In the video below, we chat with John Duval, who was the winemaker for one of Australia’s most coveted labels, Penfolds, for 29 years.  He’s won many awards over his career, including Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London. In 2003, he left Penfolds to start his own winery. [...]

Here’s the latest batch of wine wit and scribblings that folks have sent me. Love the irreverence in some of these … You’ll find Round 4 of the wine quotes here.            

The latest study on social media from Forrester Research surprised me: women are the majority of users on Twitter and Facebook. I expected this to be the case for Pinterest, now the fastest growing social media site, but not for the two largest social media communities. All three social media sites are terrific for sharing [...]

You can watch the video below of the whole Wolf Blass wine tasting in Ottawa and taste along with us. The full-house had a great vibe that night … not a drop of  pretentious stuffiness that sometimes tries to substitute for lack of personality at these events. Yet attendees felt that they had learned a [...]

Grant Burge Summers Chardonnay won a Silver Medal at the Hong Kong International Wine Challenge 2011 for ‘Best Wine Paired with Kung Pao Chicken’. I was inspired to create a version of this classic dish for the home cook to enjoy. Kung Pao Chicken Ingredients: For the marinade: 3 boneless chicken breasts cut into small [...]

The excitement for the Ottawa Wolf Blass tasting started with a long lineup that snaked down the sidewalk in front of Restaurant 18. The great vibe from the people who attended, Wolf’s rascal humour and the tasty wines made it a wonderful evening. Here’s more on that plus two video clips from CTV News below [...]

Here are my top picks from the September 29 Vintages Release. You can also get all 40 of my Best Value Wines and Top Rated Wines for red, white, rose, sparkling and dessert wines that encompass many price points, styles and regions. You can add my wine picks to your shopping list by clicking on [...]

We continue our discussion with Grant Burge or Grant Burge Wines Australia and his two wines the Summer Chardonnay and the Miamba Shiraz. Below you’ll also find reviews for two of the wines that we discussed. You can also watch part one of our conversation. 2010 Grant Burge Summers Chardonnay, Barossa Valley, Australia Love the [...]

In the video chat below, Grant Burge recounts his most memorable winemaking experiences, the difference that old vines make to the taste of a wine and the importance of a family-owned business that now has the fifth generation of winemakers coming to the fore with Grant and his wife Helen’s three children. We’ll post part [...]

Take a mid-week break with fast and delicious comfort food. Hectic work days. Long commutes. Multitasking half a dozen household crises. How can parents be expected to prepare something tasty in the precious little time they have between getting home and their children’s first cries of hunger? They can’t be – not without a little [...]