The holidays are right around the corner. So here with her tips to make your holiday entertaining a breeze is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. What’s your first tip? Keep it simple. I’m not sure why many of us turn into frantic mini-Martha Stewarts at this time of this year, wanting everything to be perfectly matching, preparing everyone’s side dish, stocking our cellars with more wine than we could possibly drink in a month, but we do. So take a breath, relax and start with bubbly. Sparkling wine is a great aperitif […]
Prosecco
Which Wines to Drink for Spring
We had such fun chatting about spring and summer wines on CTV’s The Social yesterday! Are the wines we drink in the winter that different from the ones we drink in the spring and summer? · Yes, most people’s drinking habits change with the seasons. · We typically drink heavy, alcoholic, heavily oaked wines in the winter because they comfort us and keep us warm. · “Drink what you like” remains in effect no matter the weather, but for most people, lighter drinking in the summer generally means more consumption of white wines. LIGHT & COLD This […]
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 […]
Pairing Bestselling Books With Best-Cellaring Wines
We’re back with Natalie MacLean. You can watch our first segment on book and bottle pairings here. This time we’re going outside the wine category of books with these pairings. What do you have for us first? We’re starting with one of my favorite authors, Candace Bushnell, who wrote this book, Is There Still Sex and the City? a fantastic follow-up to her blockbuster hit, TV series, several movies and now a theatrical production. I’d pair this book with this Rosé sparkling wine from La Marca because it’s just fabulous, as the four women in the […]
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 […]
6 Best Spring Wines for Sipping and Drinking (Video)
Mel As the weather warms up, it’s not just our wardrobes that need a seasonal update, our taste buds crave change too. So cast off those woolly-sweater wines and sip on something light, fresh and new. Here with the wine trends to look out for this spring is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes. • Natalie Hello Lainey We’re starting with a trend that I’m really excited about, Pink Prosecco. Why are they so popular right now? Natalie • Take two already trendy wines—rosé and prosecco—and combine them for a mashup of this season’s […]
Can You Guess This Wine’s Price? (Video)
On Global Television’s Morning Show, we chat about whether you judge a bottle of wine by its label, or at least, by its price? Does an expensive wine guarantee you a better one? We play a fun game. The hosts taste two wines and try to guess which wine they think is more expensive of the two. I share some details about the two wines as hints ;) Can you guess which wine is pricier before the hosts do? Play the game with us! Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Superiore Prosecco Veneto D.O.C.G., Italy Vines are […]
How to Find Budget-Friendly and Splurge-Worthy Wines? (Video)
On Global’s Morning Show, we chat about how to find budget-friendly and splurge-worthy wines. Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Superiore Prosecco Veneto D.O.C.G., Italy Henry of Pelham Winery Cuvee Catharine Rosé Brut Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne Champagne A.O.C., France Westcott Vineyards Chardonnay Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A. Joseph Drouhin Chablis de Vaudon Chablis Burgundy, […]
Holiday Wine and Food Pairing: CTV Morning Live
In the video above, Leanne and I chat about holiday wine and food pairings for the Joy to the World Holiday Wine Match. Nominations are still open until Friday, so name your favourite wine and vote daily! The Twitter hashtag is #WHWM. Cheers, Natalie Posted with permission of CTV Morning Live. Holiday Wine and Food Pairing: CTV Morning Live Leanne: We are looking at some wonderful wines here and actually all under the price tag of $25, Natalie MacLean is joining us. You’ve had a ton of fun reaching out to your readers. Natalie: Exactly. […]
How to Pair Wine with People on Your Gift List (Video)
‘Tis the season for holiday entertaining and gift giving. What if you’d like to give someone a bottle of wine? How do you know which one to choose? How much do you spend? Here to help us with that is wine expert Natalie MacLean. Welcome Natalie. So if choosing the right wine is so tricky, why should we give wine as a gift at all? When you give the gift of wine, doubles are fine unlike toaster ovens, there are no wrong sizes unlike that ugly sweater and re-gifting is so much easier compared to fruit cake or a […]
