Is there a big difference between a $10 and a $30 wine? How can you find good but affordable wines in the liquor store? The Link, CBC Radio

How do you find wines that are affordable, but still delicious and not too corporate or homogenized? Is there really a big difference in quality and taste between a $10 and a $30 wine? Does your ability to taste diminish as you get older? How can you become a better wine taster? Marc and I chat about these and tips on how to find these wines in the liquor store.

read more …

Read More

A First Rate Writer, With a Warm, Engaging Style… Compulsively Readable – Gerald Asher

Gerald Asher is my favourite wine writer: elegant and effortless in his prose. In 1974, the French government awarded him the Order of the Mérite Agricole, France’s oldest Civil Award, and in 2009 he was inducted into California’s Vintners’ Hall of Fame. His books, drawn mainly from his columns in Gourmet Magazine, for which he was the wine editor for 30 years, include On Wine, Wine Journal, Vineyard Tales, and The Pleasures of Wine. These are his thoughts on Unquenchable … Natalie MacLean is a first rate writer, with a warm, engaging style.  Her interviews are excellent: she captures the […]

read more …

Read More

An Engaging Style That Makes the Book Fun to Read – San Jose Mercury News

The end of the year always brings flurries of new wine books, many of which are destined to become gifts for some wine lover. Two topics are getting a lot of attention this year: budget wines, and the tension between technology and “naturalness” in winemaking. For a view of “budget” wine, there’s “Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines” by Natalie MacLean. Her book is arranged by days of the week, with each day representing a region of the world. The Australia chapter (Sunday) focuses most of its attention on Penfolds and Henschke. Each chapter ends with […]

read more …

Read More

Restaurant Wine Lists: Choosing Wines, Sommeliers, Fair Markups – The Restaurant Guys Radio Show

I chat with radio hosts Mark and Francis about restaurant wine lists, from advice on how to choose wines from a list to whether the markups are fair. We also cover a wide variety of other wine topics, including how do you earn a living from wine writing and the new book Unquenchable to shopping for wine with mobile apps and the power of social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, for finding new wines you love.

read more …

Read More

Champagne Guide: Styles, Sweetness, Quality, Food Matches and Differences from Other Sparkling Wines

While most people still reserve a glass of Champagne or sparkling wine for New Year’s Eve and the occasional toast while out for dinner, you really don’t need a formal reason to pour yourself a glass of bubbly.  In fact, Champagne is one of the most food friendly wines available and I encourage you to sip bubbles just for the shear pleasure of the experience. Sparkling wine is made throughout the world but the name Champagne is reserved only for the wines from France’s chilly northern wine making region of the same name.   The following guide will clarify a few […]

read more …

Read More

Book Filled with Humorous Character Sketches and Mouth-Watering Descriptions – The Suburban Magazine

Traipsing around the world sampling the finest wines each region has to offer is the burden Natalie MacLean has chosen for herself — an unlikely career for a Nova Scotia-bred, Ottawa-based wine writer who didn’t grow up drinking  the nectar of the gods. “It was beer and whiskey on the table,” says MacLean, adding that she only began tasting the stuff in graduate school when she met her husband. “We started going out for dinner and he would order a bottle of wine and it was unlike anything else. Wine just held this fascination for me and I thought I […]

read more …

Read More

If you do consider going to any of the seven regions covered in MacLean’s book, you would be foolish to leave home without her – The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Did you ever want to take a trip to wine country with an expert who could not only give you background on what you were tasting and how it was made, but is also loads of fun and not afraid to tip back a few glasses of wine with you? Well, Natalie MacLean isn’t giving any tours, but in her book, Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines, you get to see many of the world’s great wine region’s through her thoroughly mischievous eyes. Unquenchable is the follow-up to Red, White and Drunk All Over, which chronicled […]

read more …

Read More

Great Insider Tips on Wine – Sympatico.ca

‘Tis the season for feasts, treats and wine tasting. Here are some of our top picks for the food or wine lover on your list. Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines by Natalie MacLean Good food requires that perfect bottle of wine! With this in mind, Canadian award-winning author Natalie MacLean journeys to the vineyards of Germany, Australia, and Niagara — as well as to scenic, offbeat locations in southern Italy, the Mediterranean, Argentina, Chile and South Africa — all in search of the best bargain bottles the world has to offer. Along the way, Natalie […]

read more …

Read More

This timeless book is full of insider tips, hilarious humor, adventures, funny stories and key tips on how to locate wines with the best value – Culture Vulture Victoria Magazine

This holiday season give a book to your favorite wine, spirits or culinary lover: Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest For The World’s Best Bargain Wines by Natalie MacLean. This timeless book is full of insider tips, hilarious humor, adventures, funny stories and key tips on how to locate wines with the best value. MacLean takes her readers on a wine journey to eight of the world’s best winemaking regions using her palate and smart wit. With each region she suggests a wine for each night of the week. The goal of this book is to “demystify wine price in relation to […]

read more …

Read More