Taste Canada: Wine, Food and Books

It was a spectacular evening celebrating Canadian wine, food and books at the Taste Canada awards November 5 at the Arcadian Court in Toronto. Here are some pictures of the event courtesy of Laura Berman, Greenfuse Photography I’ve posted a short video below with Alison Pryor, owner of Canada’s best culinary book store called the Cookbook Store in Toronto near Yorkville. You can find my first post about Taste Canada here. The food that evening was terrific … a full-on, dazzling display of culinary delights by a number of the country’s top chefs.     That’s Bonnie Stern above, the […]

read more …

Read More

Celebrating Canadian Wine, Food + Writing – Taste Canada

Monday evening was a terrific celebration of Canadian food, wine and writing at Taste Canada―The Food Writing Awards. According to Quill & Quire, the magazine for the Canadian publishing industry, the competition drew 73 book submissions this year, “a brilliant snapshot of the vibrancy and diversity of Canadian culinary publishing.” Karen Gelbart, National Chair of Taste Canada, commenetd, “The selection and diversity of the publishing and the cuisine in this country are breathtaking. Our judges were in the unique position of spending time with each of these books — reading the narratives and studying the presentation — to finally decide […]

read more …

Read More

Thanksgiving Wines: Turkey, Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce

My latest column in Active Adult Magazine has lots of terrific wines for your Thanksgiving dinner, including pairings for roast turkey, stuffing or cranberry sauce. You can also find my tips for pairing Thanksgiving (or Christmas) turkey and wine in Reuters (second story), Kansas City Star, The Vancouver Province, The Star-Ledger, Contra Costa Times and The Star-Gazette. Let’s give thanks for all of these great bottles!

read more …

Read More

Drinking and Wine Quotes Part 4: A Literary Laugh

Round three of these drinking and wine quotes is here. Dorothy Parker is standing at the open coffin of a writer who has recently passed away. A friend remarks, “Doesn’t he look wonderful?” “Why shouldn’t he?” Parker replied, “He hasn’t had a drink in three days.” “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald “Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.” ― Frank Sinatra “After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things […]

read more …

Read More

Taste Canada Announces Shortlist: Food & Wine Writing Awards

This news arrived this morning … can finally drop my cracker (cabernet) as it was under embargo until 2 pm for press distribution … FOR RELEASE: 1st August, 2012 Taste Canada: The Food Writing Awards 2012 Announcement of Short Lists Taste Canada―The Food Writing Awards drew 73 submissions this year, a brilliant snapshot of the vibrancy and diversity of Canadian culinary publishing.  The winners will be announced, together with the names of the jurors, at the Award Ceremony and Gala Reception on Monday, 5 November, at the new Arcadian Court in Toronto. These Awards will recognize and celebrate superior writing […]

read more …

Read More

Best Food (and Wine) Writing Story Collection

The editor of the annual anthology Best Food Writing got in touch yesterday to say that an excerpt from Unquenchable will be published in this year’s edition. The book collects the best food (and occasionally wine) writing of the year from magazines and books, such as Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential), Ruth Reichl (Gourmet Magazine), Gabrielle Hamilton (Blood, Bones & Butter), Frank Bruni (New York Times), Alan Richman (GQ), Madhur Jaffrey (Indian Cooking), and Colman Andrews (Saveur). It also includes food-related writing from “non-food” writers such as Calvin Trillin (New Yorker), Michael Lewis (Moneyball, Liar’s Poker) and Barbara Kingsolver (Poisonwood Bible). If […]

read more …

Read More

Talking Wine with CBC’s John Gushue

On the weekend, we met up with Natalie MacLean, the wine writer; I’ve interviewed her in the past, but not in person. It was great to meet, have a chat and talk about a subject she knows inside out and which I wish I knew a good bit better. On Saturday, we’re publishing my interview (which tees up the Chile and Argentina-focused A Taste of Wine show at the Convention Centre) on cbc.ca/nl … have a look for it. The article includes Natalie’s picks for the top five bargain wines available at the NLC. In the meantime, do check out […]

read more …

Read More

More Magazine Celebrates Fifth Anniversary with Four Women Leaders

I’ve been an avid reader of More since it first started publishing its classy, smart magazine five years ago. With the fifth anniversary, they did a complete redesign and I was happy to sign on on the wine columnist. On Thursday, I’ll join four women I admire immensely for a panel discussion that’s part of the celebratory activities: Rosey Edeh, ET Canada Host; Lisa LaFlamme, CTV National News Anchor; Suzanne Timmons, The Hudson’s Bay Company Director; and Bev Thompson, Canada AM Host. (I’ll be chatting with Bev earlier that day on her show about wines for Mother’s Day.)

read more …

Read More

How to Host a Wine Tasting – National Magazine Awards Nominee

Just found out that one of my columns in Saltscapes Magazine has been nominated for the National Magazine Awards. The story is how to host an informal wine tasting with friends at home. Needless to say, I enjoyed the research for this one! Congratulations to all the nominees below.   Deena Waisberg How Are You Managing? CAmagazine       Christine Langlois Honey, I Sunk the Boat Cottage Life       Susan Nerberg Hot Spot How-To Cottage Life       Kevin Callan, Ryan Stuart Camping 101 Explore       Romana King The Ultimate Home Maintenance Guide MoneySense […]

read more …

Read More