A recipe for a fun summer night on the patio. Don’t believe what these back-to-school commercials imply – summer is not over. The weather is going to be great for a good long time, and now is the time to enjoy a nice summer evening. So I propose that you invite your friends over for a potluck-style evening of wine and snacks. To keep it light and fun, ask everyone to bring a snack, paired with a bottle of wine. And I have the perfect recipe for you: Paprika Shrimp and Canadian Havarti Crostini, paired with refreshing white wines. This […]
Food & Wine Pairing
Video: Pairing Wine and Cheese: Cheddar, Gouda, Blue
For more than 10 years, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese has been known as Calgary’s best place to buy artisanal, fresh-cut cheeses from around the world. In the video chat below, owner Janice Beaton joins me today to talk about pairing wine and cheese. Why are many people as obsessive about cheese as they are about wine? What makes Canadian cheeses different from other regions? What are your best tips for tasting cheese? Pairing it with wine? Let’s pair the following wines and cheese to see how well they go together (or not). Mountain-Ash Goat Cheese from […]
Pairing Wine and Dark Chocolate Video Part 2
In the video below, Roxanne Browning and I continue our chat about pairing wine and chocolate, as well as the health benefits of wine. Get out a chunk of artisanal dark chocolate and a robust red wine and taste along with us! You can also watch part one of our wine and chocolate conversation. Roxanne leads a tasting of wine and chocolate: You may also enjoy these video chats: Pairing Wine and Cheese with Janice Beaton Dragon’s Den Arlene Dickinson talks about wine, women, business See all wine video chats here. Is there someone […]
Video: Pairing Wine and Chocolate with a Chocolate Sommelier
In the video below, New York Chocolate Sommelier Roxanne Browning chat about the difference between great chocolate and candy, pairing it with wine, Fair Trade and serving tips. Roxanne’s life-long search for the “ultimate bar led her down to the Ecuadorian Amazon rain forest where she helped with the cacao harvest. Here’s part two of our wine and chocolate conversation. Masi Costasera Amarone Classico, Veneto, Italy A full-bodied and richly flavoured red with aromas of black cherry liqueur, cigar box and dark spices. Hedonistic and satisfying. Food matches: dark chocolate, hearty meat dishes. […]
Top 5 Wine and Book Pairings for Summer Reading
This is one of the pieces I wrote last month for my column on the Sympatico Lifestyle site … I’m savouring the books I plan to dive into this summer as much as the wines I’ll enjoy. Just for fun, I’ve paired some of this season’s bestsellers with this season’s best cellars. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Let’s drink to the marriage of wine and words! Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James What better way to brighten a grey title than with a pink wine? Mas Des Bressades Rosé Cuvée Tradition from the Rhone Valley in France is […]
Grilled Steak Recipe with Monterey Jack Cheese Rollups Paired with Rose or Red Wine
Enjoy eating outdoors with this great and easy recipe. Picnics have a reputation for being fun and festive events. The truth is that they often require a lot of work behind the scenes. You have to choose menu items that can keep for a long time, accommodate large groups and of course have lots of flavour. You then have to prepare the menu, as well as choose and bring along drinks that pair nicely with the food. And let’s not forget about all the other items, such as foldable chairs, coolers and sports equipment. So this week I’ve taken it […]
Pairing Wine and Dessert with a Sommelier and Wine Importer
Andrew von Teichman This interview was published in a recent edition of my column in Homefront Maagzine. Andrew von Teichman, Toronto sommelier, winemaker and wine importer, talks about wines to pair with summer desserts. You’re a sommelier by training, but now own a winery and wine agency. Why did you go into those fields? My father was a co-founder of Pelee Island Winery in southwestern Ontario, so I had a chance to work in the vineyards and cellar during high school summers. I wasn’t forced to do this; I just decided to apply for a job there one summer and […]
Pizza Bianca Recipe Paired with Illuminati Riparosso
Pizza Bianca Not every pizza needs tomato sauce. Briny green olives, dried chile flakes and rich cheese make this pizza a perfect match with a fruit forward Montepulciano d’Abruzzo like Illuminati Riparosso. Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Ready in: 30 minutes Original recipe yield 4 to 6 servings 1 (10 inch) pre-baked pizza crust ½ cup coarsely grated Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese 5 basil leaves, torn 10 green olives, pitted and cut in half pinch of dried chile flakes ½ clove garlic 3 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into ¼ inch thick discs Preheat oven to […]
Live Video Wine & Cheese Tasting: Chat, Laugh, Sip, Savour
We did it, and we had so much fun last night! Despite a few technical hiccups, we were able to record Canada’s first ever Live Video Wine Tasting on Google +. We paired our wines with some delicious Canadian cheeses. The conversation was terrific … you can also see the Twitter tasting that led up to this where we trended #1 worldwide on conversational topics. We’ll be back soon with our next tasting, please join us! The cheeses and wines we tasted: 1 Year Old Cheddar Île-aux-Grues, Fromagerie de l’Île-aux-Grues, l’Île-aux-Grues, Québec Founded in 1977 by 14 dairy farmers, […]
Wine & Cheese Tasting Trends #1 on Twitter
I’m still blissfully recovering from our Ontario VQA wine and Canadian cheese tasting on Twitter this Thursday. Our crack team of wine reviewers did an amazing job with their tips, tasting notes and humourous tweets below. As a result, our conversation trended #1 on Twitter: more people were tweeting about Canadian cheese and wine than Jay-Z, Mitt Romney’s wife or any other topic or pop culture icon. Who knew?! The crew will be back again this Wednesday for a live Google + Hangout video tasting. New technology but the old comforts of good food, wine and friends. Please join us […]
