Take a Trick or Treat Break Things are getting pretty spooky around here and in just a few days the kiddies will be lining up for yummy treats! I love seeing them all dressed up in their Halloween garb and can’t wait to give them the assortment of candy I bought. I especially can’t wait to whip up and enjoy a little trick or treat of my own. This great recipe for Pumpkin, Chocolate and Cheddar Muffins is the perfect mix of salty and sweet, with a surprising combination of chocolate and Canadian cheese – my two favourite […]
Portugal Wines
Jane’s Gems: 90 Point Wines in LCBO Vintages August 22
By Jane Staples The August 22 Vintages Release is all about wines that have achieved a score of 90 points or more out of 100 from various wine critics. There’s a certain magic in that score of 90 or above, as we all remember test grades from childhood so we can relate easily to them. There’s even a great difference, perceptually, between 89 and 90 for many consumers, even though there may not be for the critic giving the score. The 100-point wine scoring system wasn’t invented by the US critic Robert Parker Jr., but he certainly brought it to […]
Tania’s Magical Matches: Wine Pairings for Luscious Lobster
By Tania Thomas Lobster has come a long way since the mid-19th century when it was considered as a mark of poverty and the food for lower members of society. These days, we think of a lobster as a special occasion treat and often serve it as a celebratory meal. And speaking of celebrations; what’s more celebratory than a bottle of bubbly to accompany festivities? Stylish and chic, fizz has been associated with fun since mid-17th century when London society discovered its “uplifting” effect. Crisp acidity and citrus notes of lemon drops and lemon zest, match lobster with buttery sauce […]
Matching Cheese and Wine for Entertaining
Sirius XM talk show hosts Christine, Kate and Sharon and I chat about The Great Canadian Wine & Cheese Match in the clip above (click on the arrow to listen) You can also watch clips from CTV News, Global Television, CBC News and CTV Morning Live with more pairings, as well as a radio interview on CJAD, Montreal’s most popular talk show. Matching Cheese and Wine for Entertaining Christine: Hi there, I’m Christine Bentley and I don’t think Kate Millers going to let me say one word here because we are talking about wine with Natalie MacLean. Hi there Natalie! […]
First Families of Wine Tasting: Primum Familiae Vini Bring Family and Place to the Glass
By Mymi Myriam At 11:30 a.m. on a windy Thursday, I walked into a sumptuous room at the Four Seasons Hotel. Immaculately decorated, it had high ceilings and an incredible view of Toronto’s affluent Yorkville neighbourhood. In the center of the room was a very large and beautifully dressed… dining room table! I was at the right place: the long-awaited Primum Familiae Vini (PFV) luncheon. The PFV is an international association of some of the world’s finest wine producing families from France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. It was created in 1992 by Robert Drouhin and Miguel Torres as they […]
Best Wine Reviews and Ratings: LCBO Vintages Release September 27
You can access the 59 wines that I reviewed for September 27 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for September 13. 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 or […]
Red Wine and Cupcake Pairings: Red Velvet and Chocolate Guinness Meet Their Match
In our second video, we chat about pairing red wines with cupcakes: think red velvet, chocolate chocolate and chocolate Guinness (Belgian dark chocolate dipped in Guinness beer). Even lighter and drier red wines, such as pinot noir, have a place beside cupcakes. Discover some great combinations with the owners of Ottawa’s Cupcake Lounge. You can also watch part one of our chat where we pair carrot, butterscotch bourbon and maple cinnamon cupcakes with white wines and sparkling wines. The research never ends ;) Natalie: We are back with Claudia Arizmendi and Bill McGuiness, owners of Ottawa’s Cupcake Lounge. We are […]
