By Mymi Myriam At 11:30 a.m. on a windy Thursday, I walked into a sumptuous room at the Four Seasons Hotel. Immaculately decorated, it had high ceilings and an incredible view of Toronto’s affluent Yorkville neighbourhood. In the center of the room was a very large and beautifully dressed… dining room table! I was at the right place: the long-awaited Primum Familiae Vini (PFV) luncheon. The PFV is an international association of some of the world’s finest wine producing families from France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. It was created in 1992 by Robert Drouhin and Miguel Torres as they […]
Events
Wine and Truffle Pairing: Wild Mushroom Matches for Wine
By Priya and Alex What could be better than truffles? Not the chocolate kind (although those are pretty fantastic too!) but the really decadent kind that are hunted in forests by dogs! Most of us have probably owned truffle oil or truffled salt but how many of us have experienced authentic truffle products direct from a family who hunts them? We’d guess not many! It’s no surprise then, that we were so excited to meet the Truffle Lady aka Wanda Srdoc of www.whitetruffles.ca. Truffles are her specialty and have been central to her family in Istria, Croatia since the early […]
Remy Pannier Tasting with Fresh Wines for Spring
Remy Pannier Winemaker Tasting with Pierre Charon By Priya and Alex, A Vine Romance It’s not often you get invited to an exclusive and intimate lunch with a talented winemaker visiting all the way from France, but we were lucky enough to do just that this past week. The Novotel on the Esplanade was the setting for this lovely event and they put out a great spread to match with the wines, with lots of cheese and seafood. They were kind enough to accommodate Priya, who’s a vegan, by having some vegetable antipasto and green salad along with mixed nuts […]
Tasting from the Tank: Barrel Samples and Wine Reviews
Most of the wines that I taste are bottled and on the liquor store shelves, or about to be there. However, when I attend a tasting with a winemaker who is visiting my city or when I travel to wine regions, I am often tasting tank or barrel samples. Sometimes, these samples get sent to my office in a generic wine bottle with a hand-written sticker telling me when the wine will be bottled, which is a future date. This is because the winemaker is keen to show you his or her new baby, even if that child is still […]
Moet & Chandon Champagne Tasting 2006 Vintage Rosé Wine
By Melissa Pulvermacher Moët & Chandon is one of the world’s leading producers of Champagne. Moët produces more than 26,000,000 bottles of Champagne on an annual basis. Elise Losfelt, one of the 10 winemakers of Moët & Chandon, joined a group of tasters in Toronto, Ontario to introduce the new release of the 2006 Rosé in Canada in December, 2015. Elise helped the tasters understand that behind the label and well-recognized brand, there is a product and that the winemakers are extremely dedicated to achieving the expected style, while exceeding quality and expectations of its consumers. The tasting began with […]
The Fruit Whisperer: California Vineyards Speak in Beringer Wine Tasting
Beringer’s Chief Winemaker, Laurie Hook, leads our team tasting of an impressive line-up of red and white wines from select vineyards of California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Laurie’s Hippy Approach to Winemaking … aka The Fruit Whisperer A-oiy! Look out for that ship bearing down on you at 70 knots, setting a course right through your Chardonnays! Our shipshape crew on deck for this tasting: Jennifer MacDonald, Wine Writer, Ottawa Citizen Jane Staples, Wine Writer, Windsor Star and Ottawa Wedding Magazine Matt Steeves, Wine Expert, CTV Morning Live Heather Wall, Wine Writer, Huffington Post Canada Monique Ippolito, Wine Writer, Ottawa […]
Is Organic Wine Healthier for You?
By Natalie MacLean Are organic wines really better for you? The good news about even non-organic wine grapes is that far fewer chemicals are used on them than other on other fruit. Consumers want strawberries and pears to look good on the fruit stands, so they ignore the chemicals that keep them that way event to the detriment of taste and health. However, the appearance of wine grapes is irrelevant, since they’re going to be crushed. As a result, they’re grown specifically to optimize their taste. Still, there are 17 chemicals commonly used in vineyards today and grapes aren’t washed […]
Charles Smith Rocks the Wine Scene with Music and Vino
By Melissa Pulvermacher We all think of pairing food and wine, but have you ever thought of pairing music with wine? Charles Smith, a self-taught winemaker, has brought a new element to the world of wine – soul. Smith is undoubtedly a full-bodied personality with a genuine passion for both music and wine. The only way to truly describe the experience of Charles Smith and his wines is to crank rock music and pour yourself a big glass of red or white… or both and just enjoy. During a 1999 road trip, when Smith was managing rock bands and concerts, […]
Getting Hammered: 9 Tips to Win at Wine Auctions
Sitting in the centre row of the auction room, I barely lift my forefinger for the 1945 Château Cheval Blanc. All bidders crane their necks to look at the mysterious woman who has just bid the price of a Porsche. “Sold to the gentlewoman in the Prada jacket with embroidered family crest,” the auctioneer says, bringing down the hammer. The reality: I’m at the back of the room blinking wildly, struggling to remove the eyelash from my eye. The auctioneer just winked back at me — bad news when you’re playing the blood sport of the rich. Most auction talk […]
California Wine Fair 2015: Taste Bottled Sunshine
Sponsored Post The 2015 California Wine Fair travels across Canada in April and features tasting events in eight cities from coast to coast. This year, there’ll be more than 400 wines poured representing more than 100 wineries, with lots of winemakers on hand to chat. The Californian Wine Fair is one of the best organized and most comprehensive wine events in Canada, so get your tickets now because they do sell out and there are no tickets at the door: Call the California Wine Fair Hotline 905-336-8932 or 1-800-558-CORK (2675) Visit www.calwine.ca Tastings are held in the evenings, but check […]
