9 Best Wines to Pair with Holiday Turkey Dinner (Video)

The holidays are right around the corner. So here with her tips to make your holiday entertaining a breeze is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com.   What’s your first tip? Keep it simple. I’m not sure why many of us turn into frantic mini-Martha Stewarts at this time of this year, wanting everything to be perfectly matching, preparing everyone’s side dish, stocking our cellars with more wine than we could possibly drink in a month, but we do. So take a breath, relax and start with bubbly. Sparkling wine is a great aperitif […]

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Pairing Wine and Halloween Treats (Video)

Lots of laughs on CTV’s The Social this week! The hosts chose the theme of a Royal Halloween, so Lainey dressed as Prince George, Cyn was Daenerys from Game of Thrones, Mel was Megan Markle and Marci was Queen Ramonda from the Black Panther movie. I channeled my inner (royal) wine witch and brought my broom shtick to the show. What a hoot we had together! Here are the tips, tricks and wines we discussed … Something a bit scary happens on Halloween: we’re surrounded by lots of treats, but will they pair well with our wine? Here, with some […]

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Haunting Wines for Halloween Treats and Pairings that Won’t Spook You

In our latest Facebook Live Video chat, we pair wines with Halloween treats.     If you’d like to read the 140 comments, or make a comment yourself visit the link to this video here.   You’ll find the most recent live video wine tasting at the top of the Facebook timeline here: www.facebook.com/natdecants We used to taste every Sunday evening at 6 pm eastern. You can add us to your calendar to be notified of the next tasting and grab a glass of wine! Click on Follow, Like and Signup on my Facebook Page to get notified when we go […]

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The 11 Best Wines for Easter and Passover This Year

Easter and Passover are right around the corner. That means it’s time for traditional holiday favorites like roast lamb and chocolate bunnies. But what are the best wines to pair with your celebrations? Wine expert Natalie MacLean is here with some tips.   So when it comes to chocolate we need to have wine that’s sweeter, if we don’t do that, the wine will taste bitter by comparison. So the number one pick that I recommend for chocolate is port. I love a good tawny port like this one. It’s a fortified wine, meaning it has higher alcohol, so it’s […]

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Icewine and Chocolate Pairing Video

In this second video chat, Karen King talks about pairing icewine with chocolate as well as being on the CBC TV show The Big Decision. You can also see the Icewine cocktails we discussed in part one of our conversation …   Blue Cheese and White Wine Pairing: Video Part 3 Building a Persuasive Wine Brand: Arlene Dickinson Restaurant Wine Service: The good, the bad and the ugly with Scott Carney, MS See all wine video chats here.       Icewine and Chocolate Pairing Video Natalie: We’re back with Karen King of The Ice House. We’re talking about her ice […]

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8 Perfect Gift Wines and Spirits for Your Holiday List (Video)

As the holidays approach, we look forward to entertaining friends and family. Here with her tips and sips is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com.   What’s a good drink to serve to guests when they arrive?   Sparkling wine is the drink of celebration, especially at this time of year. I’d recommend these two:           Queenston Mile Brut Blanc de Noirs St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada                     Cupcake Vineyards Prosecco Veneto D.O.C., Italy         […]

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Holiday Wines and Spirits Plus Hosting Tips (Video)

As the holidays approach, we look forward to entertaining friends and family. On CTV’s Your Morning we chat about terrific wines and spirits for the holidays.   Welcome Natalie.   What’s a good drink to serve to guests when they arrive?   Sparkling wine is the drink of celebration, especially at this time of year. I’d recommend two from Nova Scotia:         Avondale Sky Winery Benediction Sparkling Wine Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada                   Blomidon Crémant Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada         Both are zesty and […]

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How to Pair Wine and Chocolate with Chocolate Sommelier Roxanne Browning

Introduction Where can you find the best chocolate? What’s the difference between candy and real chocolate? How can you pair wine and chocolate? What does Fair Trade mean and what should you look out for? Where can you find the best chocolate? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with New York Chocolate Sommelier Roxanne Browning. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Highlights Why should you consider a trip to the Ecuadorian rainforest? What parallels can you find between wine and chocolate? In which regions can you find the best quality cacao? What […]

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Video: How to Pair Wine + Quarantine Snacks

Anyone can pair a juicy steak with a Cabernet, but which wines should we drink with our favourite quarantine snacks?   On Global Television’s Morning Show, I share my insider tips: What’s the key in terms of flavour, pairing a snack and a wine? Do you want opposite flavour profiles or similar? (ie: creamy snack, creamy wine or creamy snack, acidic wine)? What’s one important thing that people tend to forget when they pick a wine/snack pairing?   Okay, let’s dive into these pairings! Which wine do you suggest pairing with pretzels and why?             […]

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Thanksgiving Wines, Mouse Wine Defect, Trends to Ignore

Introduction For those of us in Canada, Thanksgiving is this weekend. In my opinion, there is no other holiday that celebrates the gift of wine like Thanksgiving. Wine is a taste of the harvest, along with all the delicious dishes on the table. But actually choosing a bottle can feel like a thankless task, especially with so many flavours to match. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving, perhaps in November if you’re American? On today’s episode of Unreserved Wine Talk,  I’ll be chatting with you about how to pair wine with Thanksgiving turkey and all the side dishes, as well as the […]

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