Last night, we were joined by a special guest, Chef Massimo Capra, to chat about Italian wine and food pairings Join us on the Sunday Sipper Club, April 16 at 6 pm eastern (Toronto time) when we talk about Malbec. Tune in here for our Facebook Live Video Wine Tasting: www.nataliemaclean.com/live P.S. Click on the “Follow” and “Like” buttons on this page to get notified when we go live. You’ll find upcoming and past Live Tasting Videos here. If you’d like to read 74 comments for this tasting, or make a comment yourself, visit: https://www.facebook.com/natdecants/videos/10154975674214845/ Here’s a sampling of […]
Best Wines
Henry of Pelham Wine Tasting Reveals Deep Roots in Niagara
Jennifer MacDonald Havers Wine Columnist, Ottawa Citizen What a lovely opportunity to sit down with the Speck Brothers (well, two of three – Paul and Daniel) from Henry of Pelham winery to learn more about their family’s winemaking as well to taste across their portfolio of wines. Their Henry of Pelham portfolio is generally set up along three tiers; Classic, Estate, and the Speck Family Reserve. Photo by Jennifer MacDonald Havers By adhering to rigorous quality standards and keeping production at modest levels for the higher tier (Speck Brothers Reserve), the resulting high quality wines trickle down to […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings April 15
You can access the 124 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 April 1. 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 […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings April 1
You can access the 116 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 March 18. 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 […]
Versatile Vinho Verde: Spring Splendor in the Glass
Last night, we were joined by special guest, Pedro Costa, Head Winemaker of Aveleda Winery chatting about his Vinho Verde wines and why they’re such a great wine style for spring. This was actually a 2-part video series as I managed to melt down my computer’s CPU with multiple simultaneous broadcasting streams to Facebook Live, Twitter Live vis Periscope and YouTube Live Stream ;) You can watch part one above by clicking the arrow, then part two below. Cheers, Natalie Join us on the Sunday Sipper Club, April 9 at 6 pm eastern (Toronto time) with special guest Food Network […]
Plonk Wine Videos Stumble Blindly into Brilliant Insight
In his book How to Love Wine, New York Times wine columnist Eric Asimov observes: “I’m sometimes dismayed that sommeliers confuse their professional training with what consumers need to know to enjoy wine. We don’t need to know whether you can identify wines blind. “Those are just parlor games for professionals. I think that professionals, like sommeliers, need to be able to communicate with the public in a language that they understand and that they find useful.” When I tasted wines blind with Eric at the paper’s headquarters several years ago, he lived those words. The blind tasting was to […]
The Ancient Greeks Invented Invented Map Making — to Help You Find Their Wines
The ancient Greeks invented map making. They had to help people find their wines. As the third-most mountainous country in Europe, Greece’s distinct topography enables the cultivation of cool weather grapes in a warm weather climate, an unexpected attribute of Greek wines and their diverse terrior. But it can also make them hard to find. Hence, the need for maps. One of Greece’s greatest white wines comes from the Moschofilero (MOHS-koh-FEE-leh-roh) grape. If you’ve been looking for a dry Riesling but always find them too sweet, Moschofilero is for you. It has an aromatic, floral bouquet so its dryness will […]
The Ancient Greeks Invented Money — Thanks to Wine
The ancient Greeks invented money. Bring back the old days when wine was free. We don’t know who the individual was who first conceived of money, but we suspect it may have been a prescient winemaker who understood he could become rich and happy at the same time. It figures then, that if you go to some of the finest (and priciest) restaurants in the country, you’ll find wines made from the Assyrtiko (ahs-SEER-tee-koh) grape on their wine list. (British wine writer, Jancis Robinson, named Assyrtiko as the wine she would have if she could only have one.) Sign up […]
The Ancient Greeks Invented the Concept of Pairing Wine and Food Together
Last week in Toronto, I attended a terrific tasting of Greek wines, with more than 40 Greek wineries pouring more than 120 wines at the Royal Ontario Museum (thus the dino). According to the Greek embassy of economic and trade affairs, Greek wine exports to Canada are up 66% since 2010 and are also up 7.5 percent so far in 2017. Last night, we were joined by a special guest, Christina Boutari, North America Brand Ambassador of her family’s wines, to chat about them as well as the surprising changes in Greek wines. Join us on the Sunday […]
The Ancient Greeks Created the Idea of Pairing Wine and Culture
How lucky that wine and culture pair so well together Let us introduce you to wines made from the Xinomavro (ksee-NOH-mah-vroh) grape. These are wine lovers wines, for those who want to debate the great statues of ancient Grecian temples, or perhaps the writings of philosophers like Homer. Yes, it was Homer who famously said, “Sorry Marge. Some wise guy stuck a cork in the bottle.” (Same Homer, right?) Regarded by many as Greece’s best red wine, Xinomavro has many similarities to Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo producing a wine that has a nice amount of acidity. If you love wines from Burgundy […]
