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 […]
Vegetarian & Wine
The Secret to Sauvignon Blanc Wine? (Video)
Leanne and I had great fun chatting about Sauvignon Blanc on CTV as a lead up to Sauvignon Blanc Day May 4. You can watch the video segment above by clicking on the arrow. You can also watch our second wine video. Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc Casablanca Valley, Chile Sacred Hill Wine Company Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand Henry of Pelham […]
Books & Wines With Great Structure & Finish
We often chat about pairing wine and food, but what about pairing bottles with books? You can also watch part two of our book and bottle pairings from CTV yesterday. What’s the first pairing you recommend? We’re starting with one of my favorite wine books, The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil. It’s sold more than a half a million copies worldwide and is a go-to reference book that’s also engagingly well-written. Karen lives in Napa Valley, so I’d pair this book with this full-bodied, complex Cabernet Sauvignon from Charles Krug, Napa Valley’s oldest winery […]
Discovering the Secret Side of Malbec Wine
By Priya & Alex, A Vine Romance “Come, let me show you another side of Malbec, my friend.” Winemaker Aurelio Montes Jr. spoke the lovely quote above. What distinguishes him from many of his peers is that he makes wines for consumers rather than for winemakers, because he considers himself “a consumer first and foremost.” Perhaps this is why both of us (Alex, the Sommelier and Priya the casual drinker) were able to enjoy the horizontal tasting of Kaiken wines in Toronto at Nota Bene restaurant last week. Over a lunch spanning a leisurely 3 hours (a lovely Argentinian custom we wish Canadians would […]
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 […]
Orange Wines, Pairings for Meatless Burgers
Introduction This week I’m doing things a bit differently and changing things up with this episode. Today we’re talking orange wine, meatless burgers and keeping it cool in the summer and I’ve taken the best bits from my Facebook live video show and included them here for you. Is orange the new white? Which wines pair best with meatless burgers? How do you keep your wines cool in the summer heat? I’d love for you to share your questions or comments with me. You can do that right here in the comments below this post or email me at [email protected]. […]
Are Vegan & Vegetarian Wines Better for You? Ezra Cipes, Summerhill Winery, BC, Has Answers
Introduction Ezra Cipes is proud to carry on the family legacy at Summerhill Pyramid Winery. Since the Cipes family moved from New York to Summerhill Vineyard in Kelowna, British Columbia when Cipes was five, he has grown up in the wine industry and feels blessed to now lead a company dedicated to creating beauty in collaboration with nature. Cipes has a multitude of passions and talents. After working in the wine production cellar while attending public school in Kelowna, Ezra embarked on a career in music. He worked as a touring and session musician and became a published songwriter. But […]
What are Vegan and Vegetarian Wines?
Our guest this evening has been involved in his family winery since he was five years old. After working in the wine production cellar, he became a published songwriter. But despite his love for music, he felt called back to the vineyard and in 2008 became Chief Operations Officer in 2008 then CEO in 2012. Recently he has become a director of the Canadian Vintners Association and Vice-Chair of the British Columbia Wine Institute. And he joins me live now from his winery: Welcome to the Sunday Sipper Club Ezra Cripes of Summerhill Pyramid Winery! What was the exact moment […]
South Africa’s Spier Wines Respect What the Vineyard Hands Them
New Life on the Old Werf Life on the Spier farm is textured, diverse, nurturing. Our Fair Trade accredited hotel and modern conference facilities offers peace in the vineyards, riverside rambles, food experiences and encounters with eagles. Our restored historical farmyard, the Werf, is surrounded by the original farm precinct buildings. These feature 21 architecturally noteworthy Cape Dutch gables – the most on any South African wine estate – making Spier a landmark destination in the Cape winelands. At our wine tasting room on the farm, we give visitors an opportunity to experience what we value most at Spier, in […]
Vegan and Vegetarian Wine Food Pairings
By Alex and Priya, A Vine Romance One of the most interesting things I’ve realized since meeting Alex is that although wine and food pairings are common, it is extremely rare that wine pairings are offered for vegetarian or more specifically, vegan foods. With Meatless Mondays gaining momentum and scores of celebrities (Beyonce, Jared Leto, Bill Clinton, Ellen Degeneres) going vegan and since I have my own, in-house sommelier to help me out, I thought I’d pay it forward and offer some general thoughts on how to pair wine with vegan foods. To begin, I should clarify ‘vegan’ from ‘vegetarian’. […]
