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ISO The Good Life Show - Food, Wine, Travel & Lifestyle

Bio: Mike Wreyford, AKA Mike the Wine Guy, is a wine educator, writer, radio show host, and lifestyle expert. Mike is the host & producer of “The Good Life” Show, a popular radio talk show, on air since 2011. As one of the most “casually authentic” wine experts in the industry, Mike Wreyford, AKA “Mike the Wine Guy,” has blazed his own trails and made it his life’s passion to educate, inform and entertain his audience with his extensive knowledge and passion for wine, and the lifestyle that goes with it. His weekly radio program and podcast, “ISO the Good Life” has become a must-listen for travel conscious wine enthusiasts and curious foodies alike. With countless hours of Live Radio, and 1,000+ interviews, Mike’s show has earned a reputation for being informative, entertaining, and uniquely original. As a native Californian, Mike’s adventurous lifestyle and world travels have undoubtedly influenced his approach to wine and food. His dedication to bringing an “all of us” approach to his topics has earned him a loyal following of listeners who appreciate his ability to make even the most complex subjects accessible. In addition to his radio program, Mike is known for his involvement in charitable events and fundraisers, including the highly successful “World of Wine” tasting events which he has been instrumental in developing and hosting since 2011. Mike’s talent for uncovering the stories behind the wine and food he covers is unmatched. His loose yet thoroughly prepared style of interviewing guests allows him to dig deep and discover the true passion and journey of each guest. With his extensive network of contacts throughout California, the West Coast, and beyond, Mike is able to develop unique story ideas that captivate and inspire his audience. As a dedicated professional and wine expert, Mike Wreyford is undoubtedly a name to watch in the industry, and his commitment to bringing the best of wine and food to his audience is unwavering.
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Now displaying: July, 2018
Jul 30, 2018

Chris Specialises in FAST THERAPY a unique blend of therapy for Phobia Removal, Decreasing Fear and Anxiety and Boosting Self Esteem and Confidence. 

Over the past 10 years, Chris has built up a reputation as a highly motivational coach, helping clients to overcome their fears and to achieve their goals. Chris creates individual client focus sessions and works with clients from all walks of life from Company Directors to Parents and Teenagers.

Chris created Fast Therapy. He have took the best from a range of therapy disciplines including NLP, Hypnotherapy, Solution Focus, Positive Psychology and Life Coaching and made it relevant  to overcoming Phobias and Fears, Increasing Confidence and Reducing Anxiety.

The days of having hundreds of hours of therapy to overcome one issues are gone. Behavioral Neuroscience Studies and advancements in therapy disciplines have empowered Fast Therapy Therapist, to get quick long-lasting results.

Are you ready to overcome your issue? How does your current situation make you feel? What part of your life is really frustrating you? Are you determined to make a change?

If yes, then Fast Therapy is for you.

Jul 30, 2018

Christopher Sawyer is an internationally-renowned sommelier, wine educator, journalist, consultant, critic and public speaker. He travels the world following trends in wine and participating as a VIP judge in the world’s top wine competitions, and has been featured in a wide range of national media, including USAToday, MSN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Redbook, The Hollywood Reporter, Maxim, National Geographic Traveler, CNN and Esquire.

Already legendary in the industry for his encyclopedic wine knowledge and rich wine industry relationships around the globe, Sawyer has been a personal sommelier for an array of luminaries and aficionados. Christopher has also become renowned for his unusual and entertaining ability to pair wines with just about any pop cultural experience. His wine pairings for movies are already celebrated, and have been featured in major national media.

Less well known to the public, but famous among wine world insiders, are his wine and music pairings. A popular college radio DJ while at UC Davis, he partnered with DJ Shadow and others to create some of the most buzzed-about music sets for his listeners during those years. Now, he’s become legendary for secret midnight sessions held in the cellar of his 19th Century Sonoma County farmhouse, where star winemakers, celebrity chefs, restaurateurs and lucky friends taste pairings from his extensive international wine collection matched to selections from his incredible stash of rare and cutting edge vinyl.

Jul 30, 2018

Kalā Wines is a Certified Craft Winery in Sonoma County, California and owners Santosh and Cynthia Alexander have a specific mission: to produce wines that pair well with diverse world cuisines. Ultimately, they want to bring more people together around the dinner table to share stories, talk philosophy, and focus on the important things in life. “We need to foster real human connections and conviviality in our increasingly virtual social environment by re-emphasizing the age-old tradition of friends and family gathering around food and drink”, says Santosh.

Kalā was inspired by a passion for the vast cultural diversity of cuisines around the globe, and the desire to create wines that pay tribute to them. There’s a reason we’ve named ourselves after the ancient Sanskrit word for art. Just as “Kalā” is a primal term for the craft of expression, Kalā Wines is dedicated to the purest possible expression of the grape.

Santosh developed his winemaking philosophy while traveling the globe working in tech. Along the way, he met winemakers who loved to sit down, discuss wines, and get to know you. He met chefs who wanted to introduce themselves to you and learn about your mood and what your favorite flavors are before cooking a meal for you. In these situations, it wasn’t all about business. It was about finding a way to connect as humans and share experiences. As a result, Kalā Wines tries to capture the feeling and soulfulness of great winemaking for its customers. It only produces around 350 cases of wine a year, including a rosé, a malbec, a merlot, an old-vine grenache, and an old-vine zinfandel. In 2018, Santosh will also make an old-vine carignane and pinot noir. Every wine comes from a single vineyard, and Santosh says it’s all about sourcing grapes from really special, sustainably farmed, small, family-owned vineyards. Craft wines from craft vineyards.

 

Jul 30, 2018

Ron Williams, a veteran of the Walla Walla tourism, arts, and wine industries, has been hired as the new Executive Director of Visit Walla Walla. “Ron’s broad-based experience with the key industries that drive tourism in Walla Walla made him a natural fit to take the reigns of Visit Walla Walla.

Since 2013, he has served as the Executive Director of Shakespeare Walla Walla. As Executive Director, he helped create the successful Dia de Los Muertos street festival, forged partnerships with a wide range of local and regional arts organizations, and oversaw explosive growth in the performing arts organization. Williams has also acted as the Managing Director of the Gesa Power House Theatre in Walla Walla, which hosts theater, music, dance, public and private events, meetings, parties, weddings, and festivals.

A proven collaborator, Williams has been involved in various projects with the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance, the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation, and throughout the education community.

“Walla Walla has done an extraordinary job in building its brand and growing into a world-class travel destination, and I believe my background will help build on that momentum,” Williams said. “I am thrilled to take this next step, and I look forward to continuing the great work Visit Walla Walla has done in promoting this region.”

A Theater Arts graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, Williams started his career in the film industry as a project manager and executive producer. Williams replaces Ron Peck, who served as Executive Director for Visit Walla Walla for more than three years.

Jul 30, 2018

Danni Lin (B.S., M.S.), CEO of GREAT WINE, Inc., would like to share her entrepreneurial journey. Under her leadership, GREAT WINE now has an online store, and understands that technology does not only make a product; it also creates an environment in which symbiotic parts of the wine world will thrive together to create higher product demand and supply.

Besides adopting groundbreaking technology in winemaking, GREAT WINE also collaborates with myVinotype – a smart wine recommendation platform for wine-related businesses and connoisseurs to learn more about clients’ wine preferences.

Launched in 2011, myVinotype first started as a website widget and a consumer survey. By 2016, the platform has launched an iOS app, and has become available in eight languages worldwide. All these features are supported by data analytics in order to be more client-oriented.

GREAT WINE is a huge success in the USA. In 2016, GREAT WINE opened its first tasting room in the Seattle Metro Area to offer wine tasting and vinotyping experiences to clients. It is ready to accept future challenges it may encounter during the expansion phase.

Our CEO Danni Lin is devoted to inspire more clients to engage in the global cultural exchanges of wine, with the opening of the first international satellite tasting room in China in September 2017.

Before becoming the CEO of GREAT WINE, Lin was a Data Scientist at Microsoft. Like many, Lin had experiences of going into a supermarket, and got lost in massive product lists and ads. She thought her likes and dislikes were related to how knowledgeable she was in wine – until she had a conversation with Tim Hanni.

Hanni is one of the first Americans to become Master of Wine, and introduced Lin to the scientific concept of “vinotype,” i.e. wine preferences and sensory abilities of people. Lin then transformed from a wine novice to a wine educator who encouraged consumers to speak their mind – what they really enjoy drinking and experiencing.

In 2016, GREAT WINE opened its first tasting room in the Seattle Metro Area to offer wine tasting and vinotyping experiences to clients. Lin did not let tasting and learning end in a brick-and-mortar store; she started a wine club for her clients so they can enjoy “vinotyped” selection of wines at home.

Jul 1, 2018

Rod Keeling and Jan Schaefer of Keeling Schaefer Vineyards in Pearce, AZ. Keeling Schaefer Vineyards is located on Rock Creek at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains at about 5000 ft. elevation, about a 45-minute drive from downtown Willcox in southeastern Arizona. They are proving to be key players in the Arizona wine industry in their relatively short time on the playing field. Their wines have been received with both national recognition and local praise. Rod has also been an influential factor in the industry through his actions as the President of the Arizona Wine Growers Association, heading into his third term. Having been instrumental in changing the wine laws which allow the smaller boutique wineries to have more control to self distribute and consequentially reach higher profits, Rod has seen the intense growth in the industry that such legislation has helped to provide.

Rod and Jan have harnessed their unique and individual abilities to create really great wine. In talking with the team, it’s clear that the success of their wines is due to the marriage of their strengths. As Rod explains it, he does most of the physical work, while Jan stays integral to the wine-making through her natural palate. “She’s got a palate that’s much better than mine. I can tell certain things about the wine. I can detect the flaws. I can tell whether it’s good or bad. But I can’t [pick up] the details she can.” Rod credits the blending as the step that takes the wine to the next level, making a good wine great. Humbly, he basically says he’s the physical labor and the chemist. His contribution is in growing the grapes, doing the crush and assisting the mechanical operations. He says, “I think a good wine-maker has to be a good wine drinker,” and although he likes wine and accredits basic tasting skills to himself, he doesn’t have the natural innate palate that he adoringly attributes to Jan. Not to say that the lines never cross, both partners are involved throughout the process, but Rod’s passion is the numbers and Jan’s talents are a key factor to the finish of the wine. It’s obvious that they’ve transcended their romantic love to the love of wine-making.

It all began for Rod when he fortuitously tasted a glass of wine with a friend at PF Chang’s in 1994. At that time in Arizona there were few wine bars, no real wine scene and even finding quality wines by the glass was difficult. His friend, Roger Egan, had worked in California through the 1970’s, during the initial boom of the California wine industry, where he had met Mike Grgich. Knowing that Grgich had produced fine wine he recommended that Rod splurge for the $9 glass of the Grgich Hills Zinfandel. Rod was blown away. “Oh my God! I didn’t know wine could taste like that . . . [it was] a big blockbuster Zin!” That’s when he said to himself that he had to figure this out. How could wine taste like that and how could he learn to produce it? Previously, he felt that if he was going to drink wine it would be inexpensive because it was “just OK”. White wine was fine because it was refreshing. But red wine, nothing had ever tasted like that glass of Zinfandel before. “But that got me going because I thought I could make it myself. I’ve got to try making this!” . . . plus he sheepishly admits that he really didn’t want the pay the $9 per glass.

Jul 1, 2018

Our “little” company was incorporated under the laws of the State of California on October 15, 1991 by its principal founder Troy Paski. Having gained experience in satellite operations, and software debugging/development, the company was originally conceived with the intent of providing engineering services to the defense industry.

Troy Paski and the longest-tenured craft brewery owner in the Sacramento area, if he comes off as a little jaded when you ask him about hot new brewery in town or the latest double IPA with mango, grapefruit and pineapple.

However, as an avid home brewer since receiving a brewing “kit” for Christmas in 1991, and having a passion for truly great beer, Troy soon realized a much more lucrative growth opportunity emerging in the craft-brewing industry, and helped pursued the company to pursue that avenue for growth instead.On a cold wintry evening while sampling a very nice blueberry ale from Marin Brewing Company in November 1993, it was officially decided to focus the company’s energy on commercially marketing our company’s new flagship product, which up until then had been T.ROY’s (nickname for Troy) home-brew specialty.

It took us six months of intensive labor finding the right investors, suppliers, and everything else, before we were able to get our flagship product on the market.In an attempt to carve out a niche in the growing microbrewery market, we decided to distinguish ourselves from the competition by providing the consumer with an easily identifiable package that was unlike anything previously seen in the industry (e.g., product separation…), along with a traditional style of beer (India Pale Ale – IPA) that had not been readily available to consumers for quite some time. We believe this style of beer tends to attract those consumers who are currently drinking hand-crafted pale ales, and who are looking for a more fuller-bodied “more mouth feel” type of beer to drink. This train of thought has proven to be an asset to our company, and has been clearly evident from the enthusiasm generated by consumers over our company’s flagship product!!!

Jul 1, 2018

Will Clark readily admits that his passion in life is California Foothill wines. He retired from investment banking in the early 1990’s, and with wife Jeanne, opened up his shop at 200 Main Street in Downieville. Jeanne runs the antiques and collectibles shop next door.

“We came here to do what we really wanted to do,” said Will. “People don’t expect us to be here. But really, Downieville is the first town north of Nevada City where you can find good food, lodging – and major historical lore about the area.” It all comes together in a mountain setting at the confluence of two rivers, with an enormous amount of Gold Country history. Will boasts a stock of around 50 wines. Here are some of my favorites from the tasting:

2006 Hatcher Cabernet Sauvignon, Sierra Foothills. Will believes this is his current best value in a Cabernet Sauvignon. The Hatcher winery is located in Murphys, Calaveras County, and they source most of their fruit from vineyards near Angels Camp. The fruit for this wine was sourced from the vineyard of Lori Kautz. Winemaker Matthew Hatcher has crafted this wine to have aromas of tropical fruit, volcanic minerality, anise and other exotic spices. Flavor is lush and ripe with flavors of melon, ginger, and spice, ending in a clean finish. Enjoy with spicy Asian foods, BBQ, lamb. 14.6% alcohol. $17.50/bottle at 49 Wines.

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