By Alex and Priya, A Vine Romance It really is the most wonderful time of the year and what else do we do on our evenings at home but re-watch our favorite holiday movies? We can’t wait to curl up and enjoy our picks, and we’ve paired some wines to make those cozy evenings a bit cozier! Love Actually Sigh. One of our all-time favorite romantic comedies and like any good rom-com, it’s bittersweet, making you laugh out loud one moment and tear up the next. For this we choose a classic Amarone, which is rich, full-bodied and attention grabbing […]
Food & Wine Pairing
Tania’s Magical Matches: Wine Pairing for Canadian Gouda
By Tania Thomas Gouda, one of the oldest and most popular cheeses in the world dates back to 1100’s in its native Holland and is still made today. It is named after the city of Gouda as it has historically been traded there for centuries. Today, the name describes general style of cheese made similar to the old traditional Dutch way, as well as the Dutch original. Brought to Canada with the skilled Dutch cheese-making immigrants who used their centuries-old secret recipes and their native cultures, Canada’s Goudas are every bit as delicious and as high in quality as the […]
Gift Wines to Make Your Holidays Sparkle
Team member Matt Steeves above, chats about his favourite holiday gift wines on CTV’s Morning Show above. Click the arrow to play. Team member Tania Thomas recommends her favourite holiday sparkling wines on Rogers Daytime Television. Gift Wines to Make Your Holidays Sparkle 1st video Leanne: Well you don’t need to spend a lot to get great wines. In fact when it comes to entertaining often the best wines are some of the least expensive and the most appealing. So here with his top picks and tips on how to serve wine at your holiday party, we […]
Holiday Wine Team Tasting: Your Wines for Gift Giving and Entertaining
On Sunday, 22 wine-loving, football-sacrificing souls (it was Grey Cup) gathered to taste more than 70 spectacular wines. Click on the arrow above to hear about Jennifer’s favourite wine from the tasting, a Chilean Carmenere with bright acidity, nice little spice, great for a wide variety of foods. Jennifer MacDonald Havers Wine Columnist, Ottawa Citizen Monique explains her reasons for picking Taittinger Champagne to toast her celebration events. Monique Ippolito Wine Columnist, Ottawa Living Magazine Craig’s take on Beringer Quantum […]
French Pizza Recipe Paired with Sauvignon Blanc
French Pizza with a Canadian Twist For me, the holiday season is all about getting together with loved ones and creating lasting memories while gathering around some delicious comfort food. There are a lot of comfort food dishes that can turn an ordinary get together into a memorable meet-up, but none quite like my favourite French Pizza with ham and asparagus. While inspired by our European friends, this recipe features mouth-watering Canadian Swiss and Brie Cheese that infuses an unmistakable taste of home. For a truly domestic holiday delight, pair with a light and fruity 2014 Inniskillin Sauvignon Blanc. Perfect […]
From Snout to Tailfeather: Wine Takes Wing in Niagara
Approaching Featherstone Winery, I can see a pepper storm of starlings flying over the vineyard. Husband and wife team David Johnson and Louise Engel have a passion for all things fowl. Before they became winemakers, they ran a gourmet poultry shop, selling tasty birds, from turkeys to quails. (That’s where the “feather comes from; the “stone” is the Niagara Escarpment.) However, those hungry starlings that feed on the ripening grapes are no friends of David and Louise. That’s why I’m going to meet their latest avian associate today, a Harris Hawk that’s trained to hunt those pesky birds. In 1989, […]
Panettone Brie Tower Recipe Paired with Merlot Wine
Panettone Brie Tower The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Holiday Entertaining Made Easy Can you feel that? It feels like the holidays are here. There is an exuberant amount of energy that surrounds us as people rush to finish last-minute shopping and prepare for their upcoming family festivities. It’s an exciting time of the year, and one that calls for a recipe that’s packed with pleasure and deliciously creamy Canadian Brie. Hopefully, this simply delicious recipe for Panettone Brie Tower will be the perfect little dinner party dessert idea. If you’re not familiar with Panettone, it’s a traditional Italian cake […]
Rutherford Wines: A Taste of Sunny California
By Tania Thomas Recently, several wine writers had a rare opportunity to taste Rutherford Wine Company wines from their extensive portfolio over an intimate dinner at the Mezzanotte Restaurant in Ottawa’s ByWard Market Hosted by the winery’s agency, Majestic Wines Cellars, and Rutherford’s Director of Export Sales, charming Dick Wallingford. The history of the winery starts with Napa’s Zaninovic family, the third generation Croatian immigrants, who had owned and farmed produce throughout Californian Central Valley since the 1940s. They purchased 180 acres in the highly acclaimed Arroyo Seco area of the Salinas Valley in the early 1970s and started planting […]
Ferrari: Mountain Sparkling Wine of the Alps
Canada’s top wine writers and sommeliers gathered in the nation’s capital recently for an extraordinary tasting of Ferrari wines, Italy’s benchmark sparkling wine producer. Matteo Lunelli, president of Ferrari, explains in the video above how the Ferarri winery survived unscathed during World War II and out of that fortunate chaos, founder Giulio Ferrari discovered longer aged vintages. Click on the arrow to play the video. With the help of a slide show, Matteo shares the beauty of the countryside at Villa Margon. As well as being a wine growing area during the summer months, there is […]
Mac and Cheese Pizza Recipe Paired with Pinot Noir
Mac and Cheese Pizza What’s true comfort food? Hint: it involves the words “mac”, “cheese” and “pizza”. Say no more. Mac and Cheese is really having its moment. And, well, why wouldn’t it- it’s amazing! Take a break from take-out and whip up this mouth-watering and fun take on an old classic: Mac and Cheese Pizza. With cheesy grated Canadian Mozzarella, it’s sure to become a family favourite fast. Here are some excellent wine pairings to complement the melted Canadian mozzarella in the mac. The first is a medium-bodied Pinot Noir from Mission Hill Five Vineyards. It’s a beautifully complex […]
