You can access the wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. You can also see my wine reviews for November 18th. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Curious about […]
Dessert Wines
Pairing Wine and Halloween Candy: The Monster Match
Buzz Lightyear and the Wine Witch chat about great wine pairings with Halloween treats on Breakfast Television. Dina: Just call Natalie MacLean for pairing wine and Halloween treats, she’s an online sommelier and what a brilliant idea. Great to see you all festive Natalie. Natalie: Great to see you Dina. Dina: Or as well you are at the door trick-or-treating, the kids are at the door you thinking ‘what’s in it for me?’ We tend to dip into the kids snacks, well I do anyways- Natalie: Yes! Dina: A lot of parents do. Natalie: You bet. Dina: So you are […]
Which Wine Pairings for turkey, fruitcake or cheese?
The holiday countdown is on and Canadians are scrambling for last-minute gifts for their hosts and loved ones. Wine and food seem like a natural option at this time of year, but with thousands of bottles lining the shelves at liquor outlets, where does one begin? “I’d start with pairing the wine that you’re going to bring to go with the dinner. Wild guess, might be turkey,” says sommelier Natalie MacLean, editor of the wine review site nataliemaclean.com. She suggests a sparkling wine like Cava from Spain, a Pinot Noir from New Zealand, a dry rose from France or […]
Haunting Wines for Halloween Treats and Pairings that Won’t Spook You
In our latest Facebook Live Video chat, we pair wines with Halloween treats. If you’d like to read the 140 comments, or make a comment yourself visit the link to this video here. You’ll find the most recent live video wine tasting at the top of the Facebook timeline here: www.facebook.com/natdecants We used to taste every Sunday evening at 6 pm eastern. You can add us to your calendar to be notified of the next tasting and grab a glass of wine! Click on Follow, Like and Signup on my Facebook Page to get notified when we go […]
How to Pair and Serve Wines at Dinner Parties (Video)
The hosts of CTV’s The Social and I had lots of fun chatting about which wines to serve at dinner parties, pairing tips and other entertaining suggestions. If you’re hosting a dinner party, how many wines should you serve? Count on one to two glasses of wine per guest per hour, as people tend to drink more in the evening and at a sit-down dinner, than they do at a standing reception earlier in the day. There are 4-5 glasses of wine in a standard 750 ml bottle, so if you’re entertaining ten people for, say, three hours, counting […]
Perfect Pairings for Thanksgiving with Quails’ Gate Wines
The post is sponsored by Quails’ Gate Winery Nothing says harvest season like giving thanks over a large gathering of friends and family. This Thanksgiving we at Quails’ Gate Winery are thankful for a rich harvest from our vineyard and for you! To celebrate the season, we’ve compiled a list of perfect harvest pairings. These pairings can be your guide as you begin to plan and enjoy gatherings, feasts and being together. Below are 12 harvest-inspired meals and their corresponding wine pairings. Together these perfect food and wine experiences will have you satiated, satisfied and maybe even surprised! Pairing […]
The 11 Best Wines for Easter and Passover This Year
Easter and Passover are right around the corner. That means it’s time for traditional holiday favorites like roast lamb and chocolate bunnies. But what are the best wines to pair with your celebrations? Wine expert Natalie MacLean is here with some tips. So when it comes to chocolate we need to have wine that’s sweeter, if we don’t do that, the wine will taste bitter by comparison. So the number one pick that I recommend for chocolate is port. I love a good tawny port like this one. It’s a fortified wine, meaning it has higher alcohol, so it’s […]
Icewine and Chocolate Pairing Video
In this second video chat, Karen King talks about pairing icewine with chocolate as well as being on the CBC TV show The Big Decision. You can also see the Icewine cocktails we discussed in part one of our conversation … Blue Cheese and White Wine Pairing: Video Part 3 Building a Persuasive Wine Brand: Arlene Dickinson Restaurant Wine Service: The good, the bad and the ugly with Scott Carney, MS See all wine video chats here. Icewine and Chocolate Pairing Video Natalie: We’re back with Karen King of The Ice House. We’re talking about her ice […]
10 Great Gift Wines & Spirits (Video)
Looking for a great bottle of wine to give as a gift this year? Here with her tips and sips is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome Natalie. So tell us why wine is a great gift and your first recommendations? – one size fits all – doubles are fine – it’s easy to re-gift For an extra festive touch, I’d start with sparkling wine such as these two: Domaine Pelchat Lemaître-Auger La Noce Sparkling Wine Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada […]
Icewine versus Dessert Wine: What’s the Difference? Video
On CTV News yesterday, Leanne and I chat about Icewines and dessert wines. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, these wine make terrific pairings with chocolate and other treats. Have you got a fave? Let me know in the comments please! How is Icewine different from other dessert wines? It’s a matter of cold versus rot. With Icewine, the water in the grapes freezes more quickly than the sugar and separates out, concentrating the sweetness and fresh fruit flavours of the dehydrated grapes. The grapes for Icewine are picked and pressed at -8 oC or colder. That’s why grapes […]
