Mother’s Day is coming up and you may be thinking about getting Mom a special wine. But why not pair that bottle with a great book? Here with her tips is Natalie MacLean, who offers North America’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome, Natalie. What’s the first book and bottle you recommend? I have Loving Large: A Mother’s Rare Disease Memoir by Ontario author Patti M. Hall, who discovers her teenaged son is diagnosed with gigantism, a condition that could make him grow uncontrollably, and shorten his life without aggressive treatment. She makes it […]
Events
The 11 Best Wines for Easter and Passover This Year
Easter and Passover are right around the corner. That means it’s time for traditional holiday favorites like roast lamb and chocolate bunnies. But what are the best wines to pair with your celebrations? Wine expert Natalie MacLean is here with some tips. So when it comes to chocolate we need to have wine that’s sweeter, if we don’t do that, the wine will taste bitter by comparison. So the number one pick that I recommend for chocolate is port. I love a good tawny port like this one. It’s a fortified wine, meaning it has higher alcohol, so it’s […]
10 Terrific Wines for Easter and Passover Meals and Treats
Easter and Passover are right around the corner, bringing with them favourite holiday treats from roast lamb to chocolate bunnies. But which wines to pair with them? Here with her tips is Natalie MacLean who offers North America’s most popular online wine and food pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome Natalie. Let’s start with the fun stuff, what exactly would you pair with chocolate bunnies and eggs? I’m so glad we’re starting there because dessert is my favourite part of dinner, but it’s also the toughest on wine. The first thing to keep in mind is that the wine should […]
Wine’s Finest Movie Moments: The Award for Best Cabernet in a Supporting Role Goes to …
Join me for a pre-Oscars warm-up on Facebook Live Video Sunday, February 18 here: www.nataliemaclean.com/live Click on “Get Reminder” to know when we go live. Here are the wines we’ll be tasting, along with movie snacks such as hot buttered popcorn and salted pretzels: Veuve Clicquot Non-Vintage Champagne Gérard Bertrand Cotes des Roses Rosé Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Trapiche Pure Black Malbec Meanwhile, on Global Morning Live, we chat about how Hollywood’s most memorable characters, from James Bond to Hannibal Lector, have always had a little help from the wine bottle … and help yourself to those I nominate […]
Hate Valentine’s Day? There’s a Wine for That Too
This is one of a series of chats we had yesterday on the CBC drive-home shows across the country. I liked this one in particular with host Sue Smith of Homerun in Quebec because she has a great sense of humour. Sue also wanted recommendations for those who hate Valentine’s Day … I was happy to oblige along with the food pairing suggestion of heart-shaped cookies that you break into small bits first with a hammer. Now that we’ve launched the inventory of SAQ wines on the site, along with the LCBO, BC Liquor Stores and the first […]
The Wine in Our Stars: Pairing Wine and Your Astrological Sign
On CTV’s Your Morning we had fun chatting about pairing wine with your zodiac sign. At the beginning of every new year, we often see astrological forecasts for the major events that might happen or the people we’ll meet. Why pair wine with your astrological sign? Many of us sneak a peek at astrology columns when it comes to romantic or career possibilities, and each zodiac sign has its own birthstone and flower, and, so why not a signature wine? Whether or not you believe in astrology, I think it’s a fun way to explore wine. Suzette, I think we […]
Longshot Wines Bet Big on Market Launch with Winemaker Beth Liston
Introduction Are you curious about how a wine brand breaks through in a new market? Why is the wine category one of the most difficult to offer a great price/quality ratio? What unique challenges do women winemakers face in the industry? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Beth Liston, a rebel winemaker from California who’s just launched a new wine called Longshot. You can find the wines we discussed here. Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at 7 pm eastern on […]
Sparkling Wine for New Year’s Eve versus Champagne
Most people think of champagne as the drink of choice to ring in the New Year. But when the price of one bottle averages $60, you might want to consider sparkling wine, which offers great taste for a fraction of champagne’s price. Although champagne only comes from the Champagne region of France, almost every other region of the country and many countries around the world produce sparkling wines, often using the same techniques and grapes as champagne. Most sparklers are a blend of the traditional champagne grapes—Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Like champagne, they’re labeled according to their […]
10 Great Gift Wines & Spirits (Video)
Looking for a great bottle of wine to give as a gift this year? Here with her tips and sips is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome Natalie. So tell us why wine is a great gift and your first recommendations? – one size fits all – doubles are fine – it’s easy to re-gift For an extra festive touch, I’d start with sparkling wine such as these two: Domaine Pelchat Lemaître-Auger La Noce Sparkling Wine Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada […]
Cosmo’s Sex & the City, Champagne, Whisky Women in Mallory O’Meara’s Girly Drinks
Introduction How did the Cosmopolitan become an iconic cocktail on the TV show Sex and the City? Did you know an illegal shipment of Champagne revolutionized the entire industry? Which women are responsible for America’s increase in scotch and bourbon consumption after Prohibition? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Mallory O’Meara, the author of the just-published Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol. You can find the wines we discussed here. Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at 7 pm eastern […]
