As the weather cools, we enjoy heartier dishes, including comfort food. But which wines should you pair with them? Here with her tips is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. First off, are there such things as comfort wines? After much research on this topic, I concluded there were no “uncomfortable wines” since I found them all of great comfort. However, I found that certain wines tend to pair better with comfort food than others. Great! Tell us about your first pairing. Comfort food tends to have rich, robust flavours. […]
Sauces & Wine
Barbecue Wines for Father’s Day: Best Bottles for Grilled Grub
On CTV’s The Social, we chat about great wines for BBQ fare on Father’s Day. Nat, some dads are just not wine guys, they’re more beer guys. But are you saying these selections you’ve brought today can change that? It’s mostly a perception that wine is for fancier occasions than beer, but that’s just not true. Anytime you think of having a beer, you can probably substitute it with a bubbly. I’m not talking Champagne, but value-priced sparkling wines from other regions. They’re both frothy and fun, like our first wine here. Great segue! Tell us about the first […]
11 Best Wines to Pair with Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner
No other holiday celebrates the gift of wine like Thanksgiving. But which wines to pair with turkey and all the side dishes? Here with her tips is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com What’s your top tip when it comes to pairing wine with Thanksgiving dinner? Wine is a taste of the harvest along with all the delicious dishes on the table. But actually choosing a bottle can feel like a thankless task, especially with so many flavors to match from sweet creamed corn to more bitter greens and veggies, plus […]
Pairing Wine and Holiday Dishes and Treats
On Global Television’s Morning Show today, Carolyn, Jeff and I chat about pairing wine with holiday treats such as shortbread, chocolate Santas and fruitcake … … yes, we’re going there ;) Plus, here are bonus tips on pairing wines with other holiday favourite dishes … Can we be honest? Holiday turkey dinner is just an excuse for most of us to chow down on our favourite side dish, whether it’s cranberry sauce, chestnut stuffing or sweet potatoes. Often they have more interesting flavours than that dry old bird in the middle of the table. So please, let’s […]
Perfect Pairings and Recipes for Asparagus and Wine
Sponsored Post by the Wines of Austria Seldom have young wines gone so well with springtime’s most distinctive calling-card as do Austria’s 2018 wines. Completely harmonious and beautifully blessed with refined acidity, they provide an ideal partner to the dazzling variety of asparagus dishes due to dominate Austria’s menus in the coming weeks. Asparagus & Wine from Austria: Delicious Essence of Springtime Asparagus Season is once more in session! No other vegetable stands for culinary pleasure in springtime like the delicious white or green shoots, which are certainly best when locally grown. Whether with Hollandaise sauce or with […]
Champagne Special with the Restaurant Guys Mark Pascal and Francis Schott
Introduction In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Mark Pascal and Francis Schott, on their excellent radio show The Restaurant Guys. They’ve been in the fine dining and wine retail business for more than 25 years, and co-own Stage Left Restaurant in New Brunswick, New Jersey, which the New York Times has ranked in their excellent category and Citysearch named among the Top 10 Restaurants in America and Worth The Drive from any Major City. Since I’ve chatted with them, they’ve launched a second restaurant called Catherine Lombardi and their Stage Left Wine Shop is booming. Although their radio show was […]
Pairing Spicy Food & Wine, Gen X versus Millennial Drinkers
Introduction Do you have trouble pairing wine with spicy dishes? What flavours can survive a spicy pairing? How do you pair wine and dishes with a lot of heat like Tex-Mex or vindaloo chicken? Why are Gen Xers so different as wine drinkers than millennials, and how is marketing to them changed? How can you improve your blood pressure and lower your risk of Alzheimer’s with wine? On today’s episode of Unreserved Wine Talk, I’m sharing my tips for finding the right wine for every spicy occasion and exploring both an interesting insight into wine marketing and a fascinating recent […]
Pairing Veggies & Wine, Chilling Wine Quickly, Resveratrol & Depression
Introduction What makes veggies so hard to pair with wine? Are some types of wine better suited to veggie-pairings? How do you pair wine and veggies, especially the wine stalkers – asparagus and artichoke? How can you chill room-temperature wine in under 15 minutes? What does a new study say about the resveratrol in wine combatting depression? If you’ve ever been stumped about how to enjoy wine with your salad or forgot to chill your wine in time for a dinner date, you’re going to find the tips on this very helpful. Enjoy! Highlights Why is it more challenging […]
Canadian Wine and BBQ Food Pairings Video
Leanne and I chat about the great Canadian wines nominated to pair with grilled food in The Great Canadian Wine Match: BBQ Edition. Find out why these wines are great matches for barbecued chicken, pork, beef, seafood, vegetables and dessert. The wines hail from all of Canada’s major wine producing wine regions, including: Okanagan Valley, BC Niagara, Pelee Island, Lake Erie and Prince Edward County in Ontario Eastern Townships in Quebec Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia Just 4 days left to vote for your favourite Canadian wines! Hashtag #GCWM Canadian Wine and BBQ Food Pairings Video […]
Tania’s Magical Matches: Wine Pairings for Thanksgiving Turkey
By Tania Thomas Thanksgiving is the time of the year when we remember what we are thankful for and a celebration that captures holiday spirit of home cooking like no other. Sharing this day with family and friend is what makes it even more special. The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving can be traced to two separate events in our history. The arrival of the explorer Samuel de Champlain in the early 17th century, who came with the French settlers to New France and celebrated their successful harvests, even sharing food with the indigenous peoples of the area. The second is […]
