You can access the 102 wines that I reviewed for October 11 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for September 27. 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 […]
Best Wines
Recipes from Wine Country: Warm Mushroom Salad with Reif Estate Cabernet Merlot
Warm Wild and Domestic Mushroom Salad Sponsored Post Falling for Cabernet Merlot Autumn is the perfect time for you to start living the Reifstyle, an ideal time to enjoy the bounty of the fall harvest with Reif Estate’s VQA wines. Chef Robin Howe from Wine Country Catering makes it easy with his warm mushroom salad that will pair expertly with a medium bodied rich red wine like Reif Estate Winery’s 2012 Cabernet Merlot. A perfectly balanced blend of two classic red Bordeaux varietals with black berry and sweet spiced oaky flavours on the palate. You can find this great recipe […]
Kim Crawford Wines: Small Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir
“Several Ottawa sommeliers and wine professionals, along with noted author Natalie MacLean, enjoyed a wine tasting luncheon October 4, with an informative presentation from Kim Crawford’s Chief Winemaker, Anthony Walkenhorst and a scrumptuous meal from Maxwell’s Bistro. We were treated to several of Kim Crawford’s finest wines and each plate was introduced by the chef. The New Zealand winery Kim Crawford was launched in 1996 with a virtual vineyard … the actual land for the vines came later! With an unusual start, and in a relatively short time, the winery has made New Zealand as famous for its wines as […]
Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Recipe Paired with Cheval Noir
Sponsored Post Pair this cool-weather recipe for Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken with the full-bodied Cheval Noir, a full-bodied, supple merlot from Bordeaux. Find this wine in your closest LCBO store now. Winemaker’s Notes: Cheval Noir has a fine, complex nose which combines ripe, red fruits with notes of grilled toast and spices. In the mouth it is rich, structured and powerful, perfectly balanced between fruit and tannins, with a long finish. TOTAL TIME: 45 MIN SERVINGS: 6 Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup dry bread crumbs 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon dried basil […]
How to Import Wine, Craft Beer, Spirits into Ontario
Industry veteran Steven Trenholme will guide you through the intricate process of importing & selling beverage alcohol in Ontario & Quebec. The morning will be focused on understanding the dynamics of the industry and have the know-how to organize private imports for your personal consumption. With this ‘taste’ of what is involved in importing beverage alcohol, you will have the fundamentals to embark on a new or part-time career as an importer. In the afternoon, Steven will highlight the various marketing and distribution channels available to agents in Ontario and Quebec including how to deal with the LCBO and SAQ […]
Canadian Wine Harvest 2014: BC, Ontario, Quebec, NS Winemakers Weigh In
Join us Friday morning on Global Television as we discuss how the Canadian wine harvest is going from coast to coast. In the meantime, here are reports from the field: winemakers from British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia give their impressions of how the 2014 harvest is looking so far. Tantalus Vineyards David Paterson, Winemaker, Tantalus Vineyards, British Columbia How is the 2014 harvest going so far? So far the 2014 harvest has been ideal. We are in the home stretch now and a couple more weeks of warm days and cool nights to finish off with will be […]
Why Do Restaurant Reviews Dismiss Wine?
Continued from Part 4: Steve Beckta Restaurant Tonight, though, there are no kids in the place; and the adults have moved beyond their starters to the main courses. In the kitchen, the first ripple hits the entrée station. Vardy, now standing between Fraser and cook J.P. Filion, tapes his wristwatch to the beam of his station. “How long you looking at Ross?” Vardy asks. “Five minutes,” Fraser replies. He’s searing foie gras, which will be topped with a caramelized blini made by Filion and then Vardy will finish them both with apple butter. In minutes Fraser and Filion contribute their […]
Win a Cooking Lesson with Top Chef Canada and Wolf Blass Wine Tasting
Sponsored Post Want to cook one-on-one with a Top Chef Canada and attend a wine tasting event with lots of terrific Australian wines from Wolf Blass? You could win: Enter now! One winner from Ontario and one winner from Western Canada will get a celebrity chef experience with Top Chef Canada winner Matthew Stowe, consisting of a cooking lesson with Matthew and tickets to an exclusive Wolf Blass event. Top Chef Tested Recipes Braised Beef Short Rib with Celeriac Purée and Red Wine Jus Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Sautéed Granny Smith Apples, Toasted Hazelnuts, Parmesan Foam Get the Recipes […]
Nicolas Catena: Argentina’s Wine Laureate
This morning, I’m driving to the Bodega Catena Zapata, the winery that changed my opinion of Argentine wine. I remember drinking a Catena red wine one night at a friend’s house and guessing that it was Australian Shiraz. My body hummed with contentment as I let myself down into its berry-decadence. I was pleasantly surprised to find out what it was, and started buying more Malbec. Now, as I follow the long gravel road, a space-age stone temple rises from the vines, framed against the Andes silver peaks. This extravagant architectural statement is the concrete gesture of one man’s desire […]
First Argentine Wine: Malbec Calling Catena
Continued from Part 1 of Catena Wine That robust work ethic has been in the Catena family for generations. In 1898, his grandfather Nicola left a small village in Sicily for Argentina. He started planting vines in 1902 and raised a family. His eldest son, Domingo, married Angelica Zapata, a daughter of a large land owner, increasing the family’s holdings. By 1973, the winery had become the country’s largest producer of cheap wines, pumping out 240 million bottles a year. Nicolás, the son of Domingo and Angelica, was a brilliant boy and finished high school at 15. At the request […]
