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 […]
French Wine
Sommelier Secrets on Weird Wine and Food Pairings, and Dream Cellar
In our latest sommelier profile, Jay Whiteley, who has been the sommelier and wine director at several of Canada’s best restaurants, most recently, The Chase in Toronto, shares his favourite and weirdest food and wine pairings, as well as tips on choosing from a restaurant wine list. What was your first wine experience? Learning how to say the word Gewürztraminer. Why did you move from BC, where you were working at one of the top restaurants in Vancouver, to join The Chase in Toronto? I moved for some personal reasons, but also to learn about the LCBO distribution system. Toronto […]
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 […]
Canada’s Best Sommelier Competition: Bruce Wallner Video
In this video chat, Bruce Wallner, recently named Ontario’s Best Sommelier, talks about participating in the Best Canadian Sommelier Competition this month in Halifax. He’s already a certified Master Sommelier and has worked in restaurants around the world, including Australia, Spain and the UK. We also talked about what made him want to become a sommelier originally (some interesting comparisons with the world’s oldest profession), the role of a sommelier and what he enjoys most about the job. Tell us about the competition: who enters and what do you have to do to compete? This event is […]
LCBO Wines on Sale: February 2015 Bargains and Best Buys
Sponsored Post by Philippe Dandurand Wine Agency You can get the complete shopping list of these wines in your closest liquor stores here. Trapiche Reserve Syrah 2013 Argentina Regular Price: $11.95 Sale Price: $10.95 February 1 to February 28 [yellow tail] Shiraz 2013 New South Wales, Australia Regular Price: $23.75 Sale Price: $21.75 February 1 to February 28 HobNob Wine Company George Duboeuf Pinot Noir 2009 Languedoc, France Regular Price: $12.95 Sale Price: $11.95 February 1 to February 28 Yellow Tail Bubbles Sparkling Wine 2010 South Eastern Australia Regular […]
Sommelier Loves Pairing Wine with PEI Shellfish and Seafood
Lesley Quinn, Sommelier, Sim’s Corner Steakhouse and Oyster Bar in Charlottetown, PEI Was wine a part of your family’s meals when you were young? I grew up in a small farming community on Prince Edward Island, with two older brothers. Wine wasn’t a part of our meals at home. However, my mother worked in the tourism industry, and she was host to journalists from around the world. She’d take me with her to meals with them, and it was during one of those dinners, that I had my first sip of wine. Apparently, I described it as tasting like sour grape juice. What […]
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 […]
Chateau Palmer Tasting: Bordeaux Wine Seduces and Satisfies
Château Palmer By Melissa Pulvermacher Château Palmer is a much-respected winery in the Margeaux appellation d’origine contrôlée in Bordeaux, France. You may recognize Palmer better as one of the classified Third Growths of Bordeaux. Palmer has been known as one of the most popular of this classification and some even argue that its consistent delivery of quality held up against First Growth, Château Margeaux. I was given the opportunity to taste several of the Palmer wines at an organized tasting at The National Club in Toronto, Ontario. After tasting the 2004, 1999, 1995 and 1983 vintages up against one another, […]
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 […]
Beaujolais Nouveau Wines Celebrate Vintage in November
Beaujolais Nouveau wine causes quite a stir on the third Thursday of every November. We spoke about this light red wine from the Beaujolais region of France on CBC’s Ontario Morning today (I’ll post the clip later). Beaujolais nouveau is meant to celebrate the current vintage. It’s harvested, fermented and bottled within weeks and is meant to be gulped now in bistros with friends, not cellared or analyzed. Here are some of my picks from this year’s crop below as well as beaujolais nouveau food pairings. You can also look for nouveau wines from other regions, including Canada, Italy and […]
