Holidays and baking go together like, well, wine and cheese. The trick with Easter baking is to find new ideas to entice a crowd looking for a change from chocolate bunnies. Adding a bit of your favourite fine cheese to Easter brunch is a great way to please your guests, and this year why not add to the enticement by exploring some new varieties of fine Canadian cheese. The delicate taste and texture of bloomy-rind soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert suggest refinement with just enough decadence. And we’ve got the perfect recipe to showcase them. BLUEBERRY, LEMON AND […]
Month: March 2010
Globe & Mail says this wine app is the “clear winner”
We were thrilled to read the Globe & Mail’s analysis of wine apps in today’s paper! With thousands of apps to choose from, and new ones added daily, it’s incredible to just be reviewed these days let alone be picked as the clear winner. Our team intends to keep improving the app and adding new features based on our customers’ feedback. In a sense, this is already a crowd-sourced app with so many great ideas from wine and food lovers built into it based on their suggestions. We’ll be making some exciting announcements in the next few weeks, so […]
New Wine Reviews
Number of Wines Recommended: 51 Review date: April 3, 2010 The highlights in this Vintages release include: – 14 wines under $20 – Best value white: A zesty Italian Pinot Grigio for salads, chicken $12.95 – Favourite white: A buttery, balanced Niagara Chardonnay for roast chicken and corn dishes 90/100 – Best value red (tied): A black plum-rich Chilean CarArgentina red for lamb, sausage, hamburgers $13.95 – Best value red (tied): The ultimate tasty red party wine from Spain $13.95 – Favorite red: A top-notch California Cabernet for steak, brisket, lamb 92/100 – Best Value Dessert Wine: Apricot […]
Wine Show Know-How
It’s that time of year again – no, not spring – wine show season! OK, it is spring too, but we’re here to talk wine. Wine shows can be overwhelming – so much great wine – so little time. That’s why it’s important to have a plan of action. Now your plan should just be a plan – it isn’t carved in stone, but really more like a place to start. First – and this is a difficult realization – you must realize you will not be able to try every wine in the room. Even if you spit […]
New Wine Reviews
Number of Wines Recommended: 53 Review date: March 20, 2010 The highlights in this Vintages release include: – 19 wines under $20 – Best value white: Lime-fresh German Riesling for pork and shellfish $13.95 – Favourite white: A spectacular Niagara Chardonnay for cornish hen, lobster in butter 94/100 – Best value red (tied): Australian Shiraz with fleshy plums for prime rib and hamburgers $14.95 – Best value red (tied): Italian Primitivo (Zinfandel) with blackberry goodness and robust supple layers for pepperoni pizza $12.95 – Favourite red: Drop-dead Tuscan beauty with a finish that won’t stop 96/100 – Best Value Rosé: […]
The Holy Grail of Wine Apps: Scan & Ye Shall Find? Nope.
Ever since I launched my first wine mobile app last year, my readers have asked me if their smartphones could scan a bar code or label and voila, there’s all the information on the wine? It’s a lovely fantasy that both wine lovers and wine app developers share (what we used to call vapour-ware in the high-tech biz mostly used for demo and PR purposes). It’s just not a reality. However, I owe my readers a quick overview of the options, especially with the launch of my new mobile app a few weeks ago. As a double geek (wine and […]
South Africa’s Stellar Wines
Just back from a fantastic trip to South Africa, where I visited wineries in many of the major regions, including Stellenbosch, Hermanus, Robertson, Franschhoek, Durbanville and Paarl. I’ll be be posting my reviews of the wines I tasted over the next week or two. But in the meantime, here’s the complete list of the 44 wineries I visited/met with during my trip. Got a favourite South African wine? Amani Vineyards Boekenhoutskloof Bon Cap Boschendal Wines De Toren Delheim Bellingham Boschendal Bouchard Finlayson Creation Wines Durbanville Hills Fairview Flagstone Goats do Roam Graham Beck Hamilton Russell Vineyards Haut Espoir Kanonkop Estate […]
