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.
Leanne: In terms of what it is they’re looking for, the pairings … we’re heading into the festive season.
Natalie: We are.
Leanne: A lot of people are celebrating different holidays with different foods, so what were you looking for?
Natalie: Well, as you said, I sent the call out to subscribers of the site, 154, 000 now, so there’s been a huge response. So we thought we’d have some fun with the Holiday matches. We have traditional roast turkey, of course, we have Baccala, which is the dish that Italian-Portuguese families often have for Christmas. We’ve got Latkes which is the fried potato pancake for Hanukkah, fruitcake of course, the dessert that will never go away, but you’ve got to have something to wash it down.
Leanne: It really won’t go away, (inaudible).
Natalie: It lasts forever. We have collard greens, an African dish for Kwanzaa, and we have Moroccan Lamb which is that savoury stew for Ramadan.
Leanne: Okay.
Natalie: So, a big variety, lots of different wine styles, all under 25 as you said.
Leanne: Were you surprised at the response that you had?
Natalie: Yes, I was. I think people really do love the idea of crowd sourcing an ultimate holiday wine shopping list. But more than that, people want to have a say because often, I’m finding on Twitter, Facebook and other social media venues, the most powerful recommendation comes from a friend. This is about sharing wines you’ve discovered with other friends, people you don’t know, but together we’re building this great holiday shopping list.
Leanne; Well, you’ve got the list ready for us. You’ve done the work and so have your readers. They voted. So these are the ones you came up with. So, kind of run through some of them for us.
Natalie: This is just a sampling. We start over here with the Bubbly from Italy. So champagne is classic during the holidays but it’s also expensive. If you look to Spain, Italy, even Canada, you’re going to find Bubbly’s that are under $25. This one is just $15 It’s a Prosecco, it’s dry and it’s going to go with Roast Turkey and just about all of the dishes that we mentioned. Next stop, we have Open from the Niagara region which is a bright Riesling Gewurztraminer, very floral and it will be lovely with collard greens You know again, that’s just $12.
Leanne: Wow!
Natalie: Yes, exactly. German Riesling is always a favourite. These are very versatile whites. White wines have the acidity which is like your palate cleanser … little brushes. Do not be afraid of acidity. It gets you ready for the next bite. It’s about $14. We come back to Niagara for Chardonnay. Chardonnay is a badge wine. You’re going to really pay for it if you go down to California. Here in Niagara, this one’s $13 and it is really well made.
Leanne: What were these paired with?
Natalie: So a Chardonnay is a buttery, rich, round white wine and I think it’s a great match for Latkes, the lightly, fried potato pancake for Hanukkah. We go over here for Rosé. We’ve got a dry Rosé. People dismiss Rosé as a pink and sweet and syrupy.
Leanne: They are on the comeback, are they not?
Natalie: They are, they’re terrific. And they’re very cleansing, well made, not sweet at all, perfect for Roast Turkey because I don’t know about you but our house turkey ends up dry every year and we fix that with a nice Rosé to wet the palate.
Leanne: If you can just wrap this up in 15 seconds for me. Just give it quick.
Natalie: Sure, absolutely, Montes from Chile, Chile is a great source of value so this is a big, robust red. We move over here to Kim Crawford Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is traditionally Burgundy, again, there, you’re going to pay a lot. Look for non-traditional regions like New Zealand and Canada. Lastly, I do have Bordeaux here. We always associate Bordeaux with big prices but when you can find either a lesser hailed vintage or a chateau that’s not as well-known you can find reasonably priced wines such as $22.
Leanne: And you say you’re pairing it with which one?
Natalie: This one would be with the Moroccan Lamb, that savoury stew so you want a robust red to go with that.
Leanne: Fantastic options and I like, too, the price point under that $25 mark. And really some that are under $15.
Natalie: Pour like Santa, save like Scrooge.
Leanne: I like that, you can find more information, as well, on your website at nataliemaclean.com.
Natalie: Absolutely.
Leanne: Thank you so much.
Natalie: Thanks, Leanne.
Posted with permission of CTV
