Knowing that saffron-flavored mille-feuille of red mullet and langoustine pairs perfectly with Dom Perignon, or that prime fillet of Kobe beef with braised oxtail and potato rosti will make Château Pétrus sing is useful if you have a fat trust fund and a kitchen staff of twenty. But when most of us are racing from work to soccer practice to ballet class and then home again, we’re far more apt to grab some take-out food or heat a frozen TV dinner than to prepare a multi-course dinner every night of the week. We’re more aware than ever of health issues […]
California Wine
California Wine Fair 2015: Taste Bottled Sunshine
Sponsored Post The 2015 California Wine Fair travels across Canada in April and features tasting events in eight cities from coast to coast. This year, there’ll be more than 400 wines poured representing more than 100 wineries, with lots of winemakers on hand to chat. The Californian Wine Fair is one of the best organized and most comprehensive wine events in Canada, so get your tickets now because they do sell out and there are no tickets at the door: Call the California Wine Fair Hotline 905-336-8932 or 1-800-558-CORK (2675) Visit www.calwine.ca Tastings are held in the evenings, but check […]
LCBO Wines on Sale: Bargains and Best Buys March 2015
Sponsored Post by Philippe Dandurand Wine Agency You can get the complete shopping list of these wines in your closest liquor stores here. Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2012 Marlborough, New Zealand Regular Price: $21.95 Sale Price: $19.95 March 1 to March 28 Folonari Valpolicella 2012 Vénétie, Italy Regular Price: $14.45 Sale Price: $12.45 March 1 to March 28 Les Jamelles Merlot 2012 Vin de Pays d’Oc, France Regular Price: $12.95 Sale Price: $10.95 March 1 to March 28 Folie À Deux Menage A […]
Top 5 Turkey Wine Pairings: Bottles for the Big Bird
In the second part of our holiday wine series on the CBC radio drive-home shows coast to coast we chatted about great wines to pair with your turkey dinner. You can listen to my tips above on choosing those wines plus my top 5 picks. Join us again next week, on December 30, when we chat about great sparkling wines for the New Year. Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine review site, selects her top five wines for your holiday dinner to pair with turkey and the side dishes: Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut […]
Dominus + Napanook Wine Tasting 2011 to 1991 Vertical
Dominus Estate By Olivier deMaisonneuve Montreal Passion Vin is the annual rendez-vous when the Fondation de l’Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont invites wine lovers to open their wallets for a good cause. They also get the unique chance to taste world renowned wines and meet the actors behind those famous labels. This year funds were raised for a new integrated cancer treatment center. Tod Mostero, director of viticulture and winemaking at Dominus Estate, was presenting a few vintages of the two wines produced by this domaine, born by the joint venture of Christian Moueix and the heiresses of the Inglenook Estate, one of […]
Stem Wine Group Gala Tasting at Ottawa’s Museum of Nature-October 22, 2014
By Jane Staples The Stem Wine Group organized a very polished and elegant wine tasting event which took place at Ottawa’s Museum of Nature on October 22. This was Stem Group’s 10th anniversary and they have a great deal to celebrate, having gone from representing 9 wineries in 2005 to over 50 wineries at this year’s event, with over 125 wines featured. Italy dominated the scene, California had several wines on offer and Australia, New Zealand, France and Argentina were also represented. I started with a taste of the Veneto region in northern Italy. I tried Matto’s Pinot Grigio 2013. […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews and Ratings: Vintages Release October 11
You can access the 102 wines that I reviewed for October 11 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for September 27. 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. 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 […]
Best LCBO Wines: Vintages Release August 2
You can access the 71 wines that I reviewed for August 2 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches and the stock for each bottle in their closest LCBO stores. You can also see my wine reviews for July 19. You can add my wine picks to their custom shopping list with one click and access that list on their smartphone. This is one of the benefits of becoming a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. […]
10 Best Carignan Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Carignan
It’s hard to imagine that the Carignan grape used to play such a big role in France’s wine history, yet most wine drinkers have never heard of Carignan. Today, this red wine grape is mostly used as a blending wine, known for its rich dark color. You’ll find my Top 10 Carignan reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Carignan: 1. In France, Carignan was the most planted grape variety from the 1960s to 2000. In fact, in the late 90s there were more than 150,000 acres of Carignan vines planted in France. 2. Why so popular? Two words: large […]
10 Best Petite Sirah Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Petite Sirah
There’s nothing petite about Petite Sirah. The robust red grape is also known as Durif and is mostly grown in Australia and California to produce full-bodied red wines. You’ll find my Top 10 Petite Sirah reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Petite Sirah: 1. Petite Sirah it should not be mistakenly spelled as Petite Syrah, which is a small berried clone of the Syrah grape variety from the French region of the Rhône Valley. However, Petite Sirah still has a familial connection to Syrah, as it is a cross of a Syrah pollen-germinating with a Peloursin plant which is […]
