Magic Cream Cheese Macaroons Recipe Paired with Riesling

Magic Cream Cheese Macaroons Fall in Love with these Valentine’s Day Delights Love is in the air, and delicious treats are in the kitchen. If you’re looking for something to make for the one you love, or just some treats to bring into the office, I highly recommend these Magic Cream Cheese Macaroons. They’re a no-bake recipe, made with soft Canadian Cream Cheese and coconut (a delicious combination that go together as well as you and your Valentine… awwww!). Ok, so if you don’t have a Valentine, well these are the next best thing. Whether you’re coupled off or spending […]

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Super-Tasting Sunday: Wines to Get Your Game On

While millions watched the Superbowl yesterday, our crack team of Sommeliers gathered for a Super-Sunday Tasting of more than 70 wines, quarterbacking hundreds of wine reviews posted live on the site as well as shares on Twitter, Facebook and other social media. You can get the complete shopping list of these wines showing how many bottles are in stock at your closest liquor stores. Our next team tasting will be April 12. In the video above, Kristin Perrin, a Certified Sommelier who judges the Algonquin College Sommelier Program Service Exam, talks about her favourite wine of the tasting: Benjamin Bridge […]

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LCBO Wines on Sale: February 2015 Bargains and Best Buys

Sponsored Post by Philippe Dandurand Wine Agency You can get the complete shopping list of these wines in your closest liquor stores here.   Trapiche Reserve Syrah 2013  Argentina Regular Price: $11.95   Sale Price: $10.95  February 1 to February 28       [yellow tail] Shiraz 2013 New South Wales, Australia Regular Price: $23.75   Sale Price: $21.75  February 1 to February 28         HobNob Wine Company George Duboeuf Pinot Noir 2009 Languedoc, France Regular Price: $12.95   Sale Price: $11.95  February 1 to February 28       Yellow Tail Bubbles Sparkling Wine 2010 South Eastern Australia Regular […]

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Finding Your Sole-mate: Pairing Sparkling Wine and Seafood

By Melissa Pulvermacher The Vino Enthusiasts wine club is a gathering for people who appreciate wine and want to learn more about it. The group gets together to taste, pair and learn on a monthly basis. At the most recent wine club, the group drank sparkling wine paired with seafood to discover the array of types and how they all pair differently with food. The goal was to compare and contrast the most popular sparkling styles with local, Ontario options that are made and accessible in our own backyards. The food pairings included crab and goat-cheese crostini, lemon-butter calamari, salted […]

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Best LCBO Wine Reviews and Ratings: Vintages January 24

  You can access the 56 wines that I reviewed for January 24 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for January 10. 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 […]

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Sommelier Loves Pairing Wine with PEI Shellfish and Seafood

Lesley Quinn, Sommelier, Sim’s Corner Steakhouse and Oyster Bar in Charlottetown, PEI Was wine a part of your family’s meals when you were young? I grew up in a small farming community on Prince Edward Island, with two older brothers. Wine wasn’t a part of our meals at home. However, my mother worked in the tourism industry, and she was host to journalists from around the world. She’d take me with her to meals with them, and it was during one of those dinners, that I had my first sip of wine. Apparently, I described it as tasting like sour grape juice. What […]

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Warm Cheddar Pretzels Recipe Paired with Merlot

Cheddar Pretzels Find Comfort in the Cold And just like that, the holidays are over; they’re gone as fast as they came. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing else to look forward to this winter. It may be cold and snowy, but that means you can have fun sledding in the park and skiing. And the best part about that is: you get to have some après-skiing snacks. Like this yummy recipe for Cheddar Pretzels. They’re easy to make, and so, so delicious. Made with Canadian Medium Cheddar, they are the perfect salty, sharp, and savoury snack to warm you […]

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Best LCBO Wine Reviews and Ratings: Vintages January 10

    You can access the 76 wines that I reviewed for January 10 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for December 6. 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 […]

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A Wine Lover’s Guide to Becoming a Cheese Addict

I’ve decided. This year, 2015, will be the Year of the Big Cheese. My goal is to learn (almost) as much about cheese as I have about wine. However, wine has a head start of 17 years, thus the qualifier “almost.” This ambitious goal is not based on a great epiphany or even a Road to Damascus realization. However, I had a “come to cheeses” moment. Friends in Toronto sent me a gift box of artisanal cheeses from a local gourmet shop here in Ottawa called Jacobson’s for the holidays. I was fascinated with the various cheeses, and their similar […]

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How to Make New Year’s Sparkle with Great Wine?

ON CBC’s Alberta at Noon, we chat about why Champagne is the wine of celebration, not just to welcome the new year, but also to celebrate life’s other highlights. Listen to more chats about sparkling wines. Why is sparkling the most food-friendly wine on the planet? How did savvy product placement make champagne a luxury brand? How to best chill sparkling wine quickly?   Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine review site, recommends her favourite wines for New Year’s Eve and Day: Veuve Clicquot Non-Vintage Champagne Champagne A.C., France This classic, well-known Champagne is a traditional blend of Chardonnay, […]

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