Don’t miss the Austrian Wine Fair in Toronto April 28 and Calgary April 29. More than 200 wines will be poured providing an excellent overview of the country’s offerings. Details: Austrian Annual Wine Trade Fair Toronto, April 28 Rosehill Venue Lounge, 12 to 4 p.m. Click here for your invitation. For more information and to register, please call the Austrian Trade Commission at 416-967-3348 or e-mail [email protected]. Featured Producers: Weingut Andert Weingut Angerer Kurt Weingut Gerald und AndreaDiem Weingut Meinhard Forstreiter Weingut Stift Göttweig Weingut Stadt Krems Weingut Gernot und Heike Heinrich Winzer Krems eG Weingut Huber Weingut Huber […]
Wine Articles
Visit Tinhorn Creek Winery this spring or summer
Spring is always an exciting time of year around a winery and this year is no exception. Pruning is completed and buds are starting to form on vines. Bottling is well underway and anticipation of new releases. The official start to wine season, the South Okanagan Winery Association (SOWA) Banee, was this past weekend in Osoyoos and Vancouver Playhouse starts this week, followed by the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. There are some great events at all of these festivals so be sure to attend some of them. On May 1st the first of the 2009 Varietal Series white […]
Exposé Portfolio Tasting Toronto April 26
More than 100 wines will be showcased as part of the Expose Portfolio Tasting on Monday, April 26 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Meet the winemakers and samples wines from more than 30 wineries, including: Jackson-Triggs Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Mondavi Open Toasted Head Hardys Kim Crawford Clos du Bois Banrock Station Inniskillin Growers Cider Le Clos Jordanne Hogue Monkey Bay Ravenswood Svedka Strut Fish Hook Nk ‘Mip Arbor Mist Marcus James Naked Grape Red Guitar See Ya Later Ranch Mezzamondo Blackstone Barossa Valley Wines Wines will be paired […]
5 Star Sommeliers Reveal Wine List Secrets
Which wines are most popular these days? How do you choose a great wine from a restaurant wine list? Who has all the answers? Sommeliers. They’re the ones on the front lines and they see how our wine community is changing before we do. For my column in this month’s Ottawa Magazine, the sister publication of Toronto Life, I asked five of Ottawa’s best sommeliers their opinions on various vinous issues, as well as for some insider tips on pairing wine with food and selecting great wines from their lists. Here’s what they said … Grayson McDiarmid Play […]
Easter Means Fine Cheese is in Bloom
Holidays and baking go together like, well, wine and cheese. The trick with Easter baking is to find new ideas to entice a crowd looking for a change from chocolate bunnies. Adding a bit of your favourite fine cheese to Easter brunch is a great way to please your guests, and this year why not add to the enticement by exploring some new varieties of fine Canadian cheese. The delicate taste and texture of bloomy-rind soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert suggest refinement with just enough decadence. And we’ve got the perfect recipe to showcase them. BLUEBERRY, LEMON AND […]
Wine Show Know-How
It’s that time of year again – no, not spring – wine show season! OK, it is spring too, but we’re here to talk wine. Wine shows can be overwhelming – so much great wine – so little time. That’s why it’s important to have a plan of action. Now your plan should just be a plan – it isn’t carved in stone, but really more like a place to start. First – and this is a difficult realization – you must realize you will not be able to try every wine in the room. Even if you spit […]
Uncorked Movie Premiere March 6
I’m excited to team up with Hallmark for the premiere of the movie Uncorked March 6. I’ll be tweeting wine tips daily via @HallmarkChannel on Twitter and you can find these posted at the Uncorked Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/hallmarkchannel?v=app_11007063052 The movie is the story of a no-nonsense businesswoman (played by Julie Benz) who heads to a conference with the intention of sealing a huge deal, but ends up being given a view of a different way of life when she meets a famous chef and his family. Scott Elrod plays the character Andrew, and Elliott Gould and JoBeth Williams are Paul […]
Twitter Trend Chart
Just discovered a nifty Twitter trend chart on the web called TwitterCounter above and plugged in my Twitter handle @NatalieMacLean. It tracks the growth and trends of your tweets and followers over time. You can do comparisons as well if you’re curious. (Don’t try Ashton Kutcher: your growth line will be crushed.) I can’t believe how many tools and add-ons there are for Twitter these days: It’s a testamount to social media’s growing influence, and Twitter in particular. I’ve been on Twitter now for just over a year and I love that I’ve found almost 8,000 new friends. And this […]
Which Wine to Pair with Lost?
Following on the briliant outpouring of creative suggestions for wines to drink while watching 24, herewith, we launch the quest to find wines to quaff while vegging out in front of the last season of Lost. May I kick things off with a modest suggestion of Tyrell’s Lost Block? Okay, that’s not a stretch so give your most creative wine pairings and I’ll post them here. Cheers, Natalie PS They look really thirsty here … someone open a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc for Pete’s sakes.
Our cups run over: Wine fundraiser for Haiti Feb 9
Hats off to Steven Lifford & his team at Lifford Wine Agency for organizing a wine fundraiser on Feb 9 at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto for victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The details are still coming together, but it’s promising to be a fabulous evening. The Lifford team has created the web site, Eat, Drink and Give. There’ll be a silent auction that evening for which I’ve thrown in 12 signed copies of Red, White and Drunk All Over and 5 complementary one-year subscriptions to my wine reviews. On Twitter the hash tag is #eatdrinkgive and you can […]
