The web abounds with great Thanksgiving turkey recipes, and rightly so. The harvest season is a great time of year and it deserves plenty of celebration. But what are you going to feast on the next day, or the next week, for that matter? Chances are good that it will be turkey sandwiches. What I propose instead is a fun, easy and tasty way to enjoy your leftovers with friends once the big family event has passed. So put a little turkey aside for a delicious Thanksgiving pizza with smoked Gouda, served after a piquant platter of Canadian cheeses paired […]
Food & Wine Pairing
Food and Wine Mobile App Leads the Charge in the LCBO
Foodie apps for iPhones and Androids are all the rage of late (PC Magazine recently did a roundup of their favourites), and leading the charge is sommelier and “unapologetically tipsy” wine lass Natalie MacLean. She recently launched a mobile wine app, offering roadside assistance for LCBO-goers moored hopelessly between the Argentina and Vintages racks. The app allows users to pair food and drink from anywhere using a smartphone, then share the results via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, text or e-mail. The app is available on the iTunes App or Google’s Marketplace for Android Apps, and provides access to the 200,000 wine reviews she’s […]
Wine Mobile App Features 400,000 Wine and Food Pairings
Reuters: Don’t know which wine to have with a pepperoni pizza? There’s an app for that — as well as websites and Twitter. The number of ways to discover the most suitable wine for a particular dish can be as overwhelming as walking into a large wine shop. More than a dozen apps claiming to be the equivalent of a sommelier in your pocket are available for iPhones and iPods. And there are others for the Android and other mobile devices. But among the most popular is writer Natalie MacLean’s Wine Reviews and Label Scanner App. If you want to find […]
A Wine App We Love: Condo Living Magazine
Having friends over for a dinner party, BBQ or for drinks on the patio can sometimes be more stressful than it should be. It can take a lot of careful thought and planning to find the perfect combination of food and drinks to serve that all your friends and family will like. With that in mind, we found some great apps that will help you plan the perfect meal. Natalie MacLean’s Wine Reviews & Label Scanner The app uses the GPS technology on your phone to connect with real-time inventory numbers at your local LCBO store. It also gives you the […]
Top 100 Wine Blogs: New Ranking from Feedspot
Feedspot, which replaced Google’s RSS live feed for blog updates last year, has just published a new report on the Top 100 Wine Blogs. A friend nudged me about it on Twitter, as it’s not something you can enter. According to the editors of Feedspot: In the world of wine, these are the best of the best wine blogs who run their craft and work hardest to improve the entire wine industry. They are the most influential to both the trade and consumers. Their voices influence thousands of other wine personalities and tens of thousands of wine professionals. These wine blogs […]
Wine Talk on Bell Media’s New TV Show “The Drink”
By Alex Powell & Priya Rao, A Vine Romance It’s finally here–August 2nd brings the launch of our new show for Bell Media called, The Drink. In it we explore the best that Toronto has to offer in terms of beer, sake, scotch, cocktails and of course, wine! In fact, one of our 4 episodes in dedicated to this glorious beverage from Mother Nature! The episode is called, quite appropriately, “Calling All Wine-o’s!” In it we visit a super high-tech private wine storage facility, we trace the roots of a bottle of wine in a vineyard-to-restaurant segment, Alex breaks down how to taste […]
Merroir, it’s a Thing. A Tasty, Tasty Thing; Wine and Oyster Pairings
By Rebecca Meïr-Liebman of Chef & Somm Photos by Signe Langford Oenophiles have always understood the concept of terroir; food- lovers are grasping this taste of place, too.Ingredients are just as terroir-driven as wine, sometimes the connection to the soil, sun, and air is even more pronounced in a cheese or a cacao bean than in a particular wine! And, what if that taste of place –or terroir– is underwater? Well, until I met with Patrick McMurray, author, oyster expert and shucking champion, I was unaware of how much terroir- or, rather, merroir-driven these beautiful bivalves are. Joining him at his […]
796 Wine Reviews, 113 Wines, 16 Wine Writers and Sommeliers, 1 Terrific Tasting
Canada’s top wine writers and sommeliers gathered in our national’s capital yesterday to taste through an impressive line-up of wines. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were on fire as they posted their reviews live and shared on social media. You can get the complete list of wines here, along with their reviews and the closest liquor stores that have these wines in stock now. This list is also accessible on the wine mobile apps. Stay tuned: we’re already planning our next big tasting! Jacky Blisson above has just returned from Napa Valley where she wrote her final papers […]
Balderson Cheddar Cheese Tart with Summer Vegetables Recipe Paired with Cabernet Franc
Summer Vegetable and Balderson Cheddar Cheese Tart Pair this delicious recipe with Featherstone Winery Cabernet Franc 2013 Ingredients: 1/3 cup [75 mL] Lactantia Butter melted, divided 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1 cup [250 mL] chopped asparagus 3 plum tomatoes, deseeded and chopped 2 cups [500 mL] chopped spinach 2 tbsp [30 mL] chopped basil 6 sheets thawed phyllo dough 2 tbsp [30 mL] honey mustard 2 cups [500 mL] grated Balderson Heritage Cheddar Cheese 1 cup [250 mL] Lactantia 10% Table Cream 4 eggs, beaten Preparation: In fry pan over medium heat cook green onions in 2 tbsp [30 […]
Best Bottles for Outdoor Dining: Wines for the Wet & Wild
By Rebecca Meïr-Liebman of Chef & Somm A couple of posts ago, I wrote about the best wines for summer entertaining – well, I have a bit more to say about the joys of summer sipping. Here’s Part Two, enjoy! Dip and Sip – The Pool Party Crunchy, oily, salty chips and hot dogs with all the fixin’s are so much fun under the sun, especially poolside! My preference is to wash this super-casual stuff down with an ice cold beer or cider, but there are a few playful wines practically made for chillaxin’ by the pool! Adamo Estate Winery Rosé, Hockley […]
