Wine Confidential: An Insider Look at the Wine World with Bianca Bosker

Introduction Bianca Bosker is an award-winning journalist and the author of the New York Times Best Seller, Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste, which has been hailed as the “Kitchen Confidential of wine.” Bianca has written about food, wine, architecture, and technology for The New Yorker online, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The New Republic, among other publications.   Highlights How did Bianca stumble into wine while writing about tech at the Huffington […]

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What Does It Take to Become a Master Sommelier with Geoff Kruth

    Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth is President of GuildSomm.com, a non-profit membership organization of over 10000 wine professionals. He is one of less than 200 people worldwide to have ever earned the designation of Master Sommelier. He was featured in the 2012 documentary film SOMM, co-produced the film SOMM: Into the Bottle and was a producer of Esquire TV’s Uncorked; he also hosts the GuildSomm audio podcast. Connect with Geoff: Facebook: @geoff.kruth

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Flying with Flavour: Travel and Wine Stories with Stephanie Piché (Video)

Our guest this evening is Stephanie Piché, Dining & Travel Expert, Founder of Legacy Service Academy and Podcast Host & Producer of “Flying For Flavour“ Click on the “Follow” and “Like” buttons on this Facebook page to get notified when we go live. Click on the arrow above to hear Stephanie’s story. Want to know when we go live with our next guest? Click on “Get Reminder” on the page below: www.nataliemaclean.com/live Click on “Get Notified” at the link above to know when we go live. You can also click on “Follow” and “Like” buttons to know when we make […]

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Why Do You Like the Wines You Do with Marnie Old and Jean-Charles Boisset

Introduction Sommelier and author Marnie Old is a breath of fresh air in the wine world. An engaging performer and gifted teacher, she is refreshingly direct and down-to-earth. Marnie’s focus on matters of real-world relevance to consumers, not winemakers or brewers, puts her in demand as an expert speaker on wine and beer around the country, most notably as a featured seminar presenter at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. She is also the founder and organizer of Philly Bierfest, an annual festival celebrating Pennsylvania’s German brewing heritage. Jean-Charles Boisset was born into the world of wine in […]

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Wine and Books: Holiday Gifts – Breakfast Television

This past Thursday, we chatted about book and bottle pairings as holiday gifts on Breakfast Television. Words and wine seem like a natural pairing to me … here are my favourites. What are yours?   1. Books are Beautiful The publisher selected 30 classic works of literature and assigned each a beautiful colour. Then the editors organized them in a rainbow of words so spectacular that you’re going to want to line them up on your shelves and just look at them.               Wolf Blass Yellow Label Sparkling Brut, South East Australia, Australia: Green […]

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Wine & Cheese Pairing Video: What Is Your Favourite?

Click on the arrow above to watch the video right here. Such a great discussion with lots of favourite pairings and tips! We’ll have a second chat this Wednesday, November 14th at 8 pm eastern – mark your calendar! Please note that while these two feedback sessions about pairing wine and cheese are on Facebook, the course itself will NOT be … so don’t let that stop you from joining me in the course in early December ;) You can also watch the video on Facebook, read the latest comments that keep coming in, read my answers and make a […]

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How Austria’s Gruner Veltliner Got its Groove Back

  Would you like to learn more about Austrian wines, especially its iconic grape, Gruner Veltliner? Do you know why this wine is one of the most versatile wines on the planet? That’s exactly what we’re going to learn tonight with our guest who joins me live just north of Vienna. Our guest this evening is in charge of her family’s winery, Weingut R&A Pfaffl, along with her brother, who is the winemaker and vineyard manager. Heidie Fisher Pfaffl takes care of everything else, from business administration to marketing and sales. Pfaffl Winery is one of Austria’s leading wine producers, […]

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Canadian Cheese Shops and Retailers

Here’s a list of Canadian cheese retailers from coast to coast, including several that operate online and will ship to you directly. All of them have a terrific selection of both Canadian and international cheeses. Also included here are gourmet food shops and grocery stores that have a strong selection of cheeses. Got a cheese shop to recommend? Let me know at natdecants @ nataliemaclean.com Online Cheese Retailers Cheesy Place Amazing Clubs Cheese of the Month Taste of Cheese British Columbia Benton Brothers Fine Cheese, Kerrisdale, Cambie Village and Granville Island Blue Heron Cheese (Dairy Free) Vancouver Bosafoods Vancouver Charelli’s Cheese […]

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How to Become the World’s Best Sommelier with Arvid Rosengren (Video)

Our guest was born and raised in Sweden and initially studied Nanotechnology Engineering, but decided to change his career path to food and wine. He has worked at several of the world’s best restaurants in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Britain and New York City. In 2016, he won the World’s Best Sommelier competition, competing with 60 other top sommeliers. This grueling competition held only every three years and tests theoretical knowledge, blind tastings of various beverages and practical service in front of a live audience. And he joins me live now from his restaurant Legacy Records in Manhattan: Welcome to the Sunday […]

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How the Gruner Stole Christmas: Austria’s White Wine is a Holiday Treat

By Melissa Pulvermacher It’s the most wonderful time of the year… to eat, drink and be merry! When stocking up for those holiday parties, we all have our usual go-to wine selections, but with so many options, it may just be worth your while to venture out and try something new. For this holiday, consider looking to Austria for new selections. Austria is really hitting the world stage with quality wine production and while they may not be producing mass amounts, we are now seeing more and more in our market here in Ontario and the wine is certainly worth […]

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