St. Patrick’s Day is often celebrated with a pint or two, but what if you love wine? On CTV News, we chat about the best pairings for Irish food and classic dishes. Is there a wine that pairs with corned beef and cabbage? This begs the question: Can we skip the corned beef and cabbage and just have wine? My Irish grandmother is probably turning over in her grave. Traditional matches for this meal usually include Irish stout, like Guinness. But what about wine? Corned beef is salty and cabbage can be skunky, so you’ll avoid those wines […]
LCBO Wine App
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings August 19, 2023
You can access the wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. You can also see my wine reviews for August 5th. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Curious […]
Why You Need This New Wine Label Scanner App Now (Video)
On CTV Morning Live, Stefan and I chat about how this new wine label scanner app helps you in the liquor store … … from getting instant access to wine ratings and food pairings to tracking your favourites in your virtual cellar. You can get the free app now before you go to the liquor store. Apple has just selected the app as one of the best Food & Drinks apps in the category of Wine & Cocktails … yay! Wines Featured on CTV Morning Live Colio Estate Wines Lily Sparkling […]
Behind the Scenes: A Wine Writer’s Life
Introduction When I attend a social event that’s outside the wine industry and I’m asked about my job, I often joke that I drink for a living. After I clarify that I write about wine, I usually get questions about what exactly that involves and some misconceptions about drinking Champagne all day in between planning luxe trips to Tuscany and Napa Valley. However, it’s not all beer and Skittles, rainbows and unicorns. On today’s episode of Unreserved Wine Talk, I thought that since there’s always been quite a bit of curiousity about what I do, I’ll take you behind the […]
A Vine Celebration: The 120th Anniversary of Nino Negri Wines
In October, I traveled to Italy with great excitement to participate in Nino Negri’s 120th Anniversary celebration. As I drove through the historic wine region of Valtellina, I was captivated by its breathtaking beauty and eager to participate in this year’s wine harvest. Valtellina is a serene valley at the foot of the Lombardy Alps, on the Italian-Swiss border. The “vine”, the heart of this difficult mountainous terrain, has found perfect growing conditions here. The vineyards are protected by two high mountain chains, the Retiche Alps and the Orobie Pre-Alps. Exposure to the sun at high altitude, as well as a significant […]
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 […]
Top 100 Wine Blogs: New Ranking from Feedspot
Feedspot, which replaced Google’s RSS live feed for blog updates last year, has just published a new report on the Top 100 Wine Blogs. A friend nudged me about it on Twitter, as it’s not something you can enter. According to the editors of Feedspot: In the world of wine, these are the best of the best wine blogs who run their craft and work hardest to improve the entire wine industry. They are the most influential to both the trade and consumers. Their voices influence thousands of other wine personalities and tens of thousands of wine professionals. These wine blogs […]
Wine Mobile App: Pocket Sommelier to Buy Better Wine
Feel lost in the liquor store? Wine mobile apps are changing the way we buy wine. It’s like having a pocket sommelier or your best friend who’s wine savvy shopping with you. Scan a bar code and instantly access: – wine reviews and ratings – food pairings – current stock of each wine in the liquor store closest to you – add wines to your virtual cellar log Download the free wine app now. Our team was thrilled that our app ranked #5 on the iTunes store! >>> It’s also available for Android. This video is […]
The App that no Wine Connoisseur should be without
In Friday’s edition of the St. Catharine’s Standard, tech columnist Syd Boyd has written a helpful guide on using apps to plan your dinner party. We were delighted that he recommended our app for selecting your wines: “Of course you might want to add some wine to that party of yours and the Canadian made “Wine Reviews & Ratings: Natalie MacLean” is the app that no wine connoisseur should be without, especially as it will help you find the closest store with the best price for the perfect pairing to the food you picked above. “If you are at the […]
Why is Mobile and Social the Future for Buying Wine and Discovering New Wineries?
Why Does Responsive Design Work So Well for Wine? – You get a mobile app-like experience without having to download an app: full content and features of the site. – So …. we’ve rebuilt the site from the ground up so that it instantly resizes to any smartphone, tablet or computer. – The new responsive design doesn’t replace our mobile apps on iPhone and Android, it complements it on other smartphones. – Responsive design also makes sharing content on social media far easier. – The profound impact that both Twitter and Facebook have on the wine world is why we […]
