Jeff and I had such fun chatting about wines for Mother’s Day gifts on Canada AM, especially champagne for brunch. There’s even a “live action” shot with uncorking a sparkler. (Okay, not so much.) Here are my Top 20 Wines for Mother’s Day, either made by women or named for them. Often the latter were originally made by women. You’ll also find more suggestions in my Mother’s Day wines for Epicurious as well as for More Magazine. Jeff: It’s Mother’s Day, of course, on Sunday, and if you are planning on taking her out for brunch, you might want to […]
Wine Region
Spicy Food & Wine Pairings: Cinco de Mayo, Tex-Mex, Indian Food Matches
On Global Television’s Morning Show today, we chatted about wine and spicy food pairings than to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. What better time to explore these than on May 5, the day in 1862 when a rag-tag Mexican army defeated the far larger French forces under Emperor Napoleon III. Sure, you could toast with a cerveza or tequila, but which wine? The growing Mexican wine industry is gaining respect, particularly the region of Baja California, and among the leading producers is L.A. Cetto, creating exceptionally well-priced red wines. But let’s broaden the field, and look at wines from around the […]
Santa Margherita Wine Tasting: To Pinot Grigio and Beyond
Canada’s top wine writers and sommeliers gathered in our nation’s capital recently for a comprehensive tasting and overview of Santa Margherita wines. Their overall impressions and reviews are below. Click the arrow in any video to watch it. Monique Sosa Wine Columnist, Ottawa Life Magazine Virtually everyone I know has had a taste of the eminent Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. It is the number one selling white wine in Canada and a consistent top seller in North America altogether. Not so long after the rise of their Grigio’s popularity, we started to notice more and more Santa Margherita labels of various styles of […]
Video: The Ultimate Guide to Pairing Wine and Chocolate
The hosts of CTV’s The Social and I shared lots of scandalous laughs this week pairing wine and chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Click on the arrow above to play the video. Laurent-Perrier Millésimé Champagne 2007 Champagne A.C., France What’s you favourite pairing? We love chocolate not just for its taste, but also for its sensual texture. Cocoa butter, one of its main ingredients, melts close to body temperature, so sliding a piece into your mouth and feeling it seep out to coat your tongue can almost be orgasmic. Maybe that why’s the […]
5 Surpring Facts about Pinot Grigio + Top 10 Pinot Grigio Wines to Buy Now
Pinot Grigio is one of the fastest growing white wines in the liquor store. It has a clean, crisp, fresh nature that works well as an aperitif or as a companion to a wide range of dishes from seafood and chicken. Here are my top 10 Pinot Grigio reviews and ratings. 5 Surprising Facts about Pinot Grigio: 1. Pinot Grigio is a white variant-clone of the red grape Pinot Noir. The Italian region of Friuli produces the best Pinot Grigio in a crisp, refreshing style. Other Italian regions produce it too but it can be over-cropped and taste insipid. 2. […]
The Secret to Sauvignon Blanc Wine? (Video)
Leanne and I had great fun chatting about Sauvignon Blanc on CTV as a lead up to Sauvignon Blanc Day May 4. You can watch the video segment above by clicking on the arrow. You can also watch our second wine video. Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc Casablanca Valley, Chile Sacred Hill Wine Company Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand Henry of Pelham […]
The Best Gamay Wines to Buy Now + Food Pairings (Video)
Now let’s chat about a summer red wine. What is the Gamay grape and why has it had a less-than-stellar reputation in the past? Gamay, the grape most famously associated with Beaujolais, has suffered the same reputation as it’s parent wine: the Rodney Dangerfield of wine. It often gets no respect. It’s been stigmatized as cheap and cheerful, with a banana bubble-gum flavour, mostly due to Beaujolais Nouveau, which is released on the third Thursday of November each year, only weeks after the harvest. That’s an ingenious cash flow concept for winemakers rather than tying up the wine in barrels […]
4 Blockbuster Books and Bottles to Celebrate World Book Day
World Book Day is April 23rd, and you might like to toast your love of reading with a great book and bottle pairing. Here with her tips is Natalie MacLean, who is the author of the upcoming memoir Wine Witch on Fire. Welcome Natalie. What do you recommend first? I have Mary Soderstrom’s book, Against the Seas, which is about what we can learn about coping with rising sea levels from ancient times. As glaciers melt within a few decades due to climate change, sea levels around the world may rise and coastal cities could be […]
How are Organic, Biodynamic, Sustainable, Vegan and Vegetarian Wines Different?
With April being Earth Month, it’s the perfect time to get a lesson in environmentally-conscious wines. Today we’re raising a glass to Mother Nature with Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes. Welcome, Natalie! There are several ways that wine can be made in a more environmentally-conscious way. We’re going to focus on a few of them today, starting with vegan and vegetarian wine. Natalie, this is blowing my mind because I assumed all wine was vegan! What makes wine not vegan-friendly? · It’s all in the clarifying—the removal of the particles which create cloudiness. · Fining […]
Video: Which Wines for Turkey, Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Pie?
CTV’s Your Morning Host Ben Mulroney and chat about which wines to pair with your holiday turkey dinner, from appetizers and the big bird to side dishes and dessert. Happy holidays! Natalie Start with an aperitif As the heady aroma of the turkey wafts through the house, and sounds of Miracle on 34th Street come from the livingroom, offer family and friends an aperitif. This pre-dinner drink will whet their appetites before they sit down to the table. An excellent choice is a chilled dry sherry. Its nutty flavours go well with spiced nuts, olives, cheese and other pre-dinner […]
