On our Sunday Sipper Club via Facebook Live Video, we tasted a variety of Prosecco Italian sparkling wines. The discussion was lively, insightful, and many times, humourous :) You can read the 50 comments (!) here and even post one yourself. Prosecco wines were also part of our year-end big team tasting. Jennifer MacDonald Havers Wine Columnist, Ottawa Citizen Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Superiore Prosecco Veneto D.O.C.G., Italy Matt Steeves Wine Expert, CTV Morning Live Tenuta Lovia Conegliano Valdobbiadene Proseco Superiore […]
Red Wine
Pairing Balderson Vintners Cheddars and Wine
Tips for Serving Wine As a rule of thumb, plan on a half bottle of wine per person. White wines should be chilled for two hours (no longer) before being served. Red wines should be opened and allowed to breathe at room temperature for two hours before serving. If you’re serving several wines, start with the lighter whites, move through more robust reds and end with a port or sherry. If possible, use the correct stemware for each of the wines. The right glass does make a difference. You could win one of three Balderson Gift Baskets valued at […]
Recipe: Balderson Double Smoked Cheddar Fondue and Wine Pairings
This recipe for Balderson Double Smoked Cheddar Fondue is a delicious holiday treat, especially when you pair it with a buttery British Columbia Chardonnay or Ontario Cabernet Franc. The smooth, wood smoke flavour of the Cheddar marries beautifully with oak-aged toastiness of the Chardonnay or Cabernet Franc. The Double Smoked Cheddar is cold smoked twice using a mixture of natural hard woods and aged for twelve months, which makes it ideal for the robust weight and texture of these wines. Balderson Double Smoked Cheddar Fondue Makes 2 Servings Ingredients: 1 garlic clove, cut in half 75 ml dark sweet beer 125 ml […]
South Africa’s Spier Wines Respect What the Vineyard Hands Them
New Life on the Old Werf Life on the Spier farm is textured, diverse, nurturing. Our Fair Trade accredited hotel and modern conference facilities offers peace in the vineyards, riverside rambles, food experiences and encounters with eagles. Our restored historical farmyard, the Werf, is surrounded by the original farm precinct buildings. These feature 21 architecturally noteworthy Cape Dutch gables – the most on any South African wine estate – making Spier a landmark destination in the Cape winelands. At our wine tasting room on the farm, we give visitors an opportunity to experience what we value most at Spier, in […]
Pascual Toso Proves There’s More to Argentina Than Malbec
By Priya & Alex, A Vine Romance The only thing better than enjoying a good bottle of wine is getting to meet the person who made it. We were fortunate to have that opportunity recently as we sat down with winemaker, Felipe Stahlschmidt from Pascual Toso. This Argentinian winery is celebrating it’s 125th anniversary. That’s a nice age for a “New World” region. They describe their production facility as “an old Chevy with a brand new Mercedes engine inside”. It’s a great analogy for an older building that has been completely updated with state-of-the-art production equipment. Alex: Pascual Toso is a fairly large […]
Win a Trip to London, England, with a Toast to 19 Crimes Wine
The full-bodied Australian wine “19 Crimes” pays tribute to British criminals who were punished by transportation. The name 19 Crimes comes from a list of 19 violations that, in the 18th-century Britain, would get someone banished from Britain and shipped to what is now Australia. You can win a trip to London, England, and help three convicts get a royal pardon, by entering this contest before November 15: 19Crimes.com/RoyalPardon There are also hundreds of secondary prizes to be won, so enter today! The wine labels feature black and white mug shots of real-life convicts who were handed a sentence in the […]
Tale of Two Niagara Wineries: Reif Winery Makes Big Impression
As a photographer, I capture many wonderful moments in life, with no two moments ever being quite the same. This weekend, I found out in my travels to the Niagara Region, the same can be said for its wonderful abundance of world-class wineries. This is my story about visiting two wineries in the Niagara region at opposite ends of the spectrum, one small and one large, to see just how different they really were with respect to service style, approachability, ambiance and overall experience. In Part One of Tale of Two Wineries, I wrote about my experience visiting Ravine, considered to most as […]
Facebook Live Video Posts October 23, 2016
In this Facebook Live Video chat, we discuss the rising levels of alcohol in wines. You can click on the arrow above to play the video. If you’d like to read the comments, or make a comment yourself, visit: https://www.facebook.com/natdecants/videos/10154411500734845/ You’ll find the most recent live video wine tasting at the top of the timeline here: www.facebook.com/natdecants We taste every Sunday evening at 6 pm eastern so add us to your calendar and grab a glass of wine. Click on Follow, Like and Signup on the page above to get notified when we go live. […]
Facebook Live Video Posts
In this Facebook Live Video chat, we discuss terrific wines for Thanksgiving. You can click on the arrow above to play the video. If you’d like to read the comments, or make a comment yourself, visit: https://www.facebook.com/natdecants/videos/10154411500734845/ You’ll find the most recent live video wine tasting at the top of the timeline here: www.facebook.com/natdecants We taste every Sunday evening at 6 pm eastern so add us to your calendar and grab a glass of wine. Click on Follow, Like and Signup on the page above to get notified when we go live. Dom […]
Pairing Wine with 7 Turkey Dishes from Bacon to Turducken
Yesterday, Leanne and I chatted about great wine with Thanksgiving turkey on CTV. We started with “basic” roast turkey, but went way beyond with citrus and Cajun turkey, and even that oddity turducken. Click on the arrow above to play the video. You can also watch our second chat about pairing wine with turkey left-overs from turkey tetrazzini to (oh yes) turkey pizza! Roast Turkey Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Veneto D.O.C.G., Italy Wits End Luna Shiraz Mclaren Vale, South Australia, […]
