Ah, Thanksgiving! A time to celebrate and give thanks for all the blessings in our life. A time to get together with our family...and dread the inevitable, uncomfortable conversations. But this is why we drink wine, people! And for today's episode, Carrie Flaspohler and I talk about the Top 3 Thanksgiving wines we'll be pounding...errr...sipping while mom points out those few extra pounds we seem to be carrying and that maybe that's why we're undeserving of a serious partner. We're pairing our favorite wine with our favorite uncomfortable conversations, so pour yourself a glass and commiserate with us. It's a judgment-free zone! Looking for excellent Holiday wines that won't cost a mortgage payment? Shop at Pairs With Life Cellars for delicious wines that pair beautifully with all your Holiday meals and parties!

In this special bonus episode, we say farewell to the spooky season with Ellen Clifford, host of the popular wine podcast—and perhaps the only goth wine podcast—The Wine Situation. Together, we count down six of our favorite all-time scary movies, along with the wines that pair best with them. Spolier alert: Apothic Red is not involved at all. So, pour yourself a glass of something luscious, light the candles, and compare notes as we reveal the six scary movies that rocked us the hardest! Be sure to follow Elle Clifford on Instagram @ellenclifford, and listen & subscribe to The Wine Situation wherever you get your podcasts! And remember, Tous Les Jours wines are only available online. Click here to order the North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon featured in this episode!

In the final episode of my two-part series on the Rules of Ghosts, I reveal the life-changing event that shaped the way I now look at the world beyond our own. Yet, I'm still left with questions. Namely, why hasn't a ghost just come up to me and said, Yo, JT, I'm a ghost, and we need to talk?" To get some insight into this answer, I reached out to writer, witch, and spirit medium Kristen Nedopak. Kristen's own incredible story—and the way it shaped her worldview—gives some fascinating perspective into the spirit world, and why it's something important to be in tune with. And what wine pairs with learning the Rules of Ghosts? The 2020 Tous Les Jours Chenin Blanc/Viognier Blend from California. Why? No reason. Like, literally, I have no specifically good reason at all. It's just a super yummy and totally quaffable white wine that only costs $15 and comes with free shipping. So you should get some. Now. Remember to follow Pairs With Life on Instagram and to follow Kristen Nedopak, too!

Something strange happened to me not long ago. Something that kind of freaked me out. A bizarre incident that reinforced my growing suspicion that perhaps not all is as it seems here in the material world. I've long been a skeptic about ghosts, or spirits, or lost souls, or whatever you want to call them. I'm an empirical guy. Show me data, show me proof, give me the evidence. But my mind is changing, because of this recent incident and another one that occurred almost ten years ago. But even as my mind opens to the possibility of ghosts and the spirit world, I have questions. Are there laws that govern what spirits can do? As corporeal beings, the laws of nature and physics determine what we can and cannot do. I can't make an object levitate. I can't walk through a wall. Do ghosts have a similar set of rules? How come a ghost has never come up to me and said, "Hi JT, I'm a ghost?" Is it because they just can't do that. In the first part of this two-part series, I discuss this strange incident that occurred recently, then take a deep dive into why it may have happened. It's a twisty road, stretching from a haunted castle to Facebook corporate headquarters. The rules of ghosts are not easy to determine. But if we're to solve this mystery, we need to know the rules. It's no mystery that my new wine brand, Tous Les Jours, brings you fantastic wines at amazing prices (see what I did there?). This week, I feature the 2018 Tous Les Jours Cabernet Sauvignon, North Coast. It's only $19, and shipping is free with 6 or more bottles, or only $9.95 if you're cheap AF and get less than 6. Get you some!

In 1998, Steve Taylor reached up and touched the golden underbelly of rock stardom as leader of the greatest rock band you never heard, The Uninvited. Following ten years of struggle in Los Angeles—the epicenter of the dream/reality splatter zone—his band inked a major label deal with Atlantic Records, pulling back the velvet rope on the most exclusive club in the world. (I was there the whole time, BTW. Steve's my brother, and we formed the band together). For two incredible, sweat-drenched and mind-altering years, Steve had fame by the tender bits and squeezed hard. And when it looked like it couldn't get any better, it did: Mia, the achingly-unattainable woman of his dreams, landed in The Attainable Zone. But sometimes, dreams collide in a rush to come true, and what Steve thought he held in the palm of his hands started slipping through his fingers... Steve Taylor joins me on the podcast to discuss the memoir that chronicles it all: The Uninvited - On The Road With The Greatest Rock Band You Never Heard. And it's not just sex, drugs, and rock & roll (well, it sorta is). It's the story of how life should be a story, and how dreams don't die, though they might change a bit along the way. The Greatest Rock Band You Never Heard probably pairs best with Jack Daniels, but since they don't pay me, I think you should check out the Tous Les Jours 2019 Pinot Grigio from Lodi instead. Crisp, refreshing, light in alcohol, and only $15 with free shipping. Now THAT's rockin'...

What brings joy to your life (besides OBVIOUSLY this podcast...and wine)? Is it things & stuff? People & places? A big bank account and an even bigger wine store? What are your favorite things? This week, Wine Goddess Carrie Flaspohler joins me to talk about three of our very favorite things - things that make our lives just a little bit better during the Epic Early '20s Shitstorm (which is. the official title of the new decade, by the way). And no, we're not getting paid to pimp our favorite things: these are all brought to you sponsor-free & brimmin' with old-fashioned objectivity. That said, I'm not above full-on pimping my own wines, including the new Tous Les Jours 2019 California Pinot Noir. At only $15 a bottle, it's the everyday wine your life has been missing, so get you some - in fact, get a lot, because shipping is free with 6 bottles or more. To learn more about Tous Les Jours wines, check it out here.

According to a study released in May 2021, one in nine Americans have tried a poly relationship, and one in six would like to try one. In fact, according to a YouGov study, half of all Millennials do not want a "completely monogamous relationship." So what's the attraction to polyamory? Is it the thought of not having one sexual partner for the remainder of your life? Is it the prospect of sharing resources? Like being able to plunder more than one wine collection at a time? (That's what got me started). On this episode, I talk to Dr. Elisabeth Sheff, a sociologist who has been studying polyamory trends for over two decades. I also take her online survey, The Bonding Project, which helps individuals understand their own feelings about polyamorous relationships. And what wine pairs with polyamory? The 2017 Fogelson Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Coombsville, Napa Valley...because it's...complex. Pick it up now for only $29 per bottle!

After decades of priding myself as the only musician in the world who doesn't have a tattoo, I finally decided to give in and get inked. So what's it going to be? A tramp stamp? A Samoan tribal band around my arm? A screeching bald eagle carrying a banner that reads "Peace Through Superior Firepower" across my chest? The first tattoo is a tough decision. Actually, it wasn't. I had an idea for my first tattoo that has been simmering in my brain since the 4th grade. The real question is, why did I wait so long? What held me back? Does it have anything to do with how our society views ritual and remembrance? And how come you can't bring wine to the tattoo parlor? I mean, aside from potentially bleeding all over the place? So lame. I'm also joined by Andi Wrede of the Wound Up Wino Podcast, whose wine tattoos are something glorious. One might say that Chardonnay isn't exactly a tattoo wine, but I'd beg to differ. It's hot AF outside, and the Chardonnay I'm pimping is just too freaking good. It's my new 2020 Napa Valley Chardonnay from Fogelson Vineyard. And at $23 a bottle, you're going to want to tattoo the bottle on both arms. And speaking of great tattoo ideas, all the cool kids are getting tattoos of the cover art of my book, Pairs With Life. You don't have to get that fanatical, but you may want to consider reading it...

It's the 100th episode of The Pairs With Life Podcast! Who'd of thunk back in December 2018 when this podcast got its start on a kitchen table that it'd grow to the over-leveraged corporate media monstrosity that it is today? To celebrate 100 episodes of unfounded opinions, bad advice, weird-ass stories (along with about a thousand gallons of wine), I'm making a major announcement. Like, major-major. And it's all for YOU! (except the part where I make money from it. That's for me. Sorry). There's plenty of amazing things to come from the Pairs With Life Podcast. The 100th episode is just the start! Thank all of you for making it a possibility! Summer reading just got better with the novel, Pairs With Life, in hardcover! Get it here! Check out all the wines I drink on the podcast at Pairs With Life Cellars.

Strange but true, the idea of Natural Wine creates all kinds of controversy within the wine community. Some say it’s a misnomer, an oxymoron, or just generally bad-tasting wine. Others say Natural Wine is a fad created just to appeal to Millennials, and that the whole notion denigrates the class, sophistication, and indeed the craft that goes into making fine wine. My guests on the podcast this week—winemakers Jack Sporer and Randy Czech—beg to differ. On the forefront of a new wave in viticulture and winemaking, these gentlemen offer up an alternative theory: that Natural Wine goes a lot deeper than what is or what’s not on the wine label, or even in the bottle itself. Want to try the Fres.co 2020 Sonoma County Primitivo I drink on the podcast this week? Check it out here. If you haven’t purchased my book, Pairs With Life, you suck. Fortunately, you don’t always have to suck. You can stop sucking and click here.

The average person knows fuck-all about wine, which is one of the reasons why it’s so intimidating to get into appreciating this Magic Juice we love so much. Enter Michael Juergens (also known as Michael Amon), whose book Drinking and Knowing Things demystifies wine with a punk rock approach. We also talk about how Michael introduced the country of Bhutan to growing wine grapes. Seriously. All this while sipping the amazing 2016 Boutique Winery Petite Sirah from Lake County, which is now available from Final Swirl for an indecent $12. You can pick up Drinking and Knowing Things here:

In March of 2020, Tinder recorded its highest 1-day total of swipes: 3 billion. Without a doubt, the pandemic has cemented online dating apps as the go-to way to find the potential Love of Your Life (or perhaps Love of This Week). So, I figured it was time to revisit the scene and do a little swiping with Bethany Nicole, an LA-based writer and relationship expert. We created Bumble profiles, then discussed why we chose to swipe left or swipe right – a little exchange of perspectives if you will. Among the take-home lessons: everybody loves hiking, and dick pics are still a thing. A bad thing, but a thing nonetheless. Speaking of online dating apps (well, not at all, actually), I also announce a big change to the program…one that leads to this amazeballs Erickson & Caradin Sonoma County Chardonnay that you can get for only $16 by going here. Don’t forget: Pairs With Life (the novel) is now available in hardcover! Click here to get it!

White wine in cans: a white trash nightmare of alcoholic proportions or the next revolution in fine wine enjoyment? With summer upon us, I found four white wines in cans (well, three whites and one Rosé) and found out for myself. Well, myself and all of you, because I’m assuming that people actually listen to this podcast. The results? Kind of surprising, to be honest. And honesty is the key here: if the wine is dickwash, we call it as such. So grab your beach umbrella, pop the top, and let’s keep this summer rolling! What would a wine podcast be without the wine? Get all the amazing wines we drink on the podcast for up to 70% off retail price! Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up. Diggin’ the podcast? Then you’re going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

Well, here’s a bit of a touchy subject. Race. So, why is it a touchy subject? Because we don’t talk about it the way it needs to be discussed? Because the events of the last few years have brought long-suppressed problems bubbling to the surface? Or do we simply not know how to start a conversation about race? To jump-start a conversation about race, I enlisted the help of Derrick Johnson, We sat down in front of the mic, did our best to put the slime behind us (listen and you’ll understand what I mean), and start this dialogue from the very beginning: I’m white, you’re black, what does that mean and where do we go from here? What would a wine podcast be without the wine? Get all the amazing wines we drink on the podcast for up to 70% off retail price! Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up. Diggin’ the podcast? Then you’re going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

In case I haven’t mentioned it a few hundred times, summer is my favorite time of year. Last week, Carrie Flaspohler and I talked about our favorite summer wines. This week, DJ White Chocolate drops by to talk about the best music for summer. I produced this episode so you can listen to the music in its entirety with minimal talking, so it’s perfect to crank up and chill to with a glass of Hawk and Horse Petite Sirah. Here’s the vibes (and the wines) of summer! What would a wine podcast be without the wine? Get the Hawk and Horse Petite Sirah for 50% off retail price! Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up. Diggin’ the podcast? Then you’re going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

Summertime and the living is easy. And what makes it easy? Wine. Summer is the turbo-charged Cleveland V-8 of seasons, and wine is its high-octane fuel. Better still, this summer we don’t have to drink through a mask, and we can go back to invading each other’s personal space. On this episode, I am once again joined by Friend of The Pod Carrie Flaspohler to count down the top four wines of summer and our favorite summer activities to pair with them. The best wines for summer are always the wines you choose, but just in case you’re looking for something new, exciting, refreshing (and probably cheap), have a listen and stock up. What would a wine podcast be without the wine? Get all the amazing wines we drink on the podcast for up to 70% off retail price! Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up. Diggin’ the podcast? Then you’re going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

Weed growers have rejoiced ever since cannabis was legalized in 2016. Since then, a new kind of Gold Rush has come to Northern California. The pot industry has boomed, resulting in nearly $2B of additional tax revenue to the state annually. But does this windfall come at a cost for California’s grape growers and wineries? How much farm property can be bought up as grow lots? And are the risks that weed farms pose to some of California’s finest appellations a cautionary tale to other states considering legalization? We talk to wine writer, marketer, and friend of the pod Kathleen Wilcox, whose recent article in Wine Searcher exposed the risks that grape growers and wineries face. As more weed growers stake their claim in prime agricultural land, will vineyards be affected by smell and terpene drift? I also continue my dive into springtime wines with the delicious 2019 JACK Winery Two Old Dogs Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Get it from The Wine Spies using this link. Pairs With Life – The Novel – is now available in HARD COVER! Get it here!

Hawk and Horse Cabernet? Pairs with the shit you wanna say. That’s right, grab yourself a glass of Hawk and Horse Cabernet Sauvignon, compose your thoughts for a two-minute gripe, and get on the soapbox. There have been things on my mind as of late, so I decided to do a marathon session on the soapbox. Don’t worry, each grievance is still only two minutes long, so if one offends your delicate sensibilities, you can fast-forward to the next. Oh, and my cat gets in on the action, too, ’cause everyone’s got something to bitch about around here, though some of us are less concerned about Cat Chow vs. Iams. Want to get your hands on this amazing 2012 Hawk and Horse Cabernet Sauvignon? Get all the amazing wines we drink on the podcast for up to 70% off retail price! Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up. The HARDCOVER edition of the book is now available! Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

Earlier this month, Yao Family Wines in Napa became the first winery in history to release a wine online with an NFT (a non-fungible token). Will this revolutionary new way of releasing and marketing wine be the wave of the future? Are blockchain and cryptocurrency the next step for serious wine collectors? This week, I sit down with Yao Family’s Director of Marketing, Bill Sanders, to talk about how NFTs and the blockchain may not only mean the end of counterfeit wines, but be the beginning of an entirely new way of buying, selling and collecting wine. The incredible DRNK Chardonnay I sip on this episode will be available April 24th through The Wine Spies. Avoid the FOMO and sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies by clicking here. Diggin’ the podcast? Then you’re going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.

Actually, you’re not supposed to drink Chateau Diana Zinfandel (or any other wine for that matter) when you get your vaccine shot. But the mere fact that I’m finally getting the shot is reason to celebrate…so why am I feeling so anxious? In this episode, I take you along on my First Shot Journey, and figure out in real-time why I’m panicking about something for which I should feel nothing but excitement. I also interview Kathleen Wilcox and Robin Shreeves, two amazing wine writers who have formed a new company, Thinking Outside The bottle. We discuss how this innovative business uses storytelling to provide content for small wineries, and what the post-COVID wine world may look like. What would a wine podcast be without the wine? Get this delicious Chateau Diana Zinfandel for only $17! Sign up for daily, no-obligation offers from The Wine Spies. Click here to sign up. Diggin’ the podcast? Then you’re going to love the book. Check out Pairs With Life, the debut fiction novel by host John Taylor.