Today we’re chatting about wines owned by celebrities. Are the wines any good or is this just a marketing gimmick? Here to give us the inside scoop is Natalie MacLean who offers North America’s most popular online wine and food pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome Natalie. So let’s start off with why celebrities would want to own a winery? Owning a sports team or restaurant is just so 2021. These days, if you really want to show some class, you need to own a winery. There’s no better photo opp than one with you getting dirty pruning […]
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Best Barbecue Wines: Pairing Wine with Your Grilled Grub (Video)
Now that we’re officially into barbecue season, you may think of having beer with your grilled grub, but wine can also work. Whether you love BBQ seafood, veggies, chicken or beef, there’s a wine for that. Here with her tips for you is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine and food pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com/class. Welcome Natalie! Let’s start with lighter fare like grilled veggies and seafood. Which wines work well with those? Loimer Grüner Veltliner Kamptal D.A.C., Austria Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling […]
7 Best Wine and Book Pairings: What to Drink While You Read (Video)
Alex and I had so much fun chatting about pairing bottles with books on CTV’s morning show. What’s the first pairing you recommend? We’re starting on the west coast with The New York Times bestselling memoir, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. After Cheryl loses her mother to cancer and her own marriage is destroyed, she decides to hike the Pacific Northwest Trail, more a thousand miles, from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State alone and without any training. It’s a deeply moving story of how this young woman heals through this treacherous journey I’d pair […]
You Say Tomato, I Say Wine: Let’s Pair Them All Off (Video)
On CTV News, we chat about pairing wine with tomatoes, from heirloom to vine-ripened varieties. In Ode to the Tomato, Chilean poet Pablo Neruda described them as “the stars of the earth” that are upon the table, belted by summer” and “grant us the festival of ardent color and all-embracing freshness.” Now is the time to indulge in tomatoes while they’re in season with their thin skins that slide off plump like silk lingerie and yield their juicy, chin-dripping pleasure—the opposite of those tired February pellets that taste like mid-winter despair. Tomatoes hang heavy in our backyards and […]
The Best Online Wine Tasting & Pairing Classes (Video)
As the kids head back to school, let’s chat about how the adults have changed the way they learn about wine, especially with online courses. It’s a virtual world of wine learning at your fingertips. Yesterday, I chatted with Nicole Dube on CTV’s Morning Live show. First, tell us why online wine courses have become so popular? Online courses offer the best of both worlds: they’re accessible to everyone no matter where you live, they’re more comprehensive than a one-off class, but not as technical and time-consuming as college courses. Plus, there’s no drinking, then driving home, […]
Video: A Toast to Niagara Wines for Canada Day
On CTV News, Leanne and I chat about some of the best wines from Niagara to celebrate July 1. I’ll post these wines below soon. You can watch our other wine video segment here: Prince Edward County Wines and Free My Grapes Happy Canada Day! Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Carte Blanche Blanc de Blanc Short Hills Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada Cave Spring Cellars CSV Riesling Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada Cave Spring Cellars […]
What’s the Right Temperature for Your Wine? (Video)
Part of relaxing at the cottage is often enjoying a glass of wine on the deck or the dock, but which wines, and how do we keep them cool when temperature soars? That’s what we chat about on Global Television’s Morning Show. Let’s start with the sparkling wine you’ve selected for us, tell us about it. Nothing’s more refreshing than a glass of bubbles in the summer heat. However, when you’re at the cottage, you’re not going to crack open a bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne. You want something affordable and delicious. That’s why I’ve picked Relax Bubbles, […]
5 Terrible Food and Wine Matches (Video)
On Global’s Morning Television Show, I asked Carolyn and Jeff to try five terrible food and wine matches … their expressions are priceless. We chatted about why these pairings don’t work, and then how to fix them: either with the food or the wine. I can’t cook, so I go the wine route ;) However, a squeeze of lemon or a dash of salt will often help. Here are the wines and pairings we featured below. We all know that a big red wine pairs well with a steak, but what about more difficult dishes like vegetables and […]
Wine’s Salad Daze: The Ultimate Guide to Pairing Wine and Vegetables
On CTV’s Your Morning Yesterday, the network’s national breakfast show, we paired wine with vegetables and spring produce. Click the video above to watch. Intro Pairing red wine with a steak is easy, but can you drink that same wine with fresh spring produce, like asparagus or artichokes? Here to tell us how to pair wine with veggies and salads is Natalie MacLean, the editor of Canada’s largest wine review site at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome Natalie Station 1 Host: Natalie, why are vegetables harder to pair with wine than say […]
4 Wines (and Reasons) to Celebrate National Wine Day
This Saturday is National Wine Day and here to help us celebrate is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine and food pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome, Natalie. Wine has a long and rich history, doesn’t it? Yes, ancient clay jars containing wine residue dating back to 6,000 BCE have been found in the country of Georgia. Egyptians were among the first to document the winemaking process in tomb paintings around 2500 BCE. The ancient Greeks and Romans not only improved winemaking processes, but they also spread wine culture in the countries they explored and […]
