabernet

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Guy

My guest  this week is Matt McInnis, co-founder and creative director a North Spore Mushrooms.

Matt had to cancel this morning due to a family issue, I’ll reschedule soon!

North Spore Says:
“We strive to make the world of mushrooms accessible to all, fostering collaboration and innovation to improve tomorrow.”

North Spore was launched in 2014 by a mycologist, an organic farmer, and a photojournalist — three college friends brought together through their shared love of the mycological world. What began as a simple love for mushroom foraging and cultivation quickly developed into an obsession with all things fungi. From there, an urban mushroom farm was born, as was the desire to spread the spore to the masses.

North Spore is on a mission to disrupt the food system by empowering people to grow and harvest their own healthy edible and medicinal mushrooms. In addition to the positive environmental impacts of mycelium (e.g. soil nutrient cycling, bioremediation) the potential for mushrooms to naturally improve health and wellness and become a key sustainable meat alternative are core drivers of what we do.  Follow on Facebook

We are a company committed to the environment and sustainability and make every effort to provide organic, natural, non-GMO, and locally sourced materials from companies that share our values.

With our vertically-integrated facility, North Spore produces 100% of its spawn, sterile substrates, cultures, and kits. We take our customer’s needs seriously and are fortunate to have multiple staff mycologists leading research and development, plus trained lab technicians overseeing our spawn and substrate production, in-house laboratory, and in-house culture bank.

Matt is a co-founder of North Spore and serves as the Creative Director. Matt developed his passion for fungi on Mount Desert Island where he frequently supplied restaurants with wild-foraged mushrooms. A graduate of the SALT Institute for Documentary Studies he cut his teeth working as a freelance photojournalist for the New York Times in Maine. He’s a self-taught videographer and editor who’s always pushing to learn more. His passion for good food, and good company coupled with a strong environmental ethic and a love for foraging and gardening, has underscored his commitment to the North Spore mission.

We’ll also be talking about a new product from North Spore…Mushroom Honey.  More than just a sweetener, this raw wildflower honey is infused with 11,000 mg of organic fruiting body mushroom extracts. Crafted to support your wellness ritual with every spoonful. Whether you stir it into tea, drizzle it over breakfast, or enjoy it straight from the jar, you’ll experience the traditional benefits of five widely respected mushrooms.

Also telling you all about “Hope is Served” a great event Sunday Sept 21, 5-8 p.m. at Chester’s Chop House.  A benefit for the Wichita Cancer Foundation to benefit Kansas cancer patients and their families! Learn more and get tickets.

…

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2020 Jordan Winery Alexander Velley Cabernet
A blend of 83% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot, 6% petit verdot and 1% malbec. Rich notes of ripe black cherry, currant and boysenberry mingle gracefully with delicate notes of cedar. On the palate, a harmonious balance unfolds, showcasing flavors of blueberries, cranberry and clove, all embraced by the smooth tannins imparted by the French oak barrels. Evolving gracefully in the glass, the dark fruit flavors and subtle acidity leave a lasting impression on the palate. Enjoy now after decanting 60 minutes or cellar through 2040. ABV13.6%  JS84  WE92

Get the Tech Sheet and learn the details!

On SALE NOW: Jordan Cabernet $43.99  Jordan Chardonnay $26.99
Grab a couple at Jacob Liquor Exchange on North Rock Road

Good Life Guy’s Cuban Style Braised Pork Chops

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Aug 30 – The Wines of California

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Guy

My guest this week is Elaine Chukan brown with her latest book “The Wines of California” a comprehensive look at the worlds most revered and respected wine growing regions.

California is one of the world’s most feted wine regions. Elaine Chukan Brown, one of the world’s leading authority on the region, analyses all of the main AVAs, from the North Coast, to the celebrated Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

“It’s less of a traditional reference book and more of a meditation on place – through its people, purpose, and possibility. With a healthy yet necessary and perhaps overdue dose of historical context, political awareness, nuance, and care, they offer a portrait of California wine that finally acknowledges all the hands that shaped it.” — Decanter

“This book is core, essential. For anyone just beginning their journey, this will put wine in context in straightforward language with little jargon…. Brown’s book is both current and timeless. Chukan Brown takes at in-depth look at the forces that made, moved and continue to shape Califorina wine. In investigating the history, they look hard at the instrumental part played by Indigenous Peoples and the reliance of the wine (and other agricultural sectors) on inexpensive farm labor. It will appeal to an audience far beyond the typical wine book reader.” — Grape Collective

A concise, complete, smartly delivered and cohesive book for serious readers and students of wine. Focusing on the world’s fourth largest producer of wine – California – the book takes readers on a journey through the golden state’s wines, paying due attention to famous regions such as Sonoma and Napa as well as introducing readers to exciting up-and-coming regions to explore.

The book is divided into three major sections. The first presents the key ideas that help make sense of California wine as a whole, including the history of California wine in brief, how the topography delivers California’s overarching climatic and soil conditions, and the basics of vineyard and winery factors relevant to the state such as the role of the AVA.

The second section takes each major region in turn and looks into its history, growing conditions and varieties, as well as discussing the most significant and interesting producers. A final section looks at current themes in Californian wine and discusses the future of the industry across the state.

  • Explains all the state’s AVAs, examining the development, growing conditions and varietal trends for each.
  • Profiles the main producers and individuals shaping the wine industry today.
  • A useful reference on California that also provides alternative insights and insider knowledge.
  • Author Elaine Chukan Brown is a prolific commentator on the wines of California and a speaker at events around the globe.
  • Supported by color maps and photos.

Get a copy NOW!

Elaine Chukan Brown is a writer, speaker, and illustrator. She is the American wine specialist at jancisrobinson.com and a contributing writer with Wine & Spirits Magazine. She runs Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews, which has been rated among the world’s leading wine blogs, and has led seminars in China, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, and throughout the United States. She speaks at leading wine events, including the Women in Wine Leadership Symposium, Pinot Noir NZ, Texsom, and ProWein. Learn more about Elaine

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2023 Opolo Summit Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles
The 2023 Summit Creek Cabernet Sauvignon offers a heady aroma profile of black currant, plum, black olive, vanilla and caramel. The palate is sleek, voluminous and varietally authentic with layered flavors of cherry, cassis, blue fruit and graphite with hints of earth and mineral. Medium-weight tannins glide into a round, integrated finish.
The result is an immensely accessible Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon that offers extraordinary value. ABV14.6%

Very ripe black plum aromas are cut by hints of lavender and thyme on the nose of this bottling. The palate is well structured and layered in blueberry, elderberry, espresso and dark cocoa flavors. WE90

Grab a bottle or three at Jacob Liquor Exchange or your favorite local wine merchant

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Aug 23 – Farmhouse Weeknights

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Guy

My guest this week is Melissa Bahen with her new book Farmhouse Weeknights.

Melissa Bahen’s Farmhouse Weeknights has over 80 nutritious recipes to help busy home cooks get dinner on the table in an hour or less, every night, for their hungry families.

“What’s for dinner?” No matter who we are, what stage of life we are in, or where we live, we all have to deal with this question―every day. We need a book that has the answers!

Farmhouse Weeknights: Quick and Wholesome Recipes for Dinner takes the brainwork out of deciding on your family’s dinner plan. Melissa Bahen offers a compilation of time-tested, wholesome comfort-food recipes straight from the kitchen in her farmhouse to your table. This cookbook focuses on fresh ingredients and making meals from scratch, but it also embraces smart shortcuts and time-saving tips that will help readers get dinner on the table with less work. Every recipe in the book carries the promise of having dinner ready in under an hour (except for slow-cooker recipes that only require prep time and are then hands-off all day), comes with serving suggestions to make a complete meal, and has a list of time savers.  Get a copy now

You will find recipes for breakfast for dinner; soups; salads; sandwiches; pastas; slow-cooker main courses; skillets, sheet pans, and bakes; and after-dinner treats. Learn more here!

Melissa Bahen started Lulu the Baker in 2008, a popular online source for recipes, projects, and snapshots of modern country life. Since then, she has published Scandinavian Gatherings: From Afternoon Fika to Midsummer Feast and Farmhouse Weekends: Menus for Relaxing Country Meals All Year Long. Her modern farmhouse kitchen has appeared in Rachael Ray Everyday, Better Homes & Gardens, Belong Magazine, Taproot Magazine, Eugene Magazine, and Cloth Magazine. She is a recipe and project developer for online brands, including Canada Dry, Albertsons, Hidden Valley Ranch, and many more. Shelives with her husband, four children, and many animals on her farm near the community of Pleasant Hill in western Oregon. Follow Melissa @luluthebaker, Facebook & X

Good Life Guy’s Wine of The Week:
2024 Babich Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough NZ
Perfumed and lifted. Notes of mandarin and spice with blackcurrant, honeydew melon and apple. Mineral notes. Soft lime entry soon joined by riper citrus and florals. Apple & green kiwifruit and sweet spice lingers. Lively and expressive with a medium light weight and a fine texture. Layers of fruit distributed across the entire palate. ABVB13%
Decanter95, NYIWC93

Learn more about this classic Sav Blanc – Grab a bottle or three at Jacob Liquor Exchange on N. Rock Road

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