On Sunday, 22 wine-loving, football-sacrificing souls (it was Grey Cup) gathered to taste more than 70 spectacular wines. Click on the arrow above to hear about Jennifer’s favourite wine from the tasting, a Chilean Carmenere with bright acidity, nice little spice, great for a wide variety of foods. Jennifer MacDonald Havers Wine Columnist, Ottawa Citizen Monique explains her reasons for picking Taittinger Champagne to toast her celebration events. Monique Ippolito Wine Columnist, Ottawa Living Magazine Craig’s take on Beringer Quantum […]
Author: Natalie MacLean
French Pizza Recipe Paired with Sauvignon Blanc
French Pizza with a Canadian Twist For me, the holiday season is all about getting together with loved ones and creating lasting memories while gathering around some delicious comfort food. There are a lot of comfort food dishes that can turn an ordinary get together into a memorable meet-up, but none quite like my favourite French Pizza with ham and asparagus. While inspired by our European friends, this recipe features mouth-watering Canadian Swiss and Brie Cheese that infuses an unmistakable taste of home. For a truly domestic holiday delight, pair with a light and fruity 2014 Inniskillin Sauvignon Blanc. Perfect […]
From Snout to Tailfeather: Wine Takes Wing in Niagara
Approaching Featherstone Winery, I can see a pepper storm of starlings flying over the vineyard. Husband and wife team David Johnson and Louise Engel have a passion for all things fowl. Before they became winemakers, they ran a gourmet poultry shop, selling tasty birds, from turkeys to quails. (That’s where the “feather comes from; the “stone” is the Niagara Escarpment.) However, those hungry starlings that feed on the ripening grapes are no friends of David and Louise. That’s why I’m going to meet their latest avian associate today, a Harris Hawk that’s trained to hunt those pesky birds. In 1989, […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings November 28
You can access the 168 wines that I reviewed for November 28 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for November 14, 2015. 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 […]
Panettone Brie Tower Recipe Paired with Merlot Wine
Panettone Brie Tower The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Holiday Entertaining Made Easy Can you feel that? It feels like the holidays are here. There is an exuberant amount of energy that surrounds us as people rush to finish last-minute shopping and prepare for their upcoming family festivities. It’s an exciting time of the year, and one that calls for a recipe that’s packed with pleasure and deliciously creamy Canadian Brie. Hopefully, this simply delicious recipe for Panettone Brie Tower will be the perfect little dinner party dessert idea. If you’re not familiar with Panettone, it’s a traditional Italian cake […]
Ferrari: Mountain Sparkling Wine of the Alps
Canada’s top wine writers and sommeliers gathered in the nation’s capital recently for an extraordinary tasting of Ferrari wines, Italy’s benchmark sparkling wine producer. Matteo Lunelli, president of Ferrari, explains in the video above how the Ferarri winery survived unscathed during World War II and out of that fortunate chaos, founder Giulio Ferrari discovered longer aged vintages. Click on the arrow to play the video. With the help of a slide show, Matteo shares the beauty of the countryside at Villa Margon. As well as being a wine growing area during the summer months, there is […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings November 14
You can access the 168 wines that I reviewed for November 14 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for October 31, 2015. 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 […]
Mac and Cheese Pizza Recipe Paired with Pinot Noir
Mac and Cheese Pizza What’s true comfort food? Hint: it involves the words “mac”, “cheese” and “pizza”. Say no more. Mac and Cheese is really having its moment. And, well, why wouldn’t it- it’s amazing! Take a break from take-out and whip up this mouth-watering and fun take on an old classic: Mac and Cheese Pizza. With cheesy grated Canadian Mozzarella, it’s sure to become a family favourite fast. Here are some excellent wine pairings to complement the melted Canadian mozzarella in the mac. The first is a medium-bodied Pinot Noir from Mission Hill Five Vineyards. It’s a beautifully complex […]
Pairing Wine with Balderson Cheese
The finest Ontario and British Columbia wines make the best marriages with various Balderson mild and aged cheddars. The cheese flatters the wine, and the wine mellows the cheese. The older the cheese, the more flavourful and intense the wine is needed to match it. The Cheddar Balderson Mild: a gentle, buttery cheese that would go well with a dry sparkling wine or a Sauvignon Blanc, unoaked Chardonnay or a dry rose. Avoid full-bodied reds with tannin or oak-aged Chardonnays whose flavour will overpower the cheese. The Wines Ontario: Chateau des Charmes Sauvignon Blanc British Columbia: Calona Private Reserve Semillon […]
Ruffino Wines: A Taste of Tuscan Life, Sun and Soil
Canada’s top wine writers and sommeliers gathered in the nation’s capital for an extraordinary tasting of Italian wines from Ruffino, a winery nestled in the heart of Tuscany. In the video above, Ruffino Global Brand Beppe d’Andrea shares the story on how, in 1861 Ruffino Ducale Riserva Chianti Classico got its name and how the term ‘Reserva’ came into being. Tania Thomas Wine Expert, Rogers Daytime Television It’s impossible to imagine Tuscan life to be anything but pure bliss. With all the fabulous food and wine, culture, history and art, it’s a place for living la dolce vita. We […]
