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 […]

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Austrian Wine and Food Pairing: Wiener Schnitzel Recipe

This post is sponsored and written by the Wines of Austria   When you think of Austrian cuisine, you need to think bigger than the Austria we know today. Austrian cuisine, or Viennese cuisine, as it’s known throughout the country, is a mixture of all the culinary traditions of the many “Crown Lands” of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. Recipes flowed in to the imperial kitchens from all the Empire’s peoples, and from there they made their way to dukes’ castles and eventually to middle-class tables. The 19th century saw a vast increase in the variety of household cookbooks, with Austrians  […]

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How Austria’s Gruner Veltliner Got its Groove Back

  Would you like to learn more about Austrian wines, especially its iconic grape, Gruner Veltliner? Do you know why this wine is one of the most versatile wines on the planet? That’s exactly what we’re going to learn tonight with our guest who joins me live just north of Vienna. Our guest this evening is in charge of her family’s winery, Weingut R&A Pfaffl, along with her brother, who is the winemaker and vineyard manager. Heidie Fisher Pfaffl takes care of everything else, from business administration to marketing and sales. Pfaffl Winery is one of Austria’s leading wine producers, […]

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Video: How do you Pair Wine & Charcuterie?

  Our guest this evening is the author of five books that have made the New York Times list of top cookbooks: Fat, Bitter, Bones, Odd Bits and Les Os. She’s also won four James Beard awards. Australian by birth, she left behind a degree in economics and politics to work as a chef, before becoming a writer based in Toronto. … and that’s where she joins me now live from her home: Welcome to the Sunday Sipper Club Jennifer McLagan!   P.S. Tune in here for our next Live Video Wine Tasting: www.nataliemaclean.com/live Click on the “Follow” and “Like” […]

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Tania’s Magical Matches: Wine Pairing for Risotto, Seduction in Piedmont

By Tania Thomas Nestled in the Italy’s northwest corner, surrounded on three sides by the mighty Alps, lies the gastronomical regions of Piedmont. Unlike the rest of Italy, this is the land of butter and hearty fare due to a strong French influence from Savoy just across the border. In Piedmont, the meal always starts with antipasti. Usually risotto or polenta, followed by braised meats as a main course. Except in the case of risotto alla Milanese, made by adding beef bone marrow, flavoured by saffron and served as main course along Ossobuco, a classic Milanese dish of braised veal […]

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Veal Chop Recipe with Portabello Mushrooms Paired with Merlot

Veal Chop with Portabello Mushrooms Preparation Time: 25 MIN Total Time: 40 MIN Servings: 2 INGREDIENTS: 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 tablespoon butter 2 veal chops 1 portobello mushroom, sliced 1½ cups chicken broth 1½ teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped ½  cup red wine INSTRUCTIONS: Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil with butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chops until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once browned, stir in mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and rosemary; cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in red wine, increase heat, and cook, uncovered, until sauce is […]

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Cheddar Stuffed Meatballs Recipe, Cabernet Franc Wine Pairing

Tis’ the season to complete last year’s resolutions. I can’t believe it’s already the beginning of January! I know it sounds cliché, but this year definitely flew by. And now that it’s almost over I have a list of resolutions that I need to complete. My first to-do: learn how to make the perfect meatballs. Here’s a recipe I found for Cheddar Stuffed Meatballs with Rosemary that is absolutely mouth-watering. Not only is it a delicious recipe, the meatballs are made with wholesome ingredients like real Canadian Cheddar that will help you beat the winter blues. My next to-do, finding […]

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Food & Wine

Dinner with wine used to be simple. The rule was white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat. But most of us don’t just eat meat and potatoes or drink claret and chablis these days. With modern fusion cuisine and wines from new regions around the world, the choices – and confusion – are great. One new school of thought is that any wine goes with any dish. However, most of us don’t put ketchup on our ice cream for the same reason as we don’t drink a delicate white wine with a hearty meat dish or […]

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Veal Roast with Sage and Apple Stuffing

A savoury spiral of succulent veal and bread stuffing makes a deeply flavourful winter meal and an elegant dinner table centerpiece.   Ingredients 2 tbsp butter 30 ml 3 stalks celery, chopped 3 1 onion, chopped 1 1 tbsp dried sage 15 ml 1/2 tsp celery seeds 2 ml 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper 1 ml 2 apples, diced (unpeeled) 2 8 cups cubed day-old bread 2 L 3/4 cup dried cranberries 175 ml 5 lb boneless veal breast, trimmed 2.5 kg 1-1/2 cups approx. chicken stock 375 ml   Preparation In large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; […]

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