Big Rick's Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack Podcast 3 16 24

On the podcast, "Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack," Big Rick Stewart shares information about bringing wine to restaurants, fees for late cancellations and no-shows at restaurants, the concept of a red-eye coffee, and the banning of indoor security cameras in Airbnb rentals. The Doobie Brothers are also working on a new album with Michael McDonald. I'm Big Rick Stewart, welcome to the podcast for the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack. It's a radio show that I do every Saturday at KVYN 99.3 FM, 99.3 The Vine in Napa Valley. You can stream from 993thevine.com, you can search for KVYN on TuneIn, you'll hear fun music and great information including 10 at 10, a Beatles brunch at noon, songs from my days at Live 105, KFOD, KFOX, new songs and more, and you'll hear great information like this. I'm Big Rick Stewart, it's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack, ah Wine Country, so many great things right, including great wines that you can bring to most restaurants. Ah, but here are some unwritten rules of bringing wine to a restaurant, courtesy of the Rob Report. First of all, call ahead and check on the fee and their policy, because it might not just be straight ahead, yeah go ahead and bring a bottle of wine. In fact, I used to do a lot of tours in the Napa Valley and people were surprised that you could bring wine to a restaurant, but you can't bring wine to all the restaurants, so call ahead. And also check online to see if the restaurant has that wine you're going to bring on their wine list, because if they already have it on their wine list, that's kind of not so cool. And bring a special bottle, you're going out to a special meal, bring a special bottle of wine, something that maybe, of course, isn't on the wine list, and maybe some nice little boutique winery, or something in your collection that you've had for a long time. And when your server comes, or the somm comes over, offer them a taste, or even a glass of wine. Or if they can't drink it with you when they serve, maybe save a little bit in the bottle, or a lot, and then offer it to them at the end of your meal. And don't expect that they're always going to waive the corkage fee, because that doesn't always happen. You can always check on things, and ask a lot of questions, just don't bring a big mass market bottle, even if it's not on their wine list, something you get at the grocery store, make it special, make it nice, offer something to your servers, and you never know. Maybe the corkage fee will disappear, but maybe not, just some tips. Oh, and the last tip from the Rob Report, mind your manners. I thought it was a good one. I mean, just because you're bringing a bottle of wine to a restaurant, come on now, we can all do that. I think it's a good idea as well, you support all the little guys, and you give your servers a little taste of something different. Enjoy! I'm Big Rick Stewart, it's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack, at 99.3 The Vine. It's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack, I'm Big Rick Stewart, this is from the Rob Report, and the headline might be something you can relate to, because it might have happened to you, or you might be doing this to other people. I mean, either way, it's just kind of how things are these days. Restaurants are charging hefty fees for late cancellations and no-shows. And you know, of course, they say in this article, diners aren't happy. What's this all about? Well, here's what happens. I don't know if you know this or not, but if you work in hospitality, you do. People will make reservations at a whole bunch of restaurants in wine country, because they're kind of hard to get, right? And then, after they've made all these dinner reservations, for the same night, they'll ask all the people in their party, like, I don't know, do you want to go here or there? I don't know. So they've got these kind of like reserve tables, and then they pick from what they reserved. They don't always cancel the reservations, but they end up going to one of the four places that they made reservations. That's a terrible idea. Definitely, first of all, pick before you make reservations, and then don't do that. You can get charged. This article is based on a story from the New York Times, and they say that, yeah, Resi data, this is a service collected by the New York Times, says 17% of U.S. restaurants on the platform charge at least one cancellation fee as of January. That's up from 13% in 2023, and up from just 4% in 2019, so this is like a thing that's happening. And in big cities, more expensive tables and more, a quarter of New York restaurants, for example, on Resi have done this. The fees can range from like $10 to over $200, depending on how fancy the thing is. So don't do it. You know, cancel in advance if you need to, and they can understand that, you know, things come up at the last minute. Restaurants have to deal with all kinds of things, right? Maybe you didn't know about this one. I'm Big Rick Stewart. It's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack, 99.3 The Bunk. I'm Big Rick Stewart. It's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack. Part of my Saturday is coffee. I like to have coffee in the morning when I wake up, and then a little bit later in the morning, and then around 12 o'clock, and then around 3 o'clock. I have too much coffee. I didn't really know about this one, though. I saw this at a website, Food and Wine, really good, always lots of interesting stories. What is a red-eye coffee? I didn't know what it was, but it turns out I've actually had red-eye coffees more than once. And they say this drink is one of those cases where the name is more of a warning. And they say this is really good if you need to wake up fast, or, you know, reawaken yourself, or you're staying up late to study, or work, or a long drive, or whatever. So it turns out that a red-eye, if you go to a coffee counter, and, you know, maybe everybody knows this except me. A red-eye is some espresso in a cup of coffee. Ah, so it's like a little double boost, kind of like a one-two shot there, right? Now, that's different than an Americano. Americano is espresso, but in hot water, or cold water, diluted down. So this is actually coffee with extra coffee, an espresso shot. And you know, they say that it does add a lot of punch, and so the flavor is pretty strong. Maybe you want to add a little cream or sugar to it. I don't know. You know, it's all your call. But anyway, that is the story of a red-eye. And obviously, it has a lot more caffeine than just, you know, an espresso or a cup of coffee. So, you know, be responsible in your red-eye coffee drinking, and for that matter, everything else. I'm Big Rick Stewart. See, we learned something today. It's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack at 99.3 The Vine. It's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack. I'm Big Rick Stewart. Hey! Where are they going? All right. Are you hanging out at an Airbnb somewhere? Tuning in? Streaming? Well, thank you for tuning in. You might be interested in this story from PopSci.com, popular science, although I've seen this around. Airbnb has finally banned all indoor security cameras. You're asking a lot of questions already, right? What do you mean, finally banned? Weren't they always banned? They actually were not. They say that for years, the Airbnb host could install video cameras in what they call common areas, such as living rooms, kitchens, and hallways, so long as they were both clearly visible and disclosed in the listings. So, read those listings carefully. However, beginning April 30th, they will allow no devices inside of any Airbnb location around the world. And now, here's a quote from a guy named Albert Fox Kahn. He's the executive director of the Civil Rights Watchdog Nonprofit Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. Didn't know there was such a thing, right? No one should have to worry about being recorded in a rental process. Indeed not. All right. So, this is what's going to happen with Airbnb. Don't know about all the other services. Now, they will allow outdoor cameras at Airbnb, doorbell and outdoor cameras, as long as they are not pointed to like a window or where you can see inside. And also, they say that cameras are still prohibited from outdoor spots with, they say, a greater expectation of privacy, saunas, hot tubs, and swimming pools, and showers, outdoor showers, things like that. All right. So, be careful. Read those listings closely. And this doesn't go into effect until April 30th, just so you know. Kind of sort of creepy, but I don't know, right? I'm Big Rick Stewart. It's The Long Country Saturday Soundtrack at 99.3 The Vine. Hey, I'm Big Rick Stewart. It's The Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack. All right. Let's have a little question here for us. See if you know the answer to this. Bay Area band, been around for a long time, massive big hits, got their start in the Santa Cruz Mountains as a biker bar band. No, not Metallica. It was the Doobie Brothers. Yeah, I mean like way back when, while they're still around. And this is from Billboard Magazine. Co-founders Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnson of the Doobie Brothers told Billboard that they're going to be working on a new album with Michael McDonald, who's behind some of those giant hits like Minute by Minute, vocalist, songwriter, keyboard player. McDonald was with the band from 75 to 82 and reuniting with the group for a 50th anniversary tour that was announced three years ago and then COVID happened. So kind of delayed a little bit, right? But they thought, well, if we're going to go out on tour together, maybe we should record some songs. So, it looks like they have. Pat Simmons said it's all very exciting. At one point I said, hey, we're doing all these dates and I think people get that kick out of recording some new music. So they're working on getting this whole thing out. So go see the Doobie Brothers. Look forward to a release of some new music with Michael McDonald. And they say, even though there's yet to be a name for the album or an official release date, Pat Simmons confirmed that the songs are done and revealed he believes the project is about halfway towards completion. Pretty cool. The Doobie Brothers live are so much fun. Oh my gosh. I'm Big Rick Stewart. It's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack at 99.3 The Vine. I'm Big Rick Stewart. It's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack. I always wonder what to do with old technology. What do you do with it? Sitting around? Your old VHS player? You don't actually have an old VHS player sitting around, do you? I think I might have one somewhere. All right. So how about your old phones, though? Phones seem like, you know, it's a pretty good device, and you've got a new one. Your old phone, whether it's Android or an Apple phone, whatever. Well, this is from CNET.com, and they say, don't toss your old phone. You can turn it into a home security camera. Ah, that sounds pretty interesting, right? It's pretty easy to do, according to CNET, although I haven't done this. Although I'm going to run and look in my drawers, because I think I have an old iPhone laying there somewhere. I don't have the cable to charge it anymore, but whatever. I'll try to figure this out. First of all, install a security camera app on your old smartphone. And they have some recommendations. There are a few different apps. They talk about an app called Alfred, which is made exactly for this. And you can install it on old phones and old devices and all that stuff, so I guess that's the one to get. But they do offer some other choices and more. Find a good spot for your new smartphone security camera after you've installed Alfred on your old phone and your new phone. And then you are going to be able to get up and running. You need to set up and position the camera. You might want to focus on the main entry point of your home, maybe a backyard or some valley booths. Or you can even use this for, you know, watching on the kids, you know, as they're sleeping in the bedroom or, you know, kind of doing whatever. It's a pretty good idea. Mount your camera and make sure to power it up, because you've got to have it powered, because it's going to be on all the time. And you can get little tripods for phones and stuff, and they have little clamps, and they're all universal. That's pretty awesome. And you don't have to spend a whole lot of money on those. And see how it goes. The app is called Alfred, and you can turn your old phone into a streaming security camera. You can watch remotely and more. Interesting. I'm Big Rick Stewart. It's the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack at 99.3 Design. Check out some of the great information you can hear on my Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack. I'm Big Rick Stewart. Check out the show every Saturday, 99.3 FM in Napa Valley. You can also listen from 993divine.com or KVYN on TuneIn. Thanks for checking out the Wine Country Saturday Soundtrack podcast.