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 […]
Pinot Noir
A World of Wine and Food at Sea: Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 Wine List and Tastings
By David Skinner Fine wines and luxury travel go hand in hand but can often be out of reach of most budgets. With a bit of research though, there are ways to combine these two for less than princely sums and cruising is at the top of the list. Options abound for those who simply want to try some new wines while they enjoy the pampered lifestyle onboard and then there are voyages where every wine and food desire can be satisfied. The Cunard Line is home to a fleet of royalty namesakes that are not your typical cruise conveyances. […]
Discovering the Jewel Grape of Austrian Wine
By Alex and Priya, A Vine Romance Austria. The first thing that comes to mind when most people hear this country is The Sound of Music and Julie Andrews singing My Favorite Things! However, this little European country is known for something else that will likely become one of your favourite things, Gruner Veltliner. Read on as Alex sheds light on this versatile grape as well as other wines that are made in Austria. Priya: I don’t even think I knew Austria made wine! Why do you think it’s such a little-known region to non-sommeliers? Alex: For one thing, Austrian […]
Tasting the Cool Climate Wines of Argentina’s Secreto Patagonico
By Melissa Pulvermacher Another tasting during my time at the 2016 i4C Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration was with Secreto Patagonico’s Production and Sales Manager, Tomas Groppo Parisi. Secreto Patagonico is in the southern hemisphere in Patagonia, Argentina. A lot of us immediately think of Mendoza, heat and Malbec when we think of Argentina, which may leave us a bit confused with the relevance to cool climate wines in this situation. Patagonia is actually in the south of Argentina and remember that in the southern hemisphere, the south is a lot cooler than the northern regions. Mendoza, the Malbec-famous region, […]
Henry of Pelham’s Paul Speck on Cool Climate Chardonnay
By Melissa Pulvermacher To kick off the annual International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C) in Niagara, Ontario, I visited Paul Speck of Henry of Pelham Winery on the Short Hills Bench in St. Catharines. The Henry of Pelham winery has been owned by the Speck family since 1988. While tasting the wines, we explored this concept of cool climate viticulture. Ontario’s weather can be somewhat unpredictable from year-to-year, which is why our local wines tend to have a lot of vintage variance. Beginning with some of my favourite Niagara bubbles, the Cuvee Catharine Carte Blanche had me salivating right […]
How Oyster Bay Tamed Prickly Pinot Noir in New Zealand
By Greg M.P. Hughes Winemakers who specialize in Pinot Noir are some of the hardest working viticulturists on the planet. This grape’s thin skin makes it extremely vulnerable to diseases, makes colour extraction torture to get right, and yields are minuscule (not a tremendous ROI compared to Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz). Pinot Noir’s idiosyncrasies are enough to make even hardened pro winemakers tear their hair out. That is why Pinot Noir is one of the most misunderstood selections that wine experts explain to their audiences. Most people understand it as byword for a quality wine, but have no idea what […]
Wine Tripping and Sipping in Prince Edward County
By Alex and Priya, A Vine Romance Move over Niagara, Prince Edward County is coming of age as a wine country area in Ontario! Whether it’s the big names like Norm Hardie, Closson Chase and Karlo Estates, or the smaller ones like Domaine Darius or Trail Estates, we’ve spent many a weekend exploring the wineries of this region and wanted to share some of our favourite spots with you. Priya: First things first is finding a great home base for all your County experiences. We were lucky to get a spot at The Ferg, a beautiful boutique property co-owned by our very good […]
Domaine Drouhin Wines Express Oregon Terroir
By Melissa Pulvermacher Carrying on the cool climate conversation, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Arron Bell, the winemaker of Domaine Drouhin, a winery in the cool climate region of Willamette, Oregon. The most popular varietals produced in Oregon include Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling. We recognize most of these varietals for their ability to grow well in cooler climates. Oregon produces incredible expressions of these varietals, two of which I had the pleasure of tasting with Arron. “I didn’t know what to do after college. So what do you do? You make wine.” […]
