Episode 35: We Like Drinking – With a Free Lunch
This is an easy listening, easy drinking episode. Jeff Eckles from the We Like Drinking podcast joins us for some laid-back wine and beer chatter this week. Is there such thing as a free lunch? Sure there is – and we cover that in the factoid. There’s a small celebration of our nation’s attempt to (still) recover from those silly temperance & prohibition movements, and a hint about our upcoming holiday video. Let’s pour a glass and listen to Jeff explain that whole “smoked whale” thing, shall we?
Val: “Welcome back Wine-Two-Five listeners! Thank you so much for joining us for Episode 35! I’m Val, and I’m here with Steph and this week we’re talking with our guest Jeff Eckles.”
Steph: “Yes, but before we dive in…let’s chat a bit about what we’re drinking & start with our guest. Jeff??”
Oh, we put him on the spot! However, Jeff “brought it” today with a beautiful Croation wine! It’s easily available at our local Vintages wine shop in Colorado Springs (which means pretty much anyone should be able to get it if we can)!
Jeff: Bastianich Malvasia Istriana Croatia
Val: (Same thing)
Steph: 2008 Lan Rioja Reserva ($17 ish) – a birthday gift from my Spanish gal pal, Carmen. It is medium-bodied and a classic representation of Rioja. Soft tannins, rich red fruits, and a minty finish.
Jeff E from www.welikedrinking.com
Val: “Let’s introduce our guest! He found a love of craft beer in his 20’s, a passion for wine in his mid-30’s, and has been tasting, exploring, and educating himself about the two ever since. Bothered by the lack of dual-citizenship blogs available, he co-founded WeLikeDrinking.com to provide an entertaining and educational platform for those looking for an all in one location when you love both drinks. He is a certified specialist of wine through the SWE and host of the weekly gong show that is the We Like Drinking podcast, one of the ‘seven Jeffs,’ Jeff Eckles!”
We talked about the back story of how the We Like Drinking podcast came together and how the four guys met. By the way, there really aren’t seven Jeffs – there are two, but the “seven Jeffs” story is quite funny. Jeff also told us that between podcasting or blogging/writing he prefers podcasting; the immediate feedback is much more rewarding, as we’ve found as well.
Then we discussed the Cicerone (that’s like a beer sommelier certification) program briefly, and there is one Certified Beer Server (the first level of the Cicerone program certifications) on the We Like Drinking show, for those beer lovers out there! Jeff did explain that while he is a huge lover of craft beers, as is Steph, they would like to leave the rigors of the Cicerone program to other gallant souls. Perhaps it’s because the dirt and terroir studies of wine do take up much of our time. Jeff is also preparing for the Certified Wine Educator (CWE) credential, so Steph and Val gave him some (albeit unsolicited, as that’s how we roll) advice on this six-part exam. NOTE: As of this writing, there are about 400 CWEs in the world who’ve passed the exam since 1979; we’re excited to help Jeff E. join our ranks!
Steph then asked Jeff to talk about his favorite episodes of We Like Drinking and if you haven’t caught up yet with the fellas then you may want to give their show a listen! Jeff also gave us his synopsis of what was “hot” in the wine world last year: Rose’ wine, people. Everyone went crazy for it and still is. In fact, the WLD guys gave a fun episode about “Brose'” wines this past summer to address the marketing craze.
We finished the interrogation with Jeff talking about where the WLD platform is possibly headed over the next several years. Guys, if you’re not listening to these characters, you’re missing out on some serious giggles! Jeff most certainly “brought it” this week in WLD style with respect to a new level of humor on the W25 show! We’re sure you will enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it for you.
Our Factoid this week is:
There’s no such thing as a free lunch – in honor of both our celebration of the repeal of that stupid prohibition law and our guest.
Guess where the term came from? Saloons would offer “free” lunches with the purchase of a (usually alcoholic) beverage. The phrase, which started showing up our literature around the late 19th century implies just that. Just because you see the “free lunch” sign, there’s always a catch – in other words, there’s a one-drink minimum to get it.
Maybe it should have said, “free lunch with purchase”?
As you can imagine, that temperance movement had a problem with that, and here is a quote from the 1874 history by Jane Stebbins entitled Fifty Years: History of the Temperance Cause: Intemperance: The Great National Curse (p. 133):
Divine appetizers with a cocktail at Fusion Bar in Florence, Italy – one of Val’s favorite haunts!
“In the cities, there are prominent rooms on fashionable streets that hold out the sign “Free Lunch.” Does it mean that some [philanthropist]… has gone systematically to work setting out tables… placing about them a score of the most beautiful and winning young ladies… hiring a band of music? Ah, no!… there are men who do all this in order to hide the main feature of their peculiar institution. Out of sight is a well-filled bar, which is the centre about which all these other things are made to revolve. All the gathered fascinations and attractions are as so many baits to allure men into the net that is spread for them. Thus consummate art plies the work of death, and virtue, reputation, and every good are sacrificed at these worse Moloch shrines:
Oh, and by the way, “Aperitivo hour” in Italy can range from some stuzzichini or small plates to an entire buffet with the purchase of minimum priced drink or glass of Prosecco. Priced anywhere from 4 – 8 euros, one could say there’s such thing as a free dinner in some of these places!
Shoutouts:
Steph: “First of all, “Bravi” to Val & John hosting a beautiful dinner for my Justin and me on Saturday!! I don’t even know where to start with all the magical moments – both the food and the wine. Among the credits, Val found some fabulous wine & food gifts at Cost Plus World Market, so shout-out to them too! I think I might have to head over to Cost Plus World Market and get that super fun fur wine-bottle “outfit”. Val, is that what you’d call it?”
Val: “Shoutout to everyone who stuck around for the first ever Society of Wine Educators (SWE) Summit on Italian wines. We did run long, so you all who were able to hang are seriously hard core. Also for Jane Nickles (you remember her, our Bubbly Professor), Mark Rashap (host of Austin’s Another Bottle Down radio show) and Sam Schmidt, (Founder of the Winaut and presentation guru) – all fellow CWEs who put so much time and effort into this thing! The next Certification Summit is on the 20th of February and will focus on little-known French wine regions!”
Wino Radar:
Steph: “Coming soon… W25’s second video for your viewing pleasure. Keep a look out for it. Val and I recorded a “fire side chat” for all you beloved listeners. You’ll see it when we post it and share it.”
Jeff: “Factoid: more breweries than ever in history, the year 1873 was the last time we had this many breweries.”
And now … here it is! Holiday silliness and big love to all of our listeners!
Next Week: Our guest is Allan Wright from Zephyr Adventures and Taste Vacations! Wait until you hear about their upcoming cool wine tours, even Belgian brewery tours!
Until next week: CHEERS!