The other Easter classic, roasted or grilled lamb, is one of the easiest foods to pair with wine. Juicier in texture than turkey, milder in flavor than beef, the classic match for its savory flavors are the cabernet sauvignon blends of Bordeaux. But many dry and robust reds will also work, such as Spanish rioja and Rhône Valley syrah blends. Also good matches are the lush, fruity cabernets from New World regions, such as California, Chile, Canada and Australia. However, with more succulently prepared lamb dishes, many people prefer the more austere, restrained flavors of Old World reds. In fact, […]
Author: Natalie MacLean
Canadian Havarti and Zucchini Stacks Recipe with Chardonnay or Cabernet Franc
Spring Appetizers for All Spring is definitely in full bloom. It brings a smile to my face to see people finally coming out of hibernation and spending more time together, which makes hosting a spring gathering a great idea. If you’re like me and want to invite some friends over to usher in the warmer weather, I have the most delicious recipe for you to try. Every time I make these Canadian Havarti and Zucchini Stacks I receive tons of compliments on them – the melted Havarti is absolutely mouthwatering and perfectly complements the sweetness of the baked zucchini slices. […]
Pairing Wine with Blue Cheese, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Benedictin
The most difficult cheeses to pair with wine are blue cheeses, as their strong taste and powerful saltiness tends to make red wine taste bitter and hot. Salt accentuates many aspects of food, including its flavor, and that’s usually a good thing. However, it can also intensify both tannins and alcohol. The best foil for salt is sweet, so avoid dry and off-dry wines and go straight for the sweeter ones: late-harvest chenin blanc, gewürztraminer, and riesling all have the required richness and flavor. Better still is the French dessert wine sauternes, made from grapes that are attacked by a […]
Pairing Wine with Cheddar Cheese, Parmigiano, Beaufort, Gruyere
Most of the wine and cheese pairing tips I’ve shared so far may make it sound as though lovers of full-bodied red wines are out of luck when it comes to cheese. However, the longer a cheese ages and ripens, the higher its concentration of butterfat, the stronger its flavors become, and the greater likelihood it can hold its own against a robust red. Hard cheeses, such as gruyère, cheddar, beaufort, and parmigiano become not just stronger but also more balanced in terms of their flavors, salt, and acidity. Their flavors even mimic some of those in mature, full-bodied reds, […]
Pairing Wine and Brie or Camembert Cheese
You Can Never be Too Rich or Too Creamy By Natalie MacLean Double- and triple-cream cheeses are tough to match with wine because their creamy texture can smother wine and make it taste thin. But who can resist a rich brie, its white lava oozing onto your baguette and its creamy aromas blooming in your mouth? A good match is a robust white, such as a barrel-fermented or barrel-aged chardonnay that has undergone a malolactic fermentation from California, Chile or Australia. Such wines have aromas of vanilla, smoke, toast, and various woods, such as cedar, oak, or pine. Both the […]
Pairing Wine and Goat Cheese and Mozzarella
The Unbearable Lightness of Fresh Cheese By Natalie MacLean Fresh and semi-fresh cheeses, such as mozzarella and goat cheese pair with wine well, and are the easiest of cheese styles to pair with wine as their flavours are mild. They go especially well with light white wines, of 12 percent or less alcohol, that have bright notes of fruit and crisp acidity, such as riesling, sauvignon blanc, and pinot grigio. Tip: If you’re not sure about a wine’s acidity, check the label or tasting note for descriptors such as green apple, lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit. The classic match of […]
Cheese and Wine Pairing Tips: From Brie to Blue
Few things go together as naturally, simply and deliciously as wine and cheese. The question is, what kind of wine? And what kind of cheese? Pairing the two is more complex than you might think. “No rules apply because we all taste things differently,” says Alice Spurrell, owner of Les Amis du Fromage cheese shops in Vancouver as well as the cheese-themed restaurant Au Petit Chavignol. “The best thing is to be adventurous and just try a cheese with a wine. You want a good taste in your mouth. And the only way to discover that is to put them […]
Wine and Cheese Matching to Maximize Pleasure
How do you marry cheese and wine? As with any hopeful pairing, a little counseling never hurts. “I always think you should drink what you like and eat what you like and put them together in ways that create the most pleasure for you,” says Natalie MacLean, a wine expert who wrote Unquenchable and Red, White and Drunk All Over. “But I wouldn’t have a job if I didn’t give more guidelines for which wines work better with certain cheeses.” Among useful features on her website, nataliemaclean.com, is the Wine & Food Matcher, which allows you to select a food […]
The Rising Green Tide of Sustainable Viticulture and Eco-Centric Winemaking
Trending words like sustainable viticulture, eco-centric winemaking, biodynamic and organic wines, and that old chestnut, environmentally-friendly grape farming, are all sprinkled as liberally as compost on wine blogs, labels, and most recently, the LCBO Vintages Magazine. They’re all part of a growing trend that looks at wine holistically, though of course, there’s also a certain amount of natural barnyard marketing here ;) Regardless, it’s a good thing. Sustainable viticulture can include everything from LEEDS-certified buildings like Stratus Vineyards in Niagara, which recycles gray water; to lighter bottles that meet the Lightweight Glass Wine Standard of 420 grams. Those wineries don’t […]
5 Tips to Shop LCBO Vintages + 5 Reasons to Love a Product Consultant
Remember when buying wine at the LCBO and other liquor stores was like buying drugs? Wines weren’t displayed – they were kept instead behind locked doors. You chose from a bleak list of product codes on a blackboard and waited for someone to return with your bottle already wrapped in brown paper from the back storeroom. Today, the Vintages section of the LCBO is often tucked away in the back of the store, much like the adult section of video stores. However, it’s not meant to hide the elicit juice from us. Rather it recognizes that tried-and-true, everyday wine […]
