You can help create the ultimate holiday wine shopping list in the Joy to the World Holiday Wine Match! Nominate and/or vote for your favourite wines from around the world under $25 to pair with holiday dishes. As the first people’s choice awards for holiday wines, the competition takes a grassroots, “bottoms up” approach to get us rallying behind our favourite bottles so that we can pour like Santa, but save like Scrooge. In the video above, three festive wine lovers and I get into the spirits of the season and chat about wines to pair with […]
Wine Awards
Wine Events and Tastings in Canada
Here is my Top 10 List of Wine Shows in Canada: 1. Vancouver Playhouse Festival: January 2016 2. La Grande Dégustation de Montréal: November 5-7, 2015 Montreal, Quebec 3. World Wine & Food Expo: October 30 – November 7, 2015 Moncton 4. Californian Wine Fair (5 cities): April-May 2016 5. Winnipeg Wine Festival 6. Port of Wines Festival: Halifax Dates change, so register online with the event to get alerts on the most current information. You’ll find tips on getting the most from wine shows here. I find that the larger shows that attract 20,000+ attendees are designed more […]
Latke Recipe: Holiday Wine Match
A Jewish holiday dish of potato pancakes to celebrate Hanukkah. The oil for cooking latkes is symbolic of the oil of long-lasting flame that kept the Second Temple in ancient Israel illuminated. The word “latke” means “patch”: the potato pancakes are usually shallow-fried grated potato, flour and egg, and seasoning, and may be garnished with a savoury topping such as sour cream or a sweet one, such as apple sauce. Potato Latkes for Hanukkah We used the traditional method of soaking the grated potatoes and onions in ice water for 5 minutes before wringing them out. This produces extra-crispy latkes, […]
Baccala Recipe: Holiday Wine Match
Baccala or bacalhau is the Portuguese dried and salted fish dish for Christmas dinner. “Bacalhau” is the Portuguese word for cod, although the dish now incorporates other types of fish due to the overfishing of cod. It is believed that there are more than a thousand recipes for baccala, though most include salted and dried fish, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and olives. try this recipe for baccala. Ingredients Preparation Please share your tips on preparing this recipe or another baccala recipe in the comments below. Return to the Joy to the World Holiday Wine Match.
Moroccan Lamb Recipe: Holiday Wine Match
This slow-cooked savory lamb stew celebrates the end of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar that Muslims observe by fasting. The stew combines spices and herbs, such as cumin, coriander, cilantro, ginger, fennel and cayenne pepper, and is often served on a bed of couscous. Ingredients Preparation Please share your tips on preparing this recipe or another Moroccan lamb recipe in the comments below. Return to the Joy to the World Holiday Wine Match.
Collard Greens Recipe: Holiday Wine Match
This African side dish that is part of the feast for Kwanzaa, a week-long celebration of culture, community and family from December 26 to January 1 that is observed in both West African nations as well as by those of African descent in Canada, the United States and other countries. “Kwanzaa” is derived from Swahili meaning “first fruits of the harvest.” The loose-leafed collard greens are simmered in chicken stock, then spiced with chili flakes and other seasonings. Ingredients Preparation Please share your tips on preparing this recipe or another collard greens recipe in the comments below. […]
Fruitcake Recipe: Holiday Wine Match
A traditional United Kingdom dessert made from candied fruit, dried fruit, nuts and spices that is soaked in spirits. It is especially associated with Christmas and weddings. The earliest known recipes came from ancient Rome, and then soon spread throughout Europe. In the U.K., a round fruitcake is usually covered with marzipan (sugar and honey), and then a hard white icing made from beaten egg whites. Ingredients Preparation Please share your tips on preparing this recipe or another fruitcake recipe in the comments below. Return to the Joy to the World Holiday Wine Match.
Roast Turkey Recipe: Holiday Wine Match
Roast turkey is the centerpiece of Canadian and American Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday tables. It’s associated with the Pilgrims who were introduced to it by Native North Americans. Side dishes often include cranberry sauce, bread stuffing, giblet gravy, oyster stew, sweet potatoes and creamed corn. Ingredients Preparation Please share your tips on preparing this recipe or another turkey recipe in the comments below. Return to the Joy to the World Holiday Wine Match.
National Post on Wine Writers + Competitions: Critiquing the Critics
National Post drinks columnist Adam McDowell penned an excellent, thought-provoking editorial in the weekend edition of the paper on wine critics and competitions entitled “Are wine critics fooling us into buying pricier bottles?” He opens with the classic Roald Dahl short story Taste, in which a stockbroker makes a bet with his wine snob dining companion, to correctly identify a wine in a blind taste test. (Dahl is also the author of the bestselling children’s novels Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach: clearly a man who loves food and drink, but mercifully doesn’t take it, […]
Canada’s Best Wine with Cheese: Quails’ Gate Video
In this video, we chat with the Gold Medal Winners of Canada’s Best Wine with Cheese in The Great Canadian Wine Match. Winemaker Tony Stewart joins us from his winery Quails’ Gate in BC’s Okanagan Valley along with wine lover Matt Steeves, in Ottawa, who championed the winning wine during a very competitive voting process. We talk about: – Why Optima made such a big impression on Matt the first time he tasted it – How Optima pairs with cheeses, and which types are best suited to it, as well as some desserts – What makes Optima unique on the […]
