Father’s Day is this Sunday, and you might like to toast dad with a glass of wine or two, but what should you pair with your vino beyond BBQ? How about some terrific books?
Here with her tips is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com.
What do you recommend first?
We’re starting with Dad Bod: Portraits of Pop Culture Papas by Almonte author and new dad himself Cian Cruise. This is a collection of funny essays about fatherhood depicted in film, television, and video games. Whether they’re spouting homespun wisdom and atrocious jokes, or wallowing in back-in-my-day stories, these fictional dads fuel myths about fatherhood. He covers Gandalf, Homer Simpson, Die Hard, The Mandalorian and more in his stories unpack the stereotypes that form our image of fatherhood.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, California, United States
I’d pair this book with the Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon made by the Wagner Family in California. It’s full-bodied with deep, dark flavours of ripe blackberries and mocha. Perfect for grilled steaks and other Dad favourites.
What do you have next for us?
Taste: My Life Through Food by the actor Stanley Tucci, who also happened to be obsessed with food as meals were the heart of his life growing up in an Italian American family. I love how he explores the connection we find with each other through food and wine, as much as his foodie films like The Big Night and Julie & Julia.
La Marca Prosecco
Veneto D.O.C., Italy
I’m pairing it with La Marca, an Italian Prosecco, which is a vibrant bubbly and great pairing with many of the dishes Stanley mentions as well as for movie night with popcorn.
Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott is a powerful new memoir dives into issues of life, death, and parenthood with wisdom and warm humor. One morning, Mary Laura wakes up abruptly to find her teenage son unconscious on the floor. We follow her journey through a family crisis which changes the way she, and we, look at the world for the better.
Lakeview Wine Co. Mindful Pinot Grigio
Ontario V.Q.A.
I’d pair this book with Mindful Pinot Grigio, a new wine from Niagara with just 8% alcohol yet it’s packed with flavour. It would also pair well with grilled seafood.
Farm, Fire & Feast: Recipes from the Inn at Bay Fortune by chef Michael Smith is packed with dishes inspired by ingredients of his home in Prince Edward Island. These are part of the dishes he creates at the FireWorks restaurant in the five-star Inn at Bay Fortune. It overlooks the Fortune River at the eastern tip of the province. Guests are treated to live-fire culinary experiences at family-style, long feast tables.
Columbia Crest Winery H3 Cabernet Sauvignon
Horse Heaven Hills, Washington State, United States
I’d pair this cookbook with this H3 Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State that has terrific aromas of cassis and smoke. It would also go well with several recipes in the book, including Wood-Grilled Butcher’s Steak and Smokehouse Pork Belly.
Thank you Natalie! We’ll be back with more book and bottle pairings after the break.
You can see the first second segment part 2 of our conversation here: Book & Bottle Pairings for Father’s Day
Printed with permission from CTV.
