Greg Hughes Wine Writer & Sommelier For 18 generations, (nearly 300 years) the Alvear family have been making wine. These wines use a similar production method as do the wines of Sherry, and therefore also have a similar style, yet they are unique. They are made from Pedro Ximenez grapes from Montilla Moriles instead of the traditional Palomino Fino grapes. We had the chance to taste the wines and discuss them with Maria Auxiliadora; the winemaker responsible for their continued quality. Pedro Ximenez (Pronounced Peh-droh ee-MAY-neth) is a small grape with a thin skin. The Pedro Ximenez grapes are […]
Events
Organic Wine: What is it? Toast Earth Day with Wine, Naturally
Last night, we had two spectacular, on-fire conversations with Canadian rock-star winemaker Thomas Bachelder. Click the arrow above to watch part one before the internet gods cut us off ;) Part two is below. It was a wide-ranging conversation sprinkled with limestone and lyrical story-telling. You’ll find his wines under his own Bachelder label as well as Domaine Quelyus. You’ll find previous and upcoming Live Video Wine Tastings here. Want to get the heads up on Facebook when we go live next Sunday? Take 3 seconds right now and click on these 2 grey buttons under the wine bottle image: […]
Capra and Chianti: A Perfect Pairing with Gabbiano Wines
Last night, we were joined by a special guest, Chef Massimo Capra, to chat about Italian wine and food pairings Join us on the Sunday Sipper Club, April 16 at 6 pm eastern (Toronto time) when we talk about Malbec. Tune in here for our Facebook Live Video Wine Tasting: www.nataliemaclean.com/live P.S. Click on the “Follow” and “Like” buttons on this page to get notified when we go live. You’ll find upcoming and past Live Tasting Videos here. If you’d like to read 74 comments for this tasting, or make a comment yourself, visit: https://www.facebook.com/natdecants/videos/10154975674214845/ Here’s a sampling of […]
Plonk Wine Videos Stumble Blindly into Brilliant Insight
In his book How to Love Wine, New York Times wine columnist Eric Asimov observes: “I’m sometimes dismayed that sommeliers confuse their professional training with what consumers need to know to enjoy wine. We don’t need to know whether you can identify wines blind. “Those are just parlor games for professionals. I think that professionals, like sommeliers, need to be able to communicate with the public in a language that they understand and that they find useful.” When I tasted wines blind with Eric at the paper’s headquarters several years ago, he lived those words. The blind tasting was to […]
California Wine Fair + Video Tasting with Beringer Wines
Last night, we were joined by a special guest, Mark Beringer, Chief Winemaker of Beringer Vineyards, to chat about his wines as well as the latest technology that’s transforming California wines. Join us on the Sunday Sipper Club, April 2 at 6 pm eastern (Toronto time) with special guest Pedro Costa to chat about Vinho Verde wines. Tune in here for our Facebook Live Video Wine Tasting: www.nataliemaclean.com/live P.S. Click on the “Follow” and “Like” buttons on this page to get notified when we go live. You’ll find upcoming and past Live Tasting Videos here. MARK BERINGER – CHIEF […]
Video: How Can you Become an Ontario Wine Specialist? IWEG Wine of-Course!
We had a lot of fun this past Sunday sipping on our favourite Ontario wines and chatting about the New Ontario Wine Specialist Certificate! Click on the arrow above to play the video. You can read the 138 comments here (and comment yourself). Share your thoughts on your favourite Ontario wines and discover which wines others love that you might want to try. Also find out how you can become a Certified Ontario Wine Specialist. Sip with you soon! P.S. If you click on the “Like” and “Share buttons on Facebook now, you’ll get the heads up when […]
Why Does Vancouver Wine Festival Need to be on Your Bucket List?
This Facebook Live Video above, we chat about the Vancouver International Wine Festival. You can click on the arrow above to play the video. We’re joined by guest wine columnist, Monique Sosa of Ottawa Family Living magazine. You’ll find our most recent live video wine tasting here: www.nataliemaclean.com/live We taste every Sunday evening at 6 pm eastern so add us to your calendar and grab a glass of wine. Click on the buttons for “Share” and “Like” on the page above to get notified when we go live. If you’d like to read the comments for this video, or make […]
7 Unusual Food Pairings for Nobilo Wines from New Zealand
Heather Wall Wine Columnist, Huffington Post Canada A big KIA ORA Welcome was on hand for Dave Edmonds as he rolled through Ottawa for another stellar tasting of Nobilo Wines of New Zealand. More specifically, Marlborough, easily becoming one of the great wine-growing regions of the world – just ask Dave! Clean crisp air, oodles of sunshine, cool ocean breezes and volcanic soils cultivates grapes bursting with juicy crispness and zesty, flinty minerality. Dave came armed with Sauvignon Blancs from both the Nobilo Regional Collection and the Nobilo ICON Collection. Two Pinot Noirs from the ICON Collection and a 2016 […]
Surprising Pairings for Villa Maria Wines from Antipasto to Steak
Canada’s top wine writers and sommeliers gathered in the nation’s capital for a comprehensive tasting of Villa Maria wines from New Zealand. Terry Jeans Wine Writer, Ottawa Wine Guide What an elaborate tasting! We had the chance to have an amazing tasting with one of the viticulturists from Villa Maria– Ollie Powrie, who presented us with an insightful session of tasting over a dozen wines from one of the only New Zealand owned and family operated wineries. Founded and owned by the venerated Sir George Fistonich, a real icon of the wine industry, who has been part of […]
5 Dynamite Bubblies for a Sparkling Holiday and How to Find Wonderful Wines to Celebrate
By Melissa Pulvermacher ‘Tis the season for family, food and sparkling wine. Every year I feature my favourite bottle of bubbly before New Year’s Eve. This year, I decided to write about my top 5 picks to make sure everyone can ring in the new year with bubbles. To help you navigate the intimidating selection, all you need to know is the basics. Mostly you need to be able to navigate whether a bottle is traditional method or tank method and the level of dosage (sweetness added to the wine by concentrated grape juice). 1. Traditional Method This is the […]
