Grab a glass of lemonade and settle in for a visit! Listen to stories designed to encourage, uplift, and help you Live a Simple Life with a Back Porch View. Find out what that means, and how to shift your own lifestyle. Then relax and enjoy while learning the different aspects of a Simple Life - from following your dreams and passions to handcrafting, cooking, tending to the home and garden, and more. And from time to time, there will even be a recipe and freebie or two!
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Recommended by Decanter Magazine who call The Wine Pair Podcast fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining! In each episode, husband and wife team Joe and Carmela learn about, taste, and give our honest review of three wines that are reasonably priced - meaning under $20 each - and easy to find. Our podcast is made for people who want to learn more about wine, find new wines to enjoy, and just want someone to talk about wine in a fun and funny way that regular people can understand. So, if th ...
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Great American Sparklers: 2024 Edition! (California Brut Sparkling Wines for the 4th of July - or Anytime!)
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What’s more American than sparkling wine?!? Seriously, we make a lot of sparkling wine in the U.S. and we drink a lot of sparkling wine, too! And we think there is hardly anything better on warm summer afternoons and evenings than a nice glass of bubbly! Don’t save sparkling just for serious occasions. And on July 4th?!? Sparkling wine is perfectio…
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Mama taught all of us girls the basics of laundry. We learned how to use the washing machine, the proper way to hang clothes on the line, and when we were blessed with an automatic dryer, how to use it. Once everything was cleaned, she taught us how to iron, then fold items and put them away. And yes, she even taught us how to fold fitted sheets. F…
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Getting Serious About Rosé #1: Pinot Noir Rosé (Choose a Rosé based on the red wines you like!)
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We admit it, we have not always been fair to Rosé, but starting today, we are going to set the record straight! If you think you don’t like Rosé, it may be because you have not yet met a Rosé you like. And the key to finding a Rosé you like is to start with a red wine you like and then finding a Rosé made from that wine. Because, afterall, Rosé is …
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Established in Washington in 1966, Reading is Fundamental (RIF) began when Margaret McNamara realized that students she was tutoring didn’t have ready access to books. Today, we have libraries, bookstores, eBooks, and even online libraries. Accessing books isn’t truly a big problem any longer, but finding time to read might be. Take a ‘page’ out of…
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Italian Wine Adventure #12: Dolcetto! (Similar to Gamay, the Sommelier’s secret weapon)
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From the great wine region of Piedmont, Italy comes the red wine called Dolcetto, which means “little sweet one” - but don’t be fooled, this is not a sweet wine, although it is a red wine with flavors and aromas of crunchy red fruit. In our latest Italian Wine Adventure, we travel back to one of our favorite wine areas to see if Dolcetto should be …
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Get Creative with Heat Busters: Ideas for Handmade Christmas Gifts
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The summer heat has a way of driving us indoors, but we struggle to find ways to escape the heat and still be productive. Summer is one of the best times to work on handmade Christmas gifts. Listen in and discover some great ideas on gifts you can make, and a simple tip on how to keep them all organized! Links: Psalm 91 Throw Embellished Bath Towel…
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Malbec: The Ultimate Summer Cookout Wine! (A lush, fruity, inexpensive crowd-pleaser)
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Summer is here, and that means cookouts with family and friends! If you are wondering what kind of wine would be a crowd-pleaser and pair well with food and fun, we have the perfect answer: Malbec! This juicy, well-balanced wine from Argentina is an inexpensive wine that doesn’t taste or drink like it's inexpensive. You may ask why would a wine fro…
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It’s official. Summer has finally hit us between the eyes. The humidity may be more of a southern thing, but the heat affects all of us, at least to some extent. And it doesn’t just make us sweat. It can affect us physically, mentally, and emotionally. Whether we want to or not, we can’t avoid it, so we just need to learn how to handle it to the be…
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Minisode #13: Help! I Don’t Know How to Love White Wine! (Use the B-FAST method to learn to love White Wine)
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We introduce you to the B-FAST method in this minisode so you can become a white wine lover. What’s that you say, you’ve never heard of the B-FAST method? Well, that’s because it is a Wine Pair Podcast original! To love a thing, you have to learn about a thing, and you have to spend time with a thing. You can’t just go with your first impression! Y…
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I hope you are ready for today’s conversation because I am going to take you back in time. I’m doing this to answer a question proposed to me recently. It had to do with the differences between a Simple Life ‘back then’, and a Simple Life now. The question seemed to clash with a belief that ‘we can never go back; we can only move forward’. To a poi…
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Minisode #12: What Are the Noble Grapes? (And Why Should You Care?)
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When it comes to wine grapes, it’s ok to play the field, but it is a good idea to get to know the Noble Grapes. And the good news is - you may already be really familiar with them. That’s because many of the most popular wines and wine blends, both red and white, are often made of these grapes. But what makes them Noble? We’ll tell you! And does th…
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As much as we sometimes would like to withdraw 100% from society, in reality it isn’t practical or probable. As humans, one of our basic needs is to have contact with others – even if it is only one or two people at a time. Having neighbors and a community fills that need. It doesn’t mean we have to be surrounded by people every single day. A littl…
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Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #8: Jennie Murphy of Oxlee Graham Wines! (From forensics to wine making, being a woman in the wine industry
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Jennie Murphy is, like her grandmothers who she named her winery after, a tough, resilient, and determined woman. After losing her home in the 2017 wine country fires, she started to seriously think about starting her own winery. We learned a ton about the winemaking world in our conversation with her - things that the average wine drinker never th…
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Welcome back to the Porch! Help yourself to some tea cakes and lemonade and settle in for a few minutes. In fact, you showed up just in time to help me with a little project I’m working on. All I need for you to do is tell me – what is your favorite kind of cookie? (Just send me an email and let me know!) While I was in the kitchen baking those tea…
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WTF is White Grenache? (AKA Garnatxa Blanca and Grenache Blanc, an underrated white wine, an alternative for Chardonnay lovers, a good summer wine)
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Yes, it’s true, they make Grenache is white as well as red! And it’s a great summer wine! Popular in the Catalonia area of Spain where it is known as Garnatxa Blanca, and in the Rhône area of France where it is often used as a blending grape and known as Grenache Blanc, White Grenache is a tasty, complex, and food friendly white wine that deserves …
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Gardening as part of a Simple Life is more than just growing fresh food for your family. It is also finding a way to continue growing that food when money is tight or we find ourselves in the midst of floods, drought, or even food shortages. To do this, we need to take our gardens to the next level and learn how to save the seeds for the food we gr…
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Spain’s Answer to Champagne: Cava! (A step up from Prosecco at a similar price)
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A 10 point wine in this episode! If you want a higher-class alternative to Prosecco at the same price point, then Cava is your wine. Cava is an underrated sparkling wine from Spain that is made in the same way as Champagne, but at a fraction of the cost. Cava is unique among sparkling wines - it is made with native Spanish grapes like Macabeo, Xare…
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If gardening is an art form, frugal garden decorating is the canvas! We all want healthy, beautiful gardens that delight the senses. But there should also be an element of fun tucked between the greenery. But when adding decorative elements to your garden, a shopping trip to the local gardening store may cause severe shock to your checkbook. Some o…
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WTF is Txakoli? (Fizzy, fruity, and fun dry white wine from Spain, aka Txakolina)
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It may be hard to pronounce and spell, but is it ever easy to drink! In this episode, we introduce you to a fun, quaffable, and not so serious wine called Txakoli which hails from the Basque region of Spain. Sometimes also called Txakolina, this slightly fizzy white wine is a perfect summer sipper. While tasting it, we had visions of sitting by the…
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Spring Flowers: How to Embrace Life with Beauty
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Spring is here, and with it comes a beautiful array of spring flowers. As you drive down the road, you see fields of wildflowers, or beautiful roses in someone’s yard. All that beauty can’t help but make you smile. If it makes you smile so broadly when driving, why not let that beautiful vision greet you each day in your own yard? Embracing life wi…
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Costco Kirkland Signature 2019 Rioja Reserva Challenge! (A punch-you-in-the-face wine, perfect base for Sangria, for Cab Sauv lovers)
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Rioja is the big dog of Spanish wines, but the question on everyone’s lips is - how does the Costco Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva stack up to other Riojas? Amiright?!? Well, without giving it away, we’re here to tell you that the Kirkland Signature Rioja is a worthy contender! But did it win in a knockout, or was it a draw? You’ll have to listen…
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Handcrafts are a beautiful way to express our love for creating, and sharing that love with others. But having to buy all the supplies can get expensive. One way to circumvent spending all that money is to supplement your love of handcrafts with things from nature. And that’s where a Craft gardens comes into play. Learn more about what to grow, how…
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Spain’s Hidden Gem: Priorat! (One of the great wines of Spain, Grenache-based red wine)
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When we say hidden gem, we are not kidding! When people think of Spanish red wines, they immediately think of Rioja, but don’t sleep on Priorat. Hailing from the Catalonia area of Spain, Priorat is a Grenache-based red wine blend that completely blew away our expectations! Rich, complex, and oh so drinkable, this is a wine that deserves a lot more …
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Friendship Gardens - The Ultimate Forever Gift
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Flower gardens are a great way to add beauty to our yards and homes. But a Friendship Garden just seems to bloom better and more brightly. It’s my belief that these gardens are so beautiful because the fertilizer that makes them grow is love. If you are ready to start planting ‘Friendship’, listen in on how to get started growing the best garden an…
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High QPR Pinot Noir #4! (How the American wine palate has been programmed by big wine, Pinot is a polarizing wine)
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Pinot Noir can be a polarizing wine - some people love it, and some people just don’t get it. We think that happens for a few reasons. First, most wine drinkers have been trained to think that wines are supposed to taste like Cabernet Sauvignon - big, fruit forward, high in alcohol, and very tannic. Which is just not what a great Pinot tastes like.…
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Plan(t) It Better - Getting Your Garden Started
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One aspect many of us have included in our Simple Life is having a garden. Our goal is to provide food for our family, seasonings for the food we create, or even just being able to walk outside and gather a bouquet of fresh flowers to decorate our home. But as with any endeavor, we need to plan our garden, long before we dig the first hole. For tod…
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Wallet-Friendly Wine Reviews: Two Buck Chuck and More! (Reviewing wines under $5, cheap Cabernet Sauvignon, some pleasant and unpleasant surprises)
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Believe it or not, 73% of the wine purchased in the United States is sold for less than $8. So, there are a LOT of people drinking those wines! But they don’t often get reviews, and so we thought we would take some time to taste and review some value wines to see just how different they are from slightly more expensive wines. The results: one of th…
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Springing forward is more than just moving our clocks up an hour. It is also about springing forward with a new attitude. Making an attitude adjustment can help you breathe deeper, feel healthier in both mind and body, and can bring a smile to your heart and face. It also acts as a source of encouragement, knowing that we can accomplish all those p…
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Bordeaux Bargains #1! (Haut-Médoc and Graves, Left Bank, why Bordeaux wines are so tricky to understand)
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Bordeaux is home to some of the most famous - and most expensive - wines in the world. But can you find a great wine at a great price?!? You can!!! There is no reason to spend more than $20 a bottle to find highly rated and very enjoyable wines from this classic region. In this episode, we focus on Left Bank wines, and we bring that up because Bord…
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There are so many types of businesses you can do from home. This podcast is nowhere near exhaustive, but it can get you started in the right direction. Listen in to find out what home-based business is right for you. Send us a Text Message. Support the Show. The Farm Wife (website) Let's Visit! (email) Amazon Shop Page Great Products by The Farm Wi…
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WTF is Muscadet? (Melon de Bourgogne, the Sur Lie method, batonnage, the ultimate fish wine, the best French white wine under $20?)
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If you’re like us, French wines can feel so confusing - and that’s exactly why we do these WTF episodes! This week, we dive into a great French white wine called Muscadet, which is not to be confused with Muscat or Moscato (which are, by the way, the same thing). Muscadet is a wine made in the Loire Valley from the grape Melon de Bourgogne - and th…
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Now that you’ve given working from home a lot of thought, done your research, and maybe have even dipped your toe in the water, it’s time to think about what comes next. This episode in the Home-Based Business series deals with tips on setting up your office, creating schedules, dealing with ‘expectations’ from others, and how to help make working …
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Italian Wine Adventure #11: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo! (An underrated and underappreciated Italian beauty, the ultimate cookout wine)
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Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is an easy wine to overlook. It is inexpensive, easy to find, and does not have the cachet that a Chianti or Barolo or Amarone has. But we are here to tell you that you should take a second look at this underappreciated and underrated Italian wine! In this episode, we tasted and reviewed three easy to find and reasonably pri…
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Have you ever dreamed about quitting your job and starting your own home-based business? Then grab some refreshments and settle in for this three-part series. Today’s episode covers the perks, the downsides, and gives you a general idea of what it takes to set up a home-based business. It also offers food for thought on what type of business, how t…
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How Good Are Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Wines? (TJ’s is a great, inexpensive place to expand your wine horizons, is high-end cheap worth the price?)
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Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve wines are meant to compare with wines twice their price, and are said to be top wines from top winemakers in some of the most prestigious wine-growing regions, but just how good are they really? We seek to answer that question to save you time and money. In this episode, we try three different Platinum Reserve wines fr…
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Making your BIG Dream Work: Tips to Reduce the Debt
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You’ve had a week to think about your BIG dream of quitting your job to stay home. But as much as you try to manipulate them, the numbers still aren’t adding up. Don’t let this frustrate you – it’s to be expected. We have been manipulated to live a lifestyle of consumerism. We are told we can be beautiful, rich, happier, more fulfilled – but to do …
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WTF is Pinotage? (And WTF is Coffee Pinotage? South Africa’s signature wine)
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Ok, let’s be honest. Pinotage is a TRIP. It is like no other wine we have ever had before, and is flat out an experience that you have to try. You may not love it, or even like it, but you have to try it. Especially the Coffee Pinotage which in and of itself is an adventure (and is really a thing)! Pinotage is a wine that was invented in South Afri…
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Your Dream to become a Homemaker: How to Make the Numbers Work
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Lately, we’ve been hearing the catchphrase ‘When the BIG one hits’ quite a bit. What it refers to is the rumor of a ‘big’ storm, or the ‘big’ recession, or even the ‘big’ hit of an EMP, social collapse, or even war right here in our own country. We’ve all probably heard the rumors, used the phrase, and thought about what our future will look like i…
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Costco Kirkland Signature Pinot Noir Challenge! (The pros and cons of Costco’s wine selection, why few experts review Costco wines, Kirkland Signature Russian River Pinot Noir review)
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Costco sells a TON of wine, but finding expert reviews of their Kirkland Signature wines can be very tricky. We are happy to help fill that void! Find out why few wine reviewers bother to review Costco Kirkland Signature wines, and where you can find some pretty reliable reviews for those wines. But, most importantly, find out what we think of the …
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The Benefits of an Accountability Partner
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Have you ever found yourself in a slump? Life is stale. Your creativity feels similar to a dry creek. There are things you want to do but can’t seem to find the motivation. If this is where you stand, it may be time to get an Accountability Partner. Often, having an Accountability Partner is something you would do from a professional standpoint. Ho…
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Josh Wines Are . . . Meh. (The truth behind the hype. BTW, we did not give this episode a title until after we tasted the wines in our recording!)
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Josh Cellars wine has been all over social media recently, but the real question is - is it worthy of the hype?!? We gave Josh Cellars an honest-to-goodness opportunity to impress us. We tasted and reviewed three different Josh Cellar wines just to make sure that we were getting a proper sense of the breadth of their products, and the results were …
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There are so many types of financial investments, but we rarely consider one of the most important investments you can make – and that is learning how to invest in yourself. We try our best to invest our time, money, and energy in our finances, homes, family, jobs, and other priorities wisely. What we neglect to remember is all of these things have…
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Sweet Dessert Wines for Your Sweetheart! (Wines for Valentine’s Day, Savoring a meal and time with family and friends, WTF is fortified wine)
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If you think you are not a fan of dessert wines, we believe we can change your mind - because we changed our own minds in this episode! Dessert wines are perfect for romantic evenings, but also a great excuse to slow down and extend a meal with family, friends, and loved ones. If you are looking for something special to do this Valentine’s Day, ser…
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Have you heard about the time someone had the bright idea of importing Hippos into South Louisiana? The thought behind it was to use these mammoth beasts in part to help control water hyacinths which were taking over our swamps. But was it such a great idea? How many times have you had a ‘wonderful idea’ that you just knew would work? It’s one thin…
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Special Episode! Meet the (Wine) Makers #7: Drew Perry! (They make wine in Michigan! Head Winemaker for Simpson Family Estates: Good Harbor Vineyards and Aurora Cellars)
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Did you know they make wine in Michigan. Yes, yes it’s true! And not only that, they make REALLY GOOD wine in Michigan. Don’t believe us? Then you need to listen to our interview with Drew Perry from Simpson Family Estates, home of Good Harbor Vineyards and Aurora Cellars and we’ll set you straight! We had the great honor of interviewing Drew who, …
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Have you ever had this really great idea to do something, but as hard as you try, you can’t get past the first initial thought? As hard as you try, you just can’t ‘see’ it. And for many of us, we need to be able to ‘see’ what we want if we ever want to accomplish it. If you love the idea of living a Simple Life, or if you are in the process of lear…
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They Make Wine in Michigan?!? (The Riesling Belt, Leelanau Peninsula, and a bunch of other stuff we bet you didn’t know!)
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Look, we were skeptical too, but it’s true. Not only do they make wine in Michigan, they are making great wine! If you are like us, you didn’t realize that there is a burgeoning wine industry in Michigan, and that some highly rated wines are coming out of their 5 AVAs. And, in this episode we’ll taste some of these well rated wines and tell you wha…
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The Grass is Always Greener on the Side you Water
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There is just something about a garden that can soothe my soul quicker than almost anything else in the world. From breaking ground and starting seeds, to planting and then harvesting, I love the time I spend in the dirt. If you stop and think about it, there is a close comparison you can make between a garden and living a Simple Life. They both ne…
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Italian Wine Adventure #10: Fiano! (A nearly extinct ancient grape makes a comeback, bigger bodied white wine, famous foods from the Campania area of Italy, Chardonnay alternative)
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The Campania region of Italy, famous for the city of Naples, the Amalfi Coast, and Mount Vesuvius, is also home to many of the most beloved Italian foods - like pizza! - but did you know it is also home to many of the best Italian wines?!? In this Italian wine adventure, we introduce you to a white wine called Fiano that you probably have not heard…
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No matter how you describe or define it, I love living a simple life. But for me, a more traditional simple life fits better with who I am. So, what’s the difference between the two? To be honest, there is very little difference between a ‘simple life’, and a ‘traditional simple life’. A simple life is one where you actively focus on slowing down, …
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