Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings October 5, 2024

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 September 21st. These are just some of the benefits of supporting our 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 […]

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Pizza Wine: Perfect Pairings for Your Pie

Liza, Jeff and I chat about pairing pizza and wine on Global TV’s Morning Show (while the cameramen and studio crew edge in ever closer to the set). Click on the arrow to watch the video above. Queen Margherita Pizzeria made these mouth-wateringly delicious pizzas fresh and hot, featuring first the classic Margherita Pizza. This pizza was named in honor of Queen Margherita, the wife of King Umberto I, in 1889, when the couple visited Naples and wanted to taste the local pie.   Queen Margherita Pizzeria’s Margherita Pizza   A chef selected patriotic toppings with the colors in the […]

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Which Wines to Drink for Spring

We had such fun chatting about spring and summer wines on CTV’s The Social yesterday!   Are the wines we drink in the winter that different from the ones we drink in the spring and summer? · Yes, most people’s drinking habits change with the seasons. · We typically drink heavy, alcoholic, heavily oaked wines in the winter because they comfort us and keep us warm. · “Drink what you like” remains in effect no matter the weather, but for most people, lighter drinking in the summer generally means more consumption of white wines.     LIGHT & COLD This […]

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The Best Gruner Veltliner Wines: How They Taste, How to Pronounce It + Food Pairings (Video)

Ah summer, we want to hang on to it as long as we can. What better way then with wines that are best enjoyed at this time of the year, especially Austrian Gruner Veltliner, as Natalie MacLean of nataliemaclean.com discusses on CTV.    You’ve picked a white wine for us today that some people may not be familiar with. Tell us about it. I have a bouquet of Gruner Veltliners from Austria for your summer sipping pleasure! Grüner means “green” and I think that’s fitting because it offers a lot of lime zest and green apple refreshment in the summer. […]

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You Say Tomato, I Say Wine: Let’s Pair Them All Off (Video)

On CTV News, we chat about pairing wine with tomatoes, from heirloom to vine-ripened varieties. In Ode to the Tomato, Chilean poet Pablo Neruda described them as “the stars of the earth” that are upon the table, belted by summer” and “grant us the festival of ardent color and all-embracing freshness.” Now is the time to indulge in tomatoes while they’re in season with their thin skins that slide off plump like silk lingerie and yield their juicy, chin-dripping pleasure—the opposite of those tired February pellets that taste like mid-winter despair.     Tomatoes hang heavy in our backyards and […]

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What is Mead? How is it Different From Wine? Which are the Best Meads to Drink?

What’s old is often new again and that’s the case when it comes to alcohol. In fact, the oldest alcoholic beverage, mead, is having a resurgence! So, grab your goblets because here to highlight meaderies from across the country is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome, Natalie! Natalie, I had never heard of mead before so let’s start with explaining what it is and how long it’s been around? Mead is fermented honey and water. It’s been around for at least 12,000 years, the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage. Honey wine is what those […]

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Video: A Toast to Niagara Wines for Canada Day

On CTV News, Leanne and I chat about some of the best wines from Niagara to celebrate July 1. I’ll post these wines below soon. You can watch our other wine video segment here: Prince Edward County Wines and Free My Grapes Happy Canada Day!             Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Carte Blanche Blanc de Blanc Short Hills Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada                 Cave Spring Cellars CSV Riesling Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada                 Cave Spring Cellars […]

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How to Buy the Perfect Summer Wine

In this episode of our wine education video series, we look at to buy a terrific summer wine, whether it’s for fresh seafood, barbecued meats or crisp salad. Also find out why you should take another look at rose wine this summer. What’s your favourite warm weather wine? Post with permission of Canadian Press (CP).   So, this summer I think it is a great time to crack open a bottle of Canadian wine. Whether you’re grilling meats on the barbecue or you’re having some fresh seafood this summer, or even field green summer salads, the range of styles here […]

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Wines for Summer BBQ, Picnics, Seafood: CJAD Radio

 Which wines to crack open for summer BBQs: big reds for meats and flavourful whites for seafood and veggies. Seven Deadly Zins, Menage a Trois, Innsikillin Riesling, St. Nicholas Cider and Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc. Do you have to pay much a lot for good wine? No, and here’s why. We chat about this and other tasty topics on CJAD radio, one of the largest morning talk shows in the country. Wines for Summer BBQ, Picnics, Seafood: CJAD Radio Barry: 7:41 summer’s here, although it’s kind of tough to tell this morning, but summer is here. So what wines go […]

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Best Summer Wine Pairings

Global News Host Carolyn and I chatted about great summer wines yesterday to please your palate and keep your cool. Here are the wines we featured: Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc Nobilo Regional Collection Sauvignon Blanc Cave Spring Cellars CSV Riesling       Cave Spring Cellars Estate Bottled Cave Spring Vineyard Pinot Noir Ruffino Ducale Riserva Chianti Classico Clos du Bois Rouge Alamos Malbec McWilliams Wines JJ McWilliam Shiraz Cabernet Barefoot Zinfandel Cave Spring Cellars Indian Summer Late Harvest Riesling             Video: These Summer Wines Will Surprise Your Taste Buds Carolyn: Natalie Maclean is the editor […]

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