January is when many of us try to cut back on alcohol after holiday indulgences. It is the month when calendars are clean, intentions are pure, and the recycling bin is still judging us quietly from the curb. So today we’re building the ultimate Dry January Survival Kit, with low- and no-alcohol options. Who better to help us than our favourite drinks expert Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest drinks review site at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome, Natalie. Great to be back with you! As we put together a collection of foolproof low-proof drinks, we’re going to play […]
Author: Natalie MacLean
Sediment and Silicon: Five Futures Wine Writers Don’t See Coming
By Natalie MacLean I recently argued that the wine writing conversation has been too focused on whether AI can describe aromas convincingly. That piece covered five larger shifts happening now. The following five are more quietly threatening, structurally unsettling, and in at least one respect, genuinely exciting. 1. The Digital Twin Critic Wine writing has always had ancestors: André Simon, Pamela Vandyke Price, Alexis Lichine. Their language, standards, and quirks live on in the prose of those who followed. AI can now make that inheritance literal. By training on the complete published output of a previous critic, an AI […]
How Do You Create A Successful International Wine Brand? Nam Stanley Tells The Story of Solicantus
Introduction What goes into creating a successful international wine brand that tells a story before the bottle is even opened? What does it look like to build a young wine brand vintage by vintage? What makes Bordeaux such a hard place to break into as an outsider? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Namratha Stanley, author of the new memoir Vineyard Melody. You can find the wines we discussed here. Giveaway Three of you are going to win a copy of Namratha Stanley’s terrific new book, Vineyard Melody: How One Woman Rebuilt Her Life, […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings: January 24, 2026
You can access the wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. 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. You can also see my wine reviews for January 10th These are just some of the benefits of supporting our wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Curious about […]
How is Namratha’s “Vineyard Melody” memoir the wine version of Eat, Pray, Love?
Introduction How can a wine story rooted in darkness leave you feeling hopeful about your life? Why is France such a symbol of freedom, possibility and reinvention for her? How can discovering France through art, cinema, and wine become an escape into a completely different world? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Namratha Stanley, author of Vineyard Melody: How One Woman Rebuilt Her Life, One Grape At A Time. You can find the wines we discussed here. Giveaway Three of you are going to win a copy of Namratha Stanely’s terrific new book, Vineyard Melody: […]
The Ghost in the Glass: Five Ways AI Is Rewriting the Story of Wine
By Natalie MacLean I remember the hum of server rooms at the supercomputer company now the headquarters of Google. When I joined the wine industry twenty-five years ago, I thought I was leaving a binary world for a visceral one. I wanted the harvest heat, the fudgy soil, the cool zip of Riesling on my tongue. Now silicon has caught up to the soil. Wine writing has always been a strange translation. You taste a changing liquid then try to trap it in words. Critics have spent centuries arguing about whether that translation is possible. AI has shifted the argument. […]
Why Do Some Non-Alcoholic Wines Keep Their Fruity Aromas While Others Lose Everything?
Introduction How did winemakers first figure out how to remove alcohol from wine without destroying it? Why is it so difficult to perfect the flavours and aromas in wine once the alcohol is removed? Why do some non-alcoholic wines keep their fruity aromas while others seem to lose everything? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Dr Wes Pearson, a senior research scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide. You can find the wines we discussed here. Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings: January 10, 2026
You can access the wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. 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. You can also see my wine reviews for December 20th These are just some of the benefits of supporting our wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Curious about what […]
How to Survive (and Thrive) This Dry January: Wines That Make it a Breeze
As we kick off the new year, many of us are looking to make healthier choices. There’s a growing trend called Dry-ish January for those who want to moderate their alcohol intake without giving up on flavour. Joining us today is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome, Natalie! Great to be back with you! I’m excited to share these wines that prove less can be more with wines of elegance rather than power. How big is this trend? Market research shows that 46% of Gen Z […]
Wes Pearson: What Happens When the World’s Most Expensive Wines Are Tasted Blind
Introduction What really happens when the world’s most expensive wines are tasted blind, without their labels or reputations? Why is the Len Evans Tutorial considered such a valuable experience in the wine world? How did Grenache go from a filler grape to one that producers take seriously? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Dr Wes Pearson, a senior research scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide. You can find the wines we discussed here. Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at […]
