You can access the 70 wines that I reviewed for July 5 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 21. 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 before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Here are […]
White Wine
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 […]
Torrontes: Argentina’s White Wine Wild Card
By Natalie MacLean Although Argentina made its reputation on Malbec, there are more than a hundred grapes planted in the country, many of them obscure and no longer grown in other wine regions. The weird and the wonderful thrive in this museum of lost grapes: primitivo, bonarda, corvine, mouvedre and especially Torrontes—the most distinguished white wine of Argentina. 5 Surprising Facts about Torrontes: 1. In the past, the country’s warm climate made producing fresh whites difficult. However, modern controlled-temperature fermentation and storage changed that for many white wines, and none more so than torrontes, a crisp, aromatic tumble of daisies, […]
Food and Wine Pairing Book: Inspired by The Flavour Principle
In the video above, two of Canada’s most respected food and drink writers, Lucy Waverman and Beppi Crosariol, discuss their new book The Flavour Principle. It’s packed with delicious recipes that are paired with wine and other drinks, based on 11 key flavour categories. The two writers are also weekly columnists for the Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper. They share their tips on pairing and some surprising insights they discovered while writing the book that make it different from other cookbooks and pairing guides. You’ll question your assumptions about red wine and cheese and find out why texture and […]
Wine and Cupcake Pairing: Best Matches Video
This video is all about pairing wine and cupcakes, yes cupcakes! Husband and wife Bill McGuiness and Claudia Arimendi, owners of Ottawa’s Cupcake Lounge should know. They take cupcakes to a whole new level: dark Belgian chocolate, Madagascar bourbon vanilla, sweet butter cream, 50 flavours, hand iced. As if their cupcakes weren’t enough on their own (and they are), we talk about how to pair them with different styles of wine depending on the cupcake flavour. Have fun with friends and a tasting party. Natalie: Ottawa’s Cupcake Lounge takes cupcakes to a whole new level. Think dark Belgian […]
Frolicking with Sheep and Hawks in Niagara
One of the highlights of my recent visit to Niagara was meeting husband-and-wife Louis Engel and David Johnson at Featherstone Winery. They, in turn, introduced me to one of their hawks, Zeke. He was an adorable little fellow that we took out into the vineyard with us. I noticed that as we walked down the rows of vines, the birds went silent. That’s because Zeke is a hunter, trained to go after the number one enemy of ripened grapes: starlings. Other birds, such as robins and orioles, also attack the fruit, but starlings cost the industry hundreds of thousands of […]
