If there’s one thing that everyone around the dinner table can agree on, it’s that nothing pairs better with red meat than red wine. But accompanying the meal isn’t all that the wine is good for. Braising or marinating the meat with your favourite red creates a symphony of flavours and elevates the dish to a whole new level of deliciousness. Whether you are hosting a dinner party or simply making a quiet meal for two, merlot-braised short ribs are sure to be a hit. When choosing the merlot, try the Jackson-Triggs 2007 Grand Reserve. Deep ruby coloured, this impressively […]
Food & Wine Pairing
Wines designed to be fabulous
Saturday September 18th, 2010 | 2 to 4 p.m. Reif Estate Winery and CBC’s Steven and Chris launch TREND WINES, designed to be fabulous! Join Klaus W. Reif, Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman at the winery for the launch of the TREND wine collection. No reservation required, tasting complimentary. Reif Estate Winery and Design Duo Steven & Chris launch new wine collection. This new partnership was inspired by the international design duo’s love for entertaining and designing all things fun and fabulous. It seemed a natural progression to expand their home décor line, S&C Collection, to include quality VQA […]
Fill your fall with seasonal vegetables – and cheese
Fall may mark the return of shorter days and lower temperatures – but it’s also a great time to rediscover hearty dishes such as soups, stews and chowders. If you’re lucky enough to have a vegetable garden, you’ll know that a whole host of vegetables come into season at this time of year. Broccoli, pumpkin and celeriac are extremely versatile fall vegetables, while cabbage, onion and carrots are available year-round – but generally reach their peak in September and October. These ingredients make excellent fare for soups, stews and risottos, and with a little imagination, you can add a creative […]
Give Thanks for Ontario Wines: Food & Drink Magazine
In the fall issue of the LCBO’s Food & Drink Magazine, I’ve chosen eight of my favourite Ontario wines for fall meals and Thanksgiving dinner. Lucy Waverman has developed some extraordinary recipes to pair with these wines. Pick up your copy soon … although there are half a million copies published, they go fast! Let me know what your favourite Ontario wines are. Cheers, Natalie What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with a bumper crop of our own Ontario wines? With such a wide range of styles, there are lots of choices for every dish on your holiday table, […]
Baked Barbecue Pineapple Chicken
This sweet and tangy dish is a great dish for the family or for entertaining guests and is a great way to cook those thighs. The homemade barbecue sauce especially will keep them coming back for more. Baked Barbecue Pineapple Chicken Serves: 4 Developed for Chicken Farmers of Canada by Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc 1 1/3 lb (640 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 pieces) 14 fl oz (398 mL) diced tomatoes, canned 1 cup (250 mL) fresh pineapple, diced 2 Tbsp (30 mL) brown sugar 1 ½ tsp (7.5 mL) Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp (15 mL) […]
Eat, Pray, Drink: Top 5 Wines to Pair with the Book & Movie
I’ve read the book, but have yet to see the movie. In the meantime though, I’ve thought of 5 terrific wines to drink while you’re reading the book or watching the movie (I guess you’ll have to slip a bottle into your purse/man purse for the latter if you’re going to the theatre). Have you got a wine to suggest? Cheers, Natalie 2008 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, D.O.C., Valdadige, Italy: We’ve got to have an Italian wine given the “Eat” part is in Italy, and this wine is fantastic with pizza! Lovely aromas of lemon, white melon and chives. […]
Introducing Vintners 2
Balderson Cheese, Canada’s award winning leaderin premium aged Cheddar has a new and interesting cheese offering for lovers of great wines and great cheese. Today’s consumers are becoming increasingly interested in home entertaining, preparing special meals and serving Cheese plates. Our Vintners Cheddar provides an easy choice to fill this need as well as to highlight the excellence of Canadian Cheddar for special occasions. Vintners Cheddar now comes in a Gift Box that contains one piece (280g) of the Vintners Red and the Vintners white in a striking gift box presentation making it idea for Christmas gifts, house warmings, appreciation […]
The white wine for the occasion
Nothing goes better with Canadian cheese than a good glass of red wine. Or does it? While red wine is the obvious pairing for most cheeses, the right white wine can offer a crisp alternative, especially for bringing out the full flavour of soft cheeses. As a general rule, light white wines pair well with mild cheeses, while fruitier whites pair with pungent cheeses. For the intense flavours of blue cheeses, try a sweet dessert wine, such as Canadian ice wine. You should also match like-with-like in terms of acidity: a high-acid cheese such as Canadian Feta will pair wonderfully […]
Introducing Vintners for Port & Sherry
Canadians, particularly in Quebec, are larger consumers of fortified wines such as Port and Sherry and to make this an even more pleasurable experience, Balderson Cheese has added an aged Cheddar to its Vintners Cheddar especially for these types of wines. Vintners Cheddar for Port and Sherry is a superb cheese that has been allowed to mature for over 50 months so that it has had the required time to slow develop a pleasant cheddar flavour, rich texture and delicate sharpness that is a natural paring to the fuller and sweeter flavours of fortified wines. Vintners for Port & Sherry […]
Apple approved new iPhone app, yay!
Just got approval for a seriously big update of the free wine mobile app for iPhone and iPod Touch: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/nat-decants/id353052386?mt=8 I hope you’ll download it and give it a whirl. As always, if you have suggestions for further improvements or new features, please just e-mail me directly. I look forward to hearing what you think of it! Cheers, Natalie What’s new in version 1.2? – Improved performance, navigation and loads more free content – Added new section to Pairings for Occasions: find wines for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and other events – Added new sections under More for weird Wine Facts, […]
