Cream of Roasted Red Pepper with Bocconcini Soup Warm up to Fall Shorter days. Colder weather. It’s enough to leave you feeling like you need a vacation. But if you can’t do that, why not try the next best thing: a hearty, heartwarming bowl of soup. This recipe for Cream of Roasted Red Pepper with Bocconcini Soup ain’t your grandma’s chicken noodle (not that there’s anything wrong with that). It’s a deliciously modern combination of soft and creamy Canadian Bocconcini and juicy roasted peppers, topped with a sweet tang of balsamic. It’s one of my go-to soups, and whether you’re […]
Cheese & Wine
Wine App Pours its Way to the Top of the App Store
Thanks to reporter Trish Crompton with the technology magazine Communitech for this terrific review of our new wine mobile app! Wine app pours its way to the top of the app store Natalie MacLean may have uncorked the secret to helping even the most amateur of wine drinkers to become their own sommelier. As an award-winning wine writer, MacLean is constantly asked for recommendations on the perfect wine. “I would get lots and lots of emails all the time,” MacLean says, and they were filled with questions like, “I want to buy an anniversary wine for my parents, I have […]
Panko Avocado + Havarti Pesto Recipe Paired with Rose Wine
A Taste of Summer I think the last of the cold weather is finally behind us, and now we can breathe a collective sigh of relief and finally enjoy the beginning of summer. For me, the best part about summer is the refreshing culinary delights. There’s so many different recipes available online and I’m always anxious to try something new. So when I found the following recipe for Panko Avocado with Canadian Havarti Pesto I was excited for two reasons: one, because I love avocado; two, because I’ve never tried it broiled in the oven. I also thought the Havarti […]
Canadian Havarti and Zucchini Stacks Recipe with Chardonnay or Cabernet Franc
Spring Appetizers for All Spring is definitely in full bloom. It brings a smile to my face to see people finally coming out of hibernation and spending more time together, which makes hosting a spring gathering a great idea. If you’re like me and want to invite some friends over to usher in the warmer weather, I have the most delicious recipe for you to try. Every time I make these Canadian Havarti and Zucchini Stacks I receive tons of compliments on them – the melted Havarti is absolutely mouthwatering and perfectly complements the sweetness of the baked zucchini slices. […]
Pairing Wine with Blue Cheese, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Benedictin
The most difficult cheeses to pair with wine are blue cheeses, as their strong taste and powerful saltiness tends to make red wine taste bitter and hot. Salt accentuates many aspects of food, including its flavor, and that’s usually a good thing. However, it can also intensify both tannins and alcohol. The best foil for salt is sweet, so avoid dry and off-dry wines and go straight for the sweeter ones: late-harvest chenin blanc, gewürztraminer, and riesling all have the required richness and flavor. Better still is the French dessert wine sauternes, made from grapes that are attacked by a […]
Pairing Wine with Cheddar Cheese, Parmigiano, Beaufort, Gruyere
Most of the wine and cheese pairing tips I’ve shared so far may make it sound as though lovers of full-bodied red wines are out of luck when it comes to cheese. However, the longer a cheese ages and ripens, the higher its concentration of butterfat, the stronger its flavors become, and the greater likelihood it can hold its own against a robust red. Hard cheeses, such as gruyère, cheddar, beaufort, and parmigiano become not just stronger but also more balanced in terms of their flavors, salt, and acidity. Their flavors even mimic some of those in mature, full-bodied reds, […]
Pairing Wine and Brie or Camembert Cheese
You Can Never be Too Rich or Too Creamy By Natalie MacLean Double- and triple-cream cheeses are tough to match with wine because their creamy texture can smother wine and make it taste thin. But who can resist a rich brie, its white lava oozing onto your baguette and its creamy aromas blooming in your mouth? A good match is a robust white, such as a barrel-fermented or barrel-aged chardonnay that has undergone a malolactic fermentation from California, Chile or Australia. Such wines have aromas of vanilla, smoke, toast, and various woods, such as cedar, oak, or pine. Both the […]
Pairing Wine and Goat Cheese and Mozzarella
The Unbearable Lightness of Fresh Cheese By Natalie MacLean Fresh and semi-fresh cheeses, such as mozzarella and goat cheese pair with wine well, and are the easiest of cheese styles to pair with wine as their flavours are mild. They go especially well with light white wines, of 12 percent or less alcohol, that have bright notes of fruit and crisp acidity, such as riesling, sauvignon blanc, and pinot grigio. Tip: If you’re not sure about a wine’s acidity, check the label or tasting note for descriptors such as green apple, lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit. The classic match of […]
Cheese and Wine Pairing Tips: From Brie to Blue
Few things go together as naturally, simply and deliciously as wine and cheese. The question is, what kind of wine? And what kind of cheese? Pairing the two is more complex than you might think. “No rules apply because we all taste things differently,” says Alice Spurrell, owner of Les Amis du Fromage cheese shops in Vancouver as well as the cheese-themed restaurant Au Petit Chavignol. “The best thing is to be adventurous and just try a cheese with a wine. You want a good taste in your mouth. And the only way to discover that is to put them […]
Wine and Cheese Matching to Maximize Pleasure
How do you marry cheese and wine? As with any hopeful pairing, a little counseling never hurts. “I always think you should drink what you like and eat what you like and put them together in ways that create the most pleasure for you,” says Natalie MacLean, a wine expert who wrote Unquenchable and Red, White and Drunk All Over. “But I wouldn’t have a job if I didn’t give more guidelines for which wines work better with certain cheeses.” Among useful features on her website, nataliemaclean.com, is the Wine & Food Matcher, which allows you to select a food […]
