What could be more festive than icewine in the winter. Here are some of my favourites. It always helps to have some back-up choices in case those below are already sold out. You can also add my Top Wine Picks to your custom shopping list by clicking on the little shopping cart icon. Stock up [...]

Great chat with Kim Fraser, host of Montreal’s CJAD call-in talk show. I love her witty comments and questions, everything from describing wine with aromas of buffalo chips and dew-dappled violets to where that sweet spot is for finding wines that taste twice as expensive as they cost. Why I had to milk a goat [...]

What defines a bargain wine? Is it just a low price or is there something more? What are some tips on finding wines that are affordable but still delicious in the liquor store? Wines mentioned in this video: Segura Viudas Cava, Spain Yum, smells like fresh baked bread just out from the oven! Wonderfully toasty, [...]

Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World ‘s Best Bargain Wines You’ll remember how Dorothy sighed “lions, and tigers, and bears; oh, my” in the Wizard of Oz . Well, we might be hearing Natalie saying something like “hawks, and sheep, and goats, and turtles, and baboons; oh, boy” in her new book Unquenchable.  And [...]

What factors contribute to the cost of a wine? Which regions offer great value? Why “go south” in traditional wine producing countries? How do you go into a liquor store and find those bottles? Why are people so fascinating in the wine industry?

The Wizards of Mod Oz By Natalie MacLean “Daaarling, come in, come in!” says Sophia Loren’s Australian twin, opening the door. Jeannice Kersh—big hair, big make-up and cat’s-eye glasses dangling from 12 strands of metallic pearls around her neck—takes me by the arm into her restaurant. Edna’s Table is the Niagara Falls of Sydney dining: [...]

Aspirin, caffeine, blowfish. What really cures a 2012 hangover (Happy, happy by the way)? We’re going with cheap — but good — wine. Sure, ’tis this time of year for New Year’s resolution cliches. But as wine journalist Natalie MacLean is well aware, the key is finding those bargain wines that actually are worth a [...]

Toronto Event Monday, January 16, 2012,  Reception: 6:00pm, Tasting: 6:30pm The Ontario Wine Society Toronto Presents: “What’s Different in Wine Country Ontario” Some Ontario wineries out there are “pushing the envelope” … “thinking outside the bottle” … “venturing in new directions”. They are making wines from non-mainstream varietals or different styles from mainstream varietals. And, [...]

By Gaby Israel The “Day After Tomorrow” is not only a name of a apocalyptic movie. It’s also a phenomena known at the LCBO as the month of January. After all the December hype with a huge variety of expensive wines a person can find in one single release, there isn’t any money left in [...]

This wine book will make you feel warm and fuzzy in its own way, by steering you toward low-priced yet high quality booze. In between cage diving with South African sharks, touring vines with a rosé-guzzling French mule and peeling potatoes with a Canadian special effects producer-turned-organic wine maker, MacLean visits some of the world’s [...]