Looking for some wine advice for Thanksgiving? Or any part of the holiday season? Check out Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines now in paperback. In it, sommelier and award-winning wine writer Natalie MacLean shares her expertise to reveal wines that aren’t commonly considered but that many will find stunning. Basically, these wines are affordable because demand doesn’t drive up their prices. Argentinean Malbec, for example, doesn’t have the cachet or brand awareness of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, so producers have to compete aggressively on price. Its flavor falls somewhere between the two noble red grapes. […]
Month: November 2012
Iconic Voices in Unquenchable – Fairmont Magazine
Meet top authors as part of the Random House Iconic Voices series at select Fairmont Hotels, including Natalie MacLean (Unquenchable: a Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines) and Clarissa Dickson Wright (A History of English Food). You can read more reviews of my new wine book Unquenchable here.
Coyote’s Run Winery: Two Soils, Two Styles, Many Fans
By Susan Desjardins Coyote is the trickster in much native American mythology, known for inventiveness and creating mischief. This adaptable creature can still be seen through the vineyards of Coyote’s Run Estate Winery, and is a fine namesake for co-owner Jeff Aubry, who has reinvented himself from a soldier to high-tech engineer and now to winery owner, and admits, “Sometimes I’m serious, sometimes I’m a goof!” A tour of Europe with a group of university buddies introduced Jeff to fine wines and activated the dream of someday opening his own winery. Fast forward . . . the intervention of a […]
Women’s Executive Network Wine Tasting
I’m looking forward to hosting a wine tasting at the Women’s Executive Network Summit on Wednesday. More than 500 power drinkers … should be fun! Here are the speakers throughout the summit … an inspiring group of women and topics. Canada’s Most Powerful Women Summit Speakers Arlene Dickinson CEO & Owner Venture Communications Arlene Dickinson is a judge on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, the television phenomenon that has ignited a national conversation about entrepreneurs in Canada. Dickinson — aggressive but fair, kind but practical, serious but fun — is the show’s marketing expert, its lone female judge, and one of […]
How to Taste Wine in 5 Steps Video
In this video, I read a few short sections from Unquenchable, including the parts about meeting Wolf Blass in Australia and Charles Back in South Africa. We also do a quick wine tasting with the 5 steps to tasting wine. It’s tongue-in-cheek but will give you the basics for getting more from each glass. What’s your favourite wine for tasting, or drinking? You can also watch a shorter wine video of the Airmiles Gold event at Willow Park Wine & Spirits. 10801 Bonaventure Dr SE Calgary, Alberta T2J 6Z8 Phone: 403.296.1640 http://willowpark.net
Alamos Viognier, Jackson Triggs Delaine Syrah, De Bortoli Noble One: Top LCBO Wines Vintages Release December 8
Here are my top picks from the December 8 Vintages Release. You can also get all 94 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 the little shopping cart icon. You can also create a custom list just for this release that will be saved in your account. Print a text-only version of the reviews. Alamos Viognier 2011, Mendoza, Argentina Lovely and aromatic with rose petal, lily […]
Italian Wine Tasting with Airmiles at Willow Park Wine & Spirits
It was a spectacular evening of Italian wine and food this past weekend at Willow Park Wine & Spirits in Calgary, Canada’s largest wine store. More than 450 Airmiles Gold Members came out for two evenings, the largest wine and food events that Airmiles has ever hosted. Here’s a short clip from the evening. We’ll post the longer version tomorrow. Below are the wines we tasted… Barone Ricasoli Rocca Guicciarda Riserva Chianti Classico 2007, Tuscany, Italy Generous, even and balanced with classic dark fruit, sun-dried tomato and mouth-watering acidity. Medium- to full-bodied with smooth texture. Perfect for […]
Southern Ontario Sommelier Alliance Picks Best Ontario Wines
There are some incredibly fascinating insights about the Ontario wine industry in this new report from the Southern Ontario Sommelier Alliance (SOSA), published exclusively here first. The top sommeliers working in Ontario’s most respected fine dining restaurants provide their opinions on the best wines in Ontario. Is your favourite wine here? If you buy wine, read on to create your insider shopping list. If you make wine, review this report to see what the top influencers are saying about your wines.This expert guide sets the bar high and the provincial wine industry is up to the challenge. Winner of the […]
First Wine Competition: Southern Ontario Sommelier Alliance
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the Southern Ontario Sommelier Alliance as well as how the competition was organized and the scoring system. I must say that I was impressed with the level of professionalism and thorough evaluation of the wines involved. Read the results of the wine competition here. I look forward to more great initiatives from this group that will support the Ontario wine industry. What would you like to see this group do? What Is SOSA? SOSA is, the Southern Ontario Sommelier Alliance. We are a group of Certified Sommeliers, educated in Ontario, certified by both the Canadian […]
Okanagan Wineries Offer Great Value and Style
By Susan Desjardins A trip to the Okanagan is always an opportunity to explore familiar and newly established wineries. And that’s exactly what we did in October this year. Tinhorn Creek Vineyards now showcases not only their wonderful wines crafted by winemaker Sandra Oldfield (“She’s been here since the beginning, 16 years ago,” said Jerralynn at the tasting bar) but also the recently ensconced restaurant, Miradoro. The restaurant flies out from the ridge, soaring over the south Okanagan valley like a bird on the wing. And the offerings to be found on the menu don’t disappoint. We enjoyed the rich […]
