I get some terrific letters and e-mails from folks reading my books. This one though made me laugh out loud … love it! Natalie, thank you so much for writing, Unquenchable. I bought it for myself yesterday and I have just started reading it for my vacation time. I thoroughly devoured your first book and so far (I have only read two chapters) this new book is simply a delightful read. I prop myself up with pillows on our outdoor “living room” couch along with a glass of wine – read a page, sip the wine – and I drink […]
Wine Articles
Video: Winery Backs AIDS Walk for Life: Living Well; Doing Good
As many as 68,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in Canada. One third of them don’t even know it. To date, there is no cure and no vaccine to prevent new infections. This topic may sound completely unrelated to wine, but it’s not. In the video below, we talk to Bruno Zaratin from the Italian winery Santa Margherita, which been a major supporter of the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life that happens across the country every September for the past six years. What is Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life? Santa Margherita goes well beyond writing a cheque: […]
Tasting Pinot Noir, Tips for Writers Wine and Otherwise with Sideways Author
We continue our conversation with the author of the mega-hit wine book and movie Sideways, Rex Pickett, in the video below. Rex shares tips for aspiring writers who want to get published and we taste the famous Hitching Post Pinot Noir from the movie together. You’ll find part one of our conversion on the Sideways Wine Book and Movie here. You may also enjoy these video chats: Biodynamic and organic wines: do they taste better? Healthier? We chat with winemaker Ann Sperling, Southbrook Vineyards Social Media & Wine: Part 1 of Vintank’s Paul Mabray […]
Best Food (and Wine) Writing Story Collection
The editor of the annual anthology Best Food Writing got in touch yesterday to say that an excerpt from Unquenchable will be published in this year’s edition. The book collects the best food (and occasionally wine) writing of the year from magazines and books, such as Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential), Ruth Reichl (Gourmet Magazine), Gabrielle Hamilton (Blood, Bones & Butter), Frank Bruni (New York Times), Alan Richman (GQ), Madhur Jaffrey (Indian Cooking), and Colman Andrews (Saveur). It also includes food-related writing from “non-food” writers such as Calvin Trillin (New Yorker), Michael Lewis (Moneyball, Liar’s Poker) and Barbara Kingsolver (Poisonwood Bible). If […]
Sideways Wine Book and Movie: Pinot Noir, Rex Pickett and Yes Merlot
In this exclusive video interview below with Rex Pickett, author of the mega-hit wine book Sideways that was made into an Oscar-award-winning movie, we chat about his journey to publishing the book, how he learned about wine and why he loves pinot noir (not f****** merlot, as his character Miles would shout). Sideways is more than just a buddy road trip through California wine country with Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. It touches on themes of love, friendship, career disappointment, loyalty, loss and of course, pinot noir. But before the movie, there was the book. A bestseller, Sideways […]
How are Wine Prices Set? Is Expensive Wine Better? Video Chat: Painted Rock, John Skinner
In this video above, we chat with Painted Rock Winery owner John Skinner about how wine prices are set, if expensive wines taste better than cheaper wines. Also: – can you buy a good wine for under $15? – can big wine producers make good wine? – how much government tax is in the price of each bottle of wine we buy? – what does the B.C. wine industry need to do better? Click on the arrow above to play the video (we’ve since fixed the microphone): John Skinner John Skinner had always dreamed of owning a winery, […]
Free My Grapes Video Interview with Shirley-Ann George
Shirley-Ann George is the President and Founder of the Alliance of Canadian Wine Consumers — a grassroots, non-partisan, volunteer group of wine lovers whose goal is to change the provincial and federal laws so Canadians can purchase and ship wine from Canadian wineries in other provinces. – What prompted you to found this group in 2010? – Last 2 weeks: Bill C-311 has been passed in both the House of Commons and the Senate: tell us what that bill changes – What’s the difference between in-person transportation of wine versus shipping it directly to a consumer? – Is this law […]
Canadian Wine Deserves More Attention – Occasions Magazine
This interview with columnist Andrew Facey was published in the Newfoundland Liquor Commission magazine Occasions. I interviewed Natalie MacLean, author of the bestselling book: Red, White and Drunk All Over, when she was in St. John’s on tour for her second book: Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines. MacLean was named the World’s Best Wine Writer at the World Food Media Awards for the wine picks and pairings she posts on Canada’s largest wine site and mobile smartphone apps at www.nataliemaclean.com. Here are some of the questions I asked and her responses. Andrew: Where is home […]
Shipping Canadian Wine Across Borders, Bill C-311 and Free My Grapes
This guest post is from Shirley-Ann George, the founder and president of the Alliance of Canadian Wine Consumers and its Free My Grapes campaign. This is a critical issue for all of us who love Canadian wine. By Shirley-Ann George Many Canadians shake their head when they hear that it is a criminal offense for us to carry or ship our own wine across a provincial border. While few of us believe that transporting a legal product across a provincial border is “importing”, the provincial liquor boards are quick to inform any winery of this filling an order from an […]
Bill C-311 Allows Wine to Cross Provincial Borders, Wine Drinkers Rejoice – Global News
A unanimous vote by MPs has moved the country closer to wiping out a prohibition-era law that makes it illegal to carry a bottle of Canadian wine across a provincial boundary. The vote on Bill C-311, a private member’s bill introduced by Okanagan-Coquihalla Conservative MP Dan Albas, received unanimous support on third reading late Wednesday night. The legislation now goes to the Senate. Supporters of the bill, including national wine experts Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine site at www.nataliemaclean.com, Kurtis Kolt, a B.C. wine consultant and Norman Hardie from Norman Hardie winery in Prince Edward County, Ontario, say […]
