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 […]

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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 […]

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Gorgeous Cookbook from Canada’s Capital is a Go-To Gift Book

One of Canada’s most respected and award-winning food writers, Anne DesBrisay, has just published her first cookbook, Ottawa Cooks. Anne has been the undisputed champion of the nation’s capital dining and food scene for more than twenty years. Her cookbook is a glorious compendium of recipes developed by Ottawa’s top restaurant chefs. You can try them at home, or simply visit the restaurants to enjoy them there. Best of all, this book is an ideal gift for anyone in your life who loves food. The mouth-watering food photography alone makes it worthy of any coffee table. Anne is the restaurant critic for Ottawa […]

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Which Wine for Leftover Turkey? From Turkey Cutlets to Turkey Pizza!

Wine recommendations usually focus on Thanksgiving (or Christmas) turkey dinner. But what do you do the next day with all that leftover turkey and the dishes you make from it? Here are some wine pairing tips that Leanne and I discussed on CTV. Play the video above by clicking on the arrow. You can also watch the first part of our turkey wine pairing chat.       Turkey Tetrazinni — Florentine, meat loaf Turkey tetrazzini or florentine has an opulent, rich, creamy sauce with parmesan and mushrooms. Bring on wines of equal character.             […]

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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, […]

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Catelli SuperGreens Spaghetti with Steak & Garlicky Parsley Sauce Recipe Paired with Lindeman’s Bin 50 Shiraz

Although we’re all unique, there are a few similar things that often make us smile – entertaining family and friends, enjoying good food and wine or creating moments of real connection. Whether you are looking for a recipe and wine pairing for a dinner party or simply to share with a special someone, Catelli®  and Lindeman’s wines have come together to help you create pairings you’re sure to enjoy. Unexpected guests for dinner? Grill up one great steak; then toss with tender pasta and a zesty no-cook sauce for an effortless, entertaining dish for four. The hint of peppery spice […]

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Catelli Healthy Harvest Rotini with Chicken, Mushrooms & Camembert Recipe Paired with Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay

Although we’re all unique, there are a few similar things that often make us smile – entertaining family and friends, enjoying good food and wine or creating moments of real connection. Whether you are looking for a recipe and wine pairing for a dinner party or simply to share with a special someone, Catelli®  and Lindeman’s wines have come together to help you create pairings you’re sure to enjoy. Enjoy the generous flavours and contemporary style of Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay with this elegant chicken pasta dish featuring earthy mushrooms and luxurious Camembert.   Catelli® Healthy Harvest® Rotini with Chicken, […]

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Rack of Lamb with Almond Crust Recipe Paired with Wits End Luna Shiraz

This dish is a classic Harvey family meal and incorporates ingredients famous in the region and blocks. Outside the Slate Creek school block, 1 mile from their organic, Wits End block, are rows of almond trees. These not only provide a beautiful, blossoming avenue to frame their country homestead but allow a bounty of almonds. This recipe compliments the robust, generous and fruit driven Shiraz that is our Luna and utilises quintessentially regional and foraged ingredients. This recipe compliments the robust, generous and fruit driven Shiraz that is their Wits End Luna Shiraz and uses quintessentially regional and foraged ingredients. This dish […]

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Best Turkey Wine for Holiday Dinner? Not One But Many Wines – Reuters

While this terrific article talks about matching wine with Thanksgiving turkey, the tips are just as valid with it comes to Christmas/holiday turkey dinner … Thanksgiving, the holiday that anyone who likes to eat loves to celebrate, is just a week away and experts agree there is not one perfect wine to accompany the feast, but many. “No other holiday celebrates the gift of wine like Thanksgiving,” said Natalie MacLean, author of the new book, “Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines.” “Wine is a taste of the harvest along with all the delicious dishes on the […]

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Tania’s Magical Matches: Wine Pairings for Thanksgiving Turkey

By Tania Thomas Thanksgiving is the time of the year when we remember what we are thankful for and a celebration that captures holiday spirit of home cooking like no other. Sharing this day with family and friend is what makes it even more special. The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving can be traced to two separate events in our history. The arrival of the explorer Samuel de Champlain in the early 17th century, who came with the French settlers to New France and celebrated their successful harvests, even sharing food with the indigenous peoples of the area. The second is […]

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