Our guest this evening is Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW). She herself became a Master of Wine (MW) in 1997. She is also selects all of the wines for the Opimian Society, Canada’s largest wine buying club. And she joins me live now from California: Welcome Jane Masters! P.S. Tune in here for our next Live Video Wine Tasting: www.nataliemaclean.com/live Click on the “Follow” and “Like” buttons on this Facebook page to get notified when we go live. We’ll be simultaneously broadcasting on Facebook Live, YouTube Live Stream and Twitter Live Video via Periscope. Watch previous […]
Author: Natalie MacLean
Wine + Chocolate Killer Combos: Valentine’s Day Video
In our second video chat above, Master Chocolatier Derrick Tu Tan Pho reveals more of his secrets for pairing wine and chocolate, especially for Valentine’s Day. He’s also designed some lovely chocolate creations, and suggests rosemary-infused chocolate with habanero sea salt as an aprodisiac that pairs amazingly well with prosciutto and cheese (and a bear skin rug in front of a blazing fireplace) … What are your tips on pairing solid chocolate with wine? How about chocolate with raspberry or blackberry filling? How about Valentine’s Day? Anything special for the chocolate versus chocolate we enjoy at other times […]
Video: Valentine’s Day Wine and Chocolate Pairings
In the video chat above, Master Chocolatier Derrick Tu Tan Pho shares his tips for pairing wine and chocolate for Valentine’s Day and any other time of the year when you want to indulge. He knows his sweet stuff having won gold at the Culinary Olympics in the categories of sugar, chocolate, wedding cakes and dessert presentation. How did you train for the culinary Olympics? Your secrets to making great chocolate? What is the strangest chocolate sculpture you’ve created? Tell me about some of your specialized tools for making chocolate: induction burners, ganache frames, guitars, robot-coupes, heat guns and […]
Liquor up Your Lover on Valentine’s Day
I’ll be chatting with the hosts of the CBC radio drive-home shows from coast to coast this Thursday and Friday about wines for Valentine’s Day. But we’re going to depart from the usual natter about which wines are most seductive or how to pair them with chocolate. We’ll go straight to the heart of the matter: how do you liquor up your lover on February 14? More specifically, we’ll talk about why wines are getting more alcoholic these days and how does that affect their taste and ours? Is this just a cultural trend of winemakers responding to the market? Is […]
Chocolate and Wine Pairings that will Surprise (and Seduce) Your Valentine
We paired wine and chocolate for Valentine’s Day the Sunday Sipper Club! You can watch our Live Video Wine Tasting above — click on the arrow to play. Join is for our next tasting this Sunday at 6 pm eastern right here: www.nataliemaclean.com/live Sip with you soon! In this second Facebook Live Video Wine Tasting above, we also chat about pairing wine with chocolate for Valentine’s Day. We’re joined by guest winemaker, David Guimaraen of Fonseca to help us get ready for the big day, as well by guests from Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut. If you’d like to read 140 comments […]
How Do You Become a Master Sommelier: Video with Elyse Lambert MS
Our guest this evening has not only earned the coveted Mater Sommelier designation, but she also was named Canada’s Best Sommelier and came fifth in the World’s Best Sommelier event. She has lots of tips and tricks for us when it comes to learning about and appreciating wine. … and she joins me live now from her home in Montreal: Welcome to the Sunday Sipper Club Elyse Lambert! If you’d like to read the comments for this tasting, or make a comment yourself, visit: https://www.facebook.com/natdecants/videos/10155749534974845/ Here’s a sampling of our lively discussion from our Elyse Lambert Video Chat: […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings January 20
You can access the 103 wines that I reviewed for as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for December 9. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two […]
Live Video Wine and Food Tasting: January 24
Join me for a live food and wine tasting on Wednesday, January 24 at 7 p.m. eastern. I’ll share with you three of my favourite pairings that may surprise you. Taste along with me to see if you agree. We’ll have an online poll at the end when you can vote for your top combo. This tasting will be hosted on Zoom, a video tool similar to Skype, but easier to use. Just login here on January 24: https://zoom.us/j/897555688 If you’ve not used Zoom Zoom before, you’ll be prompted to download the application. I’ll be there early to get […]
Importing Wine for Pleasure and Profit (Video)
Have you ever enjoyed a wine when you were traveling abroad say in Tuscany or Bordeaux, and wondered, how can I import a case of this when I get back home, especially when it’s not in the liquor store? And beyond importing wine for pleasure, what about for profit, whether it’s to save money on your purchases or to get into the business of being a wine importer? That’s exactly what we’re going to learn from our guest tonight, Charles Steven Trenholme. Steven Trenholme has been hosting the seminar Importing for Wine, Beer & Spirits For Pleasure & Profit, since […]
