22 Tuesday Aug 2017
Posted in Beer, Food, Podcasting, Uncategorized, Wine
Salutations™!!
This episode of The Man Who Ate the Town has me talking about judging the NC State Fair Wine Comp and the opening of Fiddlin’ Fish Brewery. Give it a listen HERE.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
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“Cousins David Ashe and Stuart Barnhart will open Winston-Salem’s fifth microbrewery on Tuesday.” – Michael Hastings, Winston-Salem Journal
20 Sunday Aug 2017
Posted in Wine
Tags
NC Wine, North Carolina Wine Growers Association, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, The Man Who Ate the Town
Salutations™!!
I thought about calling this blog post “The Day My Mouth Tried to Eat Itself.” I told you on Friday about the wine judging I was doing this weekend. Well, let me tell you, I went through 5 straight flights of big red reds and these weren’t sweet. They were dry. And, drier. And, drier. It got so dry that I couldn’t feel my tongue at the end of the day. There was definite fatigue happening and couldn’t taste anything different. I didn’t let that stop me though. I kept on.
All-in-all, I tasted around 110 different wines over the course of the weekend. I had to have two beers to erase some of the wine taste last night at dinner. But, I was back at it this morning and I was able to taste more of the sea of dead grape blood. But, I really I’ll say it was really fun. I had so much fun doing it and the professional judges said I did a good job. I’m not allowed to say who won any of the medals or “bests in show.” That will come out on September 1st and I can tell you then, Dear Reader.
But, take a look at the picture. If you can see my teeth, they’re purple. I have never had purple teeth from wine. The BCPF can drink half a glass of red wine and have purple gums, lips and teeth. I can drink a good bit and not have purple teeth. So, you know that I had to have had a lot, right? That’s one flight.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
—
“You know great wine when you taste it.” – North Carolina State Wine Competition Instructions to the Judges
18 Friday Aug 2017
Posted in Wine
Tags
Bulls Tavern, Danielle Bull, North Carolina State Fair Wine Competition, Shadow Springs Vineyard, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, The Less Desirables, Windsor Run Cellars, Wine, WRC Distillery
Salutations™!!
I get to do something cool tonight. My job, that is food/beverage podcaster and blogger, affords me a good bit of opportunity to try new foods, beverages, attend events and in some cases, judge. Through the Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking Podcast, I met Chuck Johnson, co-owner of Shadow Springs Vineyard and Windsor Run Cellars/WRC Distillery. He asked that Jordan and I both consider being judges for the North Carolina State Fair Wine Competition. Jordan couldn’t do it, even before the recent revelations were known due to his work, but I said I could do it. 
So, tonight, The BCPF and I will be heading to Surry County to spend two nights in a hotel, at a vineyard and at a Community College to talk, taste and judge wine. The BCPF is taking a book/Kindle/etc. to occupy her time whilst I judge, it’s unclear if she’ll be in the room while I do that or not. I don’t like not being able to observe our “three-foot rule” on Saturday, but this is an honor and opportunity that I just can’t pass up. And, she doesn’t want me to. I love that woman!
I will admit, though, that I’m not the most in-depth judge of wine. Beer and liquor I can probably hold my own, but I’m sure I’ll be out of my league when it comes to the wine. Wine is what I want to know more about, though so this will help me. I’ll be surrounded by judges more experienced than me and I can learn from them. That is my presumption, however. I’d think as much stock (and money) as the wineries put into this event, they’ll want people that really know what they’re talking about.
Don’t get me wrong, I do know a bit about wine, I’ve been doing tastings and ratings for a hot minute, but I’m no expert. I don’t know that I’d ever want to be a Somm (short Sommelier [səməlˈyā] which basically means a wine steward) because I’ve seen the rigor and headache they go through to get certification. I do, however, want to get my Cicerone certification. Cicerone [sisəˈrōnē] is basically the same as a Sommelier for beer. I have several friends who have started their certification but they’re also in the alcohol-serving business. Danielle Bull, my “work wife” and co-host on The Less Desirables is working on hers, in fact.
I think, though, that I can admit that I don’t know everything I need/want to know about wine helps me in this judging task. It makes me more curious and more apt to really want to do a good job judging. I must do a good job of judging. Not that my vote or ratings will impact the entire wine industry, probably far from it, but you never know. I can’t take that chance. I need to be on it and on it I will be. So, wish me luck, Dear Reader. I’ll try to get the best wine this state has to offer in the light to help get them to you!
The weird thing is the spitting rule. They don’t want us drinking the wine, they want us to spit it out. I don’t like wasting alcohol. Those grapes died for our pleasure. But, I also understand that they don’t want/need the judges to be getting sloshed. I always need to swallow before I get the full effect of the wine but we’ll see how the spitting goes.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
—
“If the wine is well made, no matter what your personal prejudices might be, it deserves a medal.” – NC State Fair Wine Competition instructions to the Judges.
06 Tuesday Jun 2017
Tags
Dogwood Hops & Crops, Downtown Winston-Salem, Liberty Street, The Less Desirables Network, The Man Who Ate the Town, WSNC
Salutations™!!
The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast is up for this week. There’s a cool new bottle shop/whiskey bar that’s opening up downtown and I have the manager and two bartenders in the studio to talk about it. You’ll have to listen to learn more. Listen to that episode HERE.
©Dogwood Hops & Crops
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
—
“Your downtown craft beer & wine bottle shop. Opening Soon!!! CHEERS!” – Dogwood Hops and Crops
02 Friday Jun 2017
Tags
Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Downtown Winston-Salem, Fourth Street, NC Food & Wine University, Salute!, Spilman Thomas and Battle, WSNC
Salutations™!!
Tomorrow, Downtown Winston-Salem will be getting its wine on. My favorite wine festival is taking over Fourth Street from Marshall to just past Foothills. Everywhere in between? Wine. Wine. Wine. Over 30 wineries and at least six local breweries will be taking up temporary residence to hook up festival goers with the best this state has to offer in way of fermented grape goodness.
Downtown, it’s breezy, shady and you can duck into shops here and there. There’s plenty of seating and great people watching. All that while you imbibe good great wine and beer. Another plus and bonus? You get the NC Food and Wine University.
The NCF&WU is where local culinary geniuses put their skills and knowledge in the open, teaching common folk such as ourselves how to cook delicious food and then each chef’s that food is paired with a different local winery. Therefore, it teaches cooking and what goes well with it.
All the wineries at Salute are from North Carolina. That’s why it’s the NC Wine Celebration. There are other great wine festivals around, but I enjoy this the most. Downtown is my place. It’s where I love to be. It’s where I’m comfortable. I’ve gotten to know several of the wineries and I certainly have gotten to know the breweries and the chefs that will be teaching at the NCF&WU. These are my people in my place. It’s my kind of event. I’d love to see you there, Dear Reader.
You can get your tickets by visiting the Salute website. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 tomorrow. Look for us and say hello. Also, I’m pretty sure the Winston-Salem Jaycees are still looking for volunteers. Check their website for details. Volunteers get in free, so you’d save money. The event is presented by Allegacy Federal Credit Union and Spilman Thomas & Battle, produced by Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership. Great stuff!!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
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” Voted a ‘Top 20 Event in the Southeast’ by the Southeast Tourism Society, this event offers a total experience that highlights the fast growing North Carolina wine industry in a fun and festive setting.” – Salute! NC Wine Celebration
10 Thursday Nov 2016
Tags
Beer, BroadBranch Distillery, Broadslab Distillery, Fainting Goat Spirits, Greensboro Distilling, Hoots Roller Bar, Jordan Keiper, Old Nick Williams Distillery, Sipping NC: The Art of the Drink, Small Batch Beer, Spirits, The Beer Dads, The Less Desirables, The Less Desirables Network, The Tavern in Old Salem, TOPO Distillery, Traveling Mixologist, Wine, Wise Man Brewing
Salutations™!!
My podcast repertoire is growing as of today. The Less Desirables Network grows by one more show today, too. There’s no mystery that I am a fan of alcohol. All kinds of libations: beer, wine, spirits. And, it’s no mystery that I love the city that I live in. An extension of that would be that I love the state that I live in. At least, most of the time. 
One thing that my Venn Diagram shows when it comes to all that I just said? North Carolina is chock-full of quality wineries, breweries and distilleries. I emphasized the word quality because it’s true.
There’s almost 200 breweries and beer facilities, currently, and many more on the way. I mean, Wise Man Brewing is mere days from opening. There’s almost 150 wineries. There’s now close to 50 distilleries. All three areas are growing by leaps and bounds. I’m guessing, and this is just me, that there will be over 400 breweries, 275 wineries and 120 distilleries by 2020.
But, you also know that I’m not alone in my little circle (actually slightly-larger circle). I mean, I do have my podcasts, The Beer Dads and The Less Desirables, both of which are beer-centric. And my co-hosts are right there with me. A couple of them were my pals before we started doing podcasts together. Some have become pals afterward. But, I like being around those who like what I like. We get along wonderfully.
Podcasting is obviously something that I really enjoy as well, being as I produce/cohost or have produced almost 800 podcasts, now (yeah, that’s a big number). And today, I, along with another libations-loving pal o’mine, Mr. Jordan Keiper, the Traveling Mixologist and bar manager/keeper and owner at The Tavern in Old Salem (owned along with his family) are doing our very first recording of Sipping NC: The Art of the Drink podcast. We’re going to record a few before we release any but we’re starting the recordings now.
Sipping NC will cover all three sectors of the libation spectrum: beer, wine, spirits. We will have guests that represent wineries, distilleries and breweries from North Carolina. We will be talking about libation news. Jordan, who happens to be what I’d call one of the top three mixologists that I know, will be making mixed drinks on the show with the spirits that we highlight. Not every show will be about all three libations. The plan is to focus on one of them each week, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t touch on each. So, what I’m saying is you’ll have to listen to hear more. Jordan has built a great, strong rapport with the creators of these libations and we’ll have many of them on the show.
This isn’t meant to be a “preaching to the choir” type deal. We don’t want to make an industry podcast, we want to make a podcast that appeals to the listeners who imbibe and enjoy NC libations. We know that people have their favorite national and international brands of wine, beer and spirits, and we like them, too. We just want to make you more aware of what we have here at home. We think that there are plenty of NC goodness to keep you satisfied. And, we’re not just focusing on the Triad, there will be guests from Kill Devil Hills, Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham and so on. From the coast to the mountains and everywhere in between.
Some of the guests and subjects to look forward to (and there’s no order or rhyme to whom and when the guests will be) are: Old Nick Williams Distillery, Hoots Roller Bar and Beer Company, TOPO Distillery, BroadBranch, Broadslab, Greensboro Distilling/Fainting Goat Spirits, Small Batch Beer, and so on. They may be soon, they may be a little further away. But, keep an eye and ear out to listen, we’ll be hitting your podcatchers soon.
It’s not just a podcast. It will be a blog, too. We already have a Facebook page, Twitter handle and Instagram handle. We would appreciate your liking and following of them and we appreciate your listening. Sipping NC: The Art of the Drink will be part of The Less Desirables Network. We’re excited!
Slàinte mhath
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
—
“Mixing the best of North Carolina libations: beer, wine and spirits.” – Sipping NC: The Art of the Drink
23 Tuesday Aug 2016
Posted in Food, Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network, Wine
Tags
1703 Restaurant, Beer, Fan Interference, The Beer Dads, The Less Desirables, The Less Desirables Network, The Man Who Ate the Town, Wine, WSNC
Salutations™!!
I released the sixth episode of The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast today. I hope to have guests, soon. Gonna start working on scheduling some in the next few weeks. Until then, it’s just me.
I’m leaving a hint about what’s going on in the show with this picture:
Check out the episode, and what the topics are, including the link to the podcast itself, by visiting the post, HERE.
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, TuneIn or any aggregator that you use for podcasts. Same for The Less Desirables, The Beer Dads and Fan Interference. and, thanks for listening to our shows!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!!
—
“You can do anything with beer that you can do with wine.” – Grant Wood
12 Tuesday Jul 2016
Posted in Beer, Blogging, Food, Podcasting, Wine
Tags
Caitlin Weaver, The Beer Dads, The Less Desirables, The Less Desirables Network, The Man Who Ate the Town, WSNC
Salutations™!!
Ordinarily I’d put a recap of The Less Desirables up here, but not today. Today, I’m piggybacking a brand new podcast produced and hosted by me: The Man Who Ate the Town. It’s the first time I’ve done one by myself, with no one to bounce off of. I’m not counting the greatest hits shows that I have done for TLD or The Beer Dads, I have other content for those and I’m not trying to pull anything off, just doing greatest hits shows.
I mean this is the first podcast that I’ve ever hosted alone. The show is mine to do. Now, that being said, I plan on having guests, and hopefully often. Now that I have it under my belt, I will start lining them up. It is part of The Less Desirables Network.
I’ve been talking about it for a while now and Caitlin has been busting my chops on TLD about when I’m gonna stop talking and start doing. Well, Caitlin, this is it! It’s still a work in progress and this one is quite tame to my standards but I’ll work into it. Anywhat! Click HERE to read the article and hear the episode. I’ve submitted to all the normal aggregators and await their approval. It should be in the next few days, I hope, that they’re ready to go. I hope you enjoy it!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
—
“Serving up a warm dish of the Triad’s culinary fare, here’s your weekly helping of food news and views…” – The Man Who Ate the Town
03 Friday Jun 2016
Tags
Black Mountain Chocolate, Chef Kristina Fuller, Chef Travis Myers, Crafted: Art of Street Food, Crafted: Art of the Taco, Downtown Winston-Salem, DWSP, Food & Wine University, Graze, Hanover Park Vineyards, JOLO Vineyards, Jones von Drehl Vineyards, Lake James Cellars, Raffaldini Vineyards, RayLen Vineyards, Richard Miller, Salute!, Stephanie Tyson, Sweet Potatoes, The BCPF, The Less Desirables, Tirra Cowan, Willow's Bistro, WSNC
Salutations™!!
One of my favorite events in downtown WSNC is the Salute! Wine Festival and that’s tomorrow, June 4, from noon-6pm (rain or shine), and The BCPF and I will be there!!! The biggest reason it’s my favorite isn’t the wine (that’s probably second or third or something, perhaps ninth?), but it’s the fact that I get to hover around on Fourth Street in the downtown of my hometown and the city that I love. It is my preferred festival for several reasons: There’s plenty of shade. It doesn’t smell like horse poop. It appeals to a more distinguished crowd. The buildings laid out on the street creates a natural breezeway which means it’s cooler and those buildings hold restaurants and other businesses that make the experience better.
Possibly one of the best parts of the festival is the Food & Wine University which will feature Chef Stephanie Tyson of Sweet Potatoes paired with Hanover Park Vineyards, Chef Richard Miller of Graze paired with Raylen Vineyards, my buddy and pal, Chef Travis Myers of Willow’s Bistro paired with what I was told was JOLO but the press release says Jones von Drehl Vineyards, former The Less Desirables guest, Chef Kristina Fuller of Crafted: Art of the Taco/Street Food is paired with Raffaldini and another former The Less Desirables guest, Chef Tirra Cowan from Black Mountain Chocolate paired with Lake James Cellars. It’s good stuff, every year, and I’m glad to get to see some of it.
There will be over 30 wineries/meaderies/brewers to choose from on this day. Tickets are $25 in advance (which means you better buy today!) or $30 the day of the event. I promise you won’t have a bad time here. The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership and their fearless leader, Jason Thiel (with Mary Charlotte and Mackenzie) know how to throw a party and this is going to be awesome!!! You can buy your tix, find more info and all that jazz by visiting the Salute! website. Find me and stop me and say hello! Really. Do that.
Until tomorrow (when I’ll be wining it up), same blog channel…
Scorp out!
—
“Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words.” – Plautus
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