There’s no question that warehouse clubs offer great prices — for some products, they’re unbeatable. But in other cases, the urge to save could end up costing you. As most penny-pinching consumers know, joining a warehouse club can result in great deals on everything from 46-inch flat-screen TVs to 12-packs of chicken-noodle soup. But that doesn’t mean every product in the rustic aisles of BJ’s, Sam’s Club or Costco is a steal. “You could make the argument that everything in the building is a good deal,” says Michael Clayman, the editor of Warehouse Club Focus, a trade publication. Clubs make […]
Month: March 2011
Clam Chowder & Wine
Whether your idea of clam chowder is Boston’s bowl of creamy goodness, Manhattan’s tomatoey brine or Connecticut’s vibrant clear broth, team this classic dish with a glass of chilled white wine. A white wine will give you the refreshing crispness to stand up to the full-throttled clam flavor, while a sense of fruitiness—a touch of sweetness, even—will flatter the chowder’s innate saltiness. The one variable that may change is the wine’s weight or profile, as noted by Natalie Maclean, the Canadian wine writer who offers food and wine pairing suggestions on her Web site, nataliemaclean.com. “Clam chowders in a clear […]
Ottawa Wine Scene
Ottawa has become a city with a passion for the grape. You see it in the growing number of restaurants offering menus and special dinners paired with wine and the longer wine lists at even small eateries. A record crowd — 26,000 last year — is expected to attend next week’s annual Ottawa Food and Wine Show. “I don’t know of one new restaurant that doesn’t have a sommelier and the intention to make wine a major part of what it offers,” says Victor Harradine, director of partnerships and outreach for Algonquin College’s sommelier certificate program. Indeed, it’s that program […]
Israel
In 1967, Barry Saslove was watching television at his parents’ house in Ottawa, saw the news about the Six Day War and then hopped on a plane to Israel. Or, as he explains it as he uncorks a few bottles at his upper Galilee winery: “When I turned 19, the war had just begun. I went to volunteer and I stayed. And here I live and here I want to be.” Another thing he wanted to be was a vintner. After decades spent in what he describes as the “soul-sapping” computer industry, Mr. Saslove started holding wine-appreciation courses in the […]
Picnic Wines
September brings us the last days of summer and the year’s final opportunity for sun-drenched picnics. But how do we choose a suitable wine to ease us out of fancy-free summer and into the formality of fall? Why not go regional or, at least, Canadian? You’ll cut down on the greenhouse gas emissions required to transport the wine, and you’ll support our growers and producers. Local Pairings “Three of my favourite picnic wines are Niagara Rieslings from Henry of Pelham, Strewn, and Vineland Estates,” says Ottawa wine expert Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over and a […]
Doughnuts & Wine
That ever-puzzling question of what wine to drink with a chocolate doughnut or two is settled at www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher, where you will find an easy-to-use tool that pairs wines with just about any dish from chicken-feta tostadas to Jell-O. At this award-winning site you also can sign up for Nat Decants, sommelier Natalie MacLean’s free monthly newsletter. And you can access her basic-level wine glossary. But to end the suspense – and tossing coffee aside – the beverage for chocolate doughnuts is either a Banyuls, which is a fortified wine from southern France, or a tawny port. Natalie MacLean is author […]
Chicken Wings & Wine
Chicken wings, no matter how they’re prepared, are among the simplest but memorable pleasures of life. Be sure to mark the occasion with a glass of wine. Wine? Well, yes. Beer may be the traditional choice for wings, especially those sauced up in classic Buffalo style. With a little bit of experimentation, though, you can find just the right wine for whatever type of wings you are serving—even the honey barbecue wings used in Good Eating’s tasting. Natalie MacLean, author of “Red, White and Drunk All Over,” recommends an off-dry riesling or a fruity merlot with honey barbecue wings. “The […]
Pinot Blanc
Finding only two domestic pinot blanc brands, one from Oregon and the other from Long Island, sitting ignored on the very bottom shelf of the “other whites” section at Sam’s Wines & Spirits’ Marcey Street store underscored visually just how below-the-radar this grape variety remains. Oz Clarke, the British wine writer, once famously compared pinot blanc to Cinderella because the grape variety always seems overshadowed by other grapes. Certainly that is the case here in the U.S., where pinot blanc is snubbed. Too bad, because pinot blanc can have a lively acidity, a refreshing crispness and appealing body. “It is […]
Bargain Wines
Forget about having Champagne tastes on a beer-lover’s budget. Costs for almost every step or ingredient used in alcohol production are on the rise, from the price of malting barley for beer to the fuel costs associated with importing foreign wines, says Ilhan Geckil, a senior consultant with Anderson Economic Group, a Chicago-based research firm. And, thanks to consolidation, those rising costs are getting passed onto consumers more quickly. “If two companies represent 80% of the U.S. beer market, that makes it easier for them to put pressure on market prices,” he explains. In addition to high fuel costs, here […]
Fast Food & Wine
A bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken suits Natalie MacLean just fine, thank you. It creates a challenge to do what she does best — pairing wines with food. This internationally renowned wine aficionado and expert admits without abashment that she can’t cook. “But I’ve learned how to compensate for my lack of cooking skills by matching wines with every kind of meal, including fast food,” says MacLean. She and her family indulge in all sorts of ready prepared foods from dining out, takeout, TV dinners and deli stuff to canned beans and “even our son’s mac and cheese, which by […]
