By Jessica Yadegaran For someone who grew up in a whiskey-drinking Scottish family, Natalie MacLean has come a long way in wine. Today, the Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Award winner is Canada’s answer to Jancis Robinson. She is a critic who writes about wine with humor and contagious passion. She counts Kermit Lynch, Rex Pickett and Gary Vaynerchuk among her fans. Her best-selling books, “Red, White, and Drunk All Over” (Bloomsbury, 2007) and “Unquenchable” (Perigee, 2011), share tips on hunting the world’s best bargain wines. But these days, MacLean’s website, which she launched in 2000, is a go-to […]
Best Wines
10 Best Sangiovese Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Sangiovese
Did you know that the Latin name for Sangiovese, Sanguis Jovis (San Gioveto), translates to “blood of Jove or Jupiter”? The first written reference to the grape was in 1722. You’ll find my Top 10 Sangiovese reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Sangiovese: 1. Sangiovese represents 10% of Italy’s entire vineyard acreage, the most-planted grape in the country, with 247,000 acres. 2. Until the 1980s, Chianti was bottled in squat oval straw-covered fiasci. It was viewed a modest bistro wine rather than one for collectors. Then winemakers started experimenting with premium blends of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon or […]
Got Wine? There’s an App for That from Nat > Video
Leanne and I chat about Canada’s first wine app, and the only one that gives real-time, GPS-based liquor store inventory across the country. Just scan a bottle bar code and you get instant stock data along with: – professional wine reviews – food pairings – custom shopping list – cellar maturity dates – top 10 wines in your closest liquor store Check out the features here for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad as well as for Android and the mobile site for other smartphones. Got Wine? There’s an App for That from […]
10 Best Mourvedre Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Mourvedre
Mourvedre (Mourvèdre) is a warm-climate red wine grape grown in many regions, including the Rhone Valley and Provence in France, Valencia and Jumilla in Spain, California, Washington State and Australia. You’ll find my Top 10 Mourvèdre reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Mourvèdre: 1. Mourvedre is a Spanish vitis vinifera grape, first grown in Murviedro, a small town near Valencia. Mourvedre is easier to grow in Spain than in the cooler region of southern France where it is more susceptible to disease. 2. Mourvedre, or Monastrell as it is known in Spain, is declining in plantings there, but is […]
10 Best Carmenère Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Carmenère
Carmenère is most widely planted in Chile, however, Carmenère did not get its start in Chile. You’ll find my Top 10 Carmenère reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Carmenère: 1. Carmenère originated in the Medoc region of Bordeaux, France. 2. Used in France initially as a blending wine, or to produce deep dark wines, it disappeared from Europe in the mid 19th Century and showed up in Chile a hundred years later and has since become Chile’s premium grape. 3. Carmenère, a member of the Cabernet family of grapes, is the French word for Crimson (carmin), and is known as […]
10 Best Barolo Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Barolo
Barolo is a full-bodied red wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piemonte. Barolo means “commune” in Italian. Widely termed “the wine of kings, the king of wines” among the nobility of Turin and the ruling House of Savoy. You’ll find my Top 10 Barolo reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Barolo: 1. This powerful DOCG red wine is made from the late-ripening Nebbiolo grape. Barolo tends to be light rust in colour. Barolo is often described as one of Italy’s greatest wines. 2. Traditional Barolos were known for their ability to age. These red wines extract lots […]
10 Best Baco Noir Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Baco Noir
Baco Noir is a cross between Folle Blanche (one of the grapes used to make Cognac) and Vitis Riparia, the hybrid discovered by Francois Baco, a native of Southwestern France. You’ll find my Top 10 Baco Noir reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Baco Noir: 1. It was once grown throughout France, but the European Union has imposed restrictions on its commercial use, along with other hybrids. 2. In 1951, Baco Noir was brought to Canada and is commonly grown in Ontario, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. 3. Baco Noir is an early ripening, winter-hardy varietal suited to […]
New iPhone Wine App Named Best New App by iTunes
Less than 24 hours after launching our new iPhone wine app, Apple has selected it to be one of the Best New Apps on the iTunes Storefront. Our team is mighty proud to be there with apps from the New York Times and CBC FIFA World Cup. (Wine pairs nicely with both.) However, it took 9 months of labour to welcome this new member to our family. We could have delivered this baby earlier, but we decided to hold off in order to create the list of new features below that’ll help you find a great wine in just a […]
10 Best Amarone Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Amarone
Amarone della Valpolicella, which roughly translates to “strongly bitter,” describes this robust, rich red wine made in Valpolicella, in the northeast region of Italy called Veneto. You’ll find my top 10 Amarone reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Amarone: 1. The best and ripest of the dark-skinned grapes that are blended to create Amarone include Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella. These are carefully selected during harvest and gently stored for several months after harvest in cool, well-ventilated rooms on straw mats so that they dry, dehydrate and concentrate their sugars and flavors. 2. When they’re almost shriveled like raisins, they’re […]
Canada Day Wines Featured in the LCBO Vintages Release June 21
This is just a sampling of my reviews for June 21. You can access the 88 wines that I reviewed for June 21 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches and the stock for each bottle in their closest LCBO stores. You can also see my wine reviews for June 7. You can add my wine picks to their custom shopping list with one click and access that list on their smartphone. This is one of the benefits of becoming a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two […]
