Markus Carl is the wine director and sommelier at Taboo Resort, Golf and Spa in Gravenhurst, Ontario, about 90 minutes north of Toronto. Carl shares a range of tips, from which wines to take to the cottage to which ones to drink when listening to Johann Sebastian Bach. While you were growing up, was wine a part of your family’s life? There was certainly wine around as my father had an extensive collection of Bordeaux from the late 1970s and early 1980s, including some Sauternes, that rich dessert wine from the region, which at that age struck me as particularly […]
Wine Articles
How to Pick a House Wine: 5 Tips + Why You Need One
You’ve just finished your yoga class with your friend and the two of you agree it would be great to have a glass of wine together. Do you invite her back to your place? If so, which wine to serve? The mother of your child’s playmate arrives to pick up her child. Do you invite her in for some vino? Which one? (Of course, the answer is no if she’s driving … non-alcoholic cider is a great alternative.) The holidays are right around the corner, when unexpected guests will be the norm. Are you ready with your house wine? If […]
Is it You or the Wine? How to Identify Wine Faults
Eyes closed, you breathe deeply, searching for the exotic aromas of pinot noir in your glass. Instead, an acrid smell jabs its way up your nose. This is not the essence of fleshy cherries rolling across on a bed of violets you were expecting. It’s more like burnt matches. Is it you or the wine? It’s probably the wine, but how can you be sure, especially when you’re debating whether or not to send the bottle back in a restaurant? Just as wine can absorb and exude exotic aromas, it can also pick up and give off pungent odours. The […]
3 Insider Wine + Food Pairing Tips, Most Underrated Grape
Wordsmith, wine pro and lifelong highland dancer, Natalie MacLean sat down with Grape Magazine, talking whisky, winter, the world’s greatest wines and the secrets to top-shelf imbibing without breaking the bank. Your Writing Process? I’m a messy writer—if I were a painter, I’d paint a seagull in one corner, then a clump of clover in another corner. I’d splash on the page every impression I have, then edit, edit, edit. Best Wine & Food? The best pairing is between you and a wine you like. But as far as food pairings go, the fun is in experimenting, choosing whether to […]
Wine Quotes and Liquid Laughter
He who knows how to taste does not drink wine, but savors secrets. – Salavador Dali Here’s the previous round of wine quotes if you’re thirsting for more.
Wine Aroma Wheel: 5 Wine Tasting Secrets They Reveal
The best-known wine aroma wheel above was developed by Dr. Ann Noble, while she was a professor with the renowned oenology program at the University of California at Davis. It categorized aromas broadly, splintering off into more specific sub-aromas. It was ground-breaking in that it took the obscure and confusing adjectives often used to describe wine and categorized them coherently. Here are the top 5 wine tasting secrets that Dr. Noble’s aroma wheel, and the other wheels below can tell us: 1. Describing wine doesn’t have to be vague and off-putting. Using concrete, everyday adjectives from categories of fruit, flowers […]
Sommelier Courses: French Language + Fresh Focus Video
In the video chat, Tom Vigeant, Coordinator of the Sommelier Certificate Program at La Cité Collégiale in Ottawa, talks about the courses offered in this French wine program. You can also watch our other video chat on the 5 worst questions to ask a sommelier. What makes La Cité collégiale Sommelier Program different from the George Brown or Algonquin College Sommelier Program? From the Wine and Spirits Education Trust or WSET courses? Is your sommelier program aimed at the wine enthusiast who wants to learn more about wine but not necessarily work in the industry or is it for industry […]
The 5 Worst Questions to ask a Sommelier Video
Tom Vigeant, the coordinator of the Sommelier Certificate Program at La Cité collégiale, answers the 5 worst questions that you can ask a sommelier. ou going to try to sell me an expensive wine? 2. Shouldn’t I just order your cheapest wine on the list, that’s the best value right? 3. I’m on a date and have a price in mind, but don’t know which wine. Are you going to make me say the price out loud to help me choose? 4. You recommended a wine to me, I’m tasting it and I don’t like it. It’s my […]
Halifax Sommelier Pairs Wine and Seafood with Titanic Menu
Avery Gavel, assistant manager and sommelier at The Five Fishermen restaurant in Halifax, shares his insights about pairing wine and seafood, creating historic meals with wine and his take on Nova Scotian wines. What was your first wine experience? I grew up on a dairy farm in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, the oldest of five children. Wine wasn’t part of our family traditions, not even special celebrations. Communion in church was grape juice, even. My first wine experience was at The Five Fishermen in the early 1970s when I was 24 and on a double date. We ordered the cheap German […]
Liquid Lingo of Italy: You Say Wine, I Say Vino
By: The Drink Wine and Giggle Gals Dove regna il vino non regna il silenzio. (Where wine reigns, silence does not reign.) Italian Proverb The second stop in our linguistic tour of the world’s top wine-producing countries is Italy. Whenever the Drink Wine and Giggle Gals think about Italy, we think about the Italian philosophy of living referred to as la bella figura—“the beautiful figure”—that is about much more than dressing well, looking good and admiring all forms of physical beauty. La bella figura is also defined by behaviour, specifically how one comports oneself when ordering wine. Our first Italian […]
