Maison Pierre Sparr By Melissa Pulvermacher We’re all on a constant search of high-value wines for a great price. I always say that your chance of getting a great quality wine for a large price tag is high, and although the odds are less consistent, it feels great to find a killer bottle of wine that doesn’t break the bank. Maison Pierre Sparr, founded in 1680 by Jean Sparr, is a winery and brand located in Alsace, France. Sparr owns 15 hectares of their own Domaine, while also sourcing grapes from 130 hectares of trusted farmer-owned vines, to produce their […]
Wine Price
Bring Your Own Bottle BYOB Wine to Restaurants Tips
Bringing your own bottle of wine to restaurants is now legal in many provinces and states, but what are the rules of engagement? I shared some tips on CBC radio this week on the etiquette of doing so, including the types of wines to bring, corkage fees and tipping. Does the thought of bringing your own wine to a restaurant make you feel cheap and arrogant? Get over it by practicing good BYOB etiquette. 1. Even when the practice is legal, check if the restaurant allows or encourages it. When you make the reservation, ask if you can […]
10 Best Nero d’Avola Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Nero d’Avola
Nero d’Avola is one of the most important red wine grapes in Sicily and increasingly in Italy as a whole. You’ll find my top 10 Nero d’Avola reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Nero d’Avola: 1. Nero d’Avola is named after Avola, a small town in South East Sicily. Several hundred years ago Nero d’Avola was known as “The Black Grape of Avola.” Nero d’Avola is also known as Calabrese, which lends to the idea that Nero d’Avola originated in Calabria on mainland Italy at the tip of the boot. 2. The best Nero d’Avola comes from the […]
Got Wine? There’s an App for That from Nat > Video
Leanne and I chat about Canada’s first wine app, and the only one that gives real-time, GPS-based liquor store inventory across the country. Just scan a bottle bar code and you get instant stock data along with: – professional wine reviews – food pairings – custom shopping list – cellar maturity dates – top 10 wines in your closest liquor store Check out the features here for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad as well as for Android and the mobile site for other smartphones. Got Wine? There’s an App for That from […]
Australian Shiraz, Cabernet, Chardonnay: LCBO Vintages June 7
Shiraz, Cabernet and Chardonnay from Australia hit the spotlight in the LCBO Vintages Release June 7. This is just a sampling of wine ratings, the most quoted Canadian source of reviews in the Vintages Magazine. You can access the 66 wines that I reviewed for June 7 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches and the stock for each bottle in their closest LCBO stores. You can also see my wine reviews for May 24. You can also add my wine picks to their custom shopping list with one click and access that list […]
10 Best Shiraz Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Shiraz
Shiraz and Syrah are both originally from the same clone, but various regions have chosen one name or the other. You’ll find my top 10 Shiraz reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Shiraz: They both create rich, robust red wines with a smooth texture and signature aromas of spice, pepper, clove and licorice leading, followed by dark fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry, plum and black cherry, as well as truffle, earth, violets, vanilla, smoke, sandalwood, cedar, cigar box, earth and leather. The greatest of these wines can age for 25 years or more. The grape […]
Get Out of Your Wine Rut in 2014: Try These Wines
What are the best wines to try in 2014? Want get out of your wine rut? That’s our wine topic on the CTV News video clip above. We looked at great wines to try based on what you already like, similar to how Amazon recommends books: if you like this one, then you might like that one. Let me know about a new wine that you discovered this year in the comments below. Get Out of Your Wine Rut in 2014: Try These Wines News Anchor: And now back to Leanne Cusack with a little more on the good […]
