Leanne and I had a great time chatting about Malbec on CTV. Did you know that April 17 is Malbec World Day (#MalbecWorldDay), celebrating the flagship red grape for the wines of Argentina, as well as a blending grape in Bordeaux and other regions? You’ll find my most reviews and ratings of Malbec Wines here. The Malbec grape produces wines that stylistically fall between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with more plummy richness and roundness than Cabernet, but firmer tannins and structure than Merlot. Pair Malbec with beef, turkey, spicy dishes, tomato sauces, meaty casseroles, hamburgers, sausages, steak and kidney pie, […]
Wine Articles
The Surprising Complexity of Beaujolais with Natasha Hughes, Contributor to On Burgundy: From Maddening to Marvellous in 59 Tales
Introduction What’s behind the surprising complexity and variety of Beaujolais wines? How has Beaujolais Nouveau distorted the public perception of Beaujolais? What makes Beaujolais such a good value wine? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Master of Wine and author, Natasha Hughes. You can find the wines we discussed here. Giveaway One of you will win a copy of a terrific, new book to which Natasha Hughes is a contributor- On Burgundy: From Maddening to Marvellous in 59 Tales. How to Win To qualify, all you have to do is email me at [email protected] and let […]
Wine’s Salad Daze: The Ultimate Guide to Pairing Wine and Vegetables
On CTV’s Your Morning Yesterday, the network’s national breakfast show, we paired wine with vegetables and spring produce. Click the video above to watch. Intro Pairing red wine with a steak is easy, but can you drink that same wine with fresh spring produce, like asparagus or artichokes? Here to tell us how to pair wine with veggies and salads is Natalie MacLean, the editor of Canada’s largest wine review site at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome Natalie Station 1 Host: Natalie, why are vegetables harder to pair with wine than say […]
Mad for Malbec: Celebrating the Winemakers Behind the Wine
“Wine, show me the art of seeing my own history; as if it were already a handful of ashes in memory.” – Jorge Luis Borges, 1964 By Greg Hughes April 17th is International Malbec Day and in Ottawa it was celebrated at the residence of the Argentine ambassador to Canada, Her Excellency Norma Nacimbene de Dumont. The mood was cheerful for the lucky twenty individuals invited to share this special day sipping wine and eating empanadas with Her Excellency in her home. There was special cause for excitement. This was the first Malbec Day to be celebrated for half a […]
Will AI Replace Writers and Winemakers? Conversation with Ellen Clifford of The Wine Situation Podcast
Introduction Why don’t I think that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace human writers any time soon? What are some tips you can use for maintaining a healthy relationship with wine? What are some of the challenges women in the wine industry still face? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m being interviewed by Ellen Clifford on The Wine Situation podcast. You can find the wines we discussed here. Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at 7 pm eastern on Instagram Live Video, Facebook Live Video or […]
Biodynamic v Organic Winemaking – Southbrook’s Ann Sperling Video
In this video below with Southbrook Vineyards’ winemaker Ann Sperling, we chat about biodynamic and organic winemaking. (What’s with burying cow’s horns, witchcraft and astrology?) Also: – can you taste the difference in the wine? – why take this approach and is it difficult and expensive to do in a cool climate like Ontario? Here are my Top 20 Organic Wines for Earth Day April 22, and year round. When Ann Sperling was a child, she had a miniature version of every farm tool—a child-sized hoe, shovel and so on so that she could help with almost […]
Delicious Vegan Wine Pairings with Jennifer Huether and Priya Rao, Authors of The Social Herbivore
Introduction Which wineries are leading the way with vegan wines? How are some restaurants expanding into innovative vegan or vegetarian menus? What makes Riesling so versatile, especially with vegan dishes? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Jennifer Huether and Priya Rao, authors of The Social Herbivore: Perfect Pairings For Plant-Based Cuisine. You can find the wines we discussed here. Giveaway One of you is going to win a copy of Priya Rao & Jennifer Huether’s terrific book, The Social Herbivore: Perfect Pairings For Plant-Based Cuisine – the first book ever on plant-based food and wine matching. […]
Wine Witch on Fire Calls Out Sexist Wine Marketing on CTV’s The Social
Editor’s Note: You’ll find more media coverage for the book here. Our next guest as The Social’s resident wine expert but today she’s here in a different capacity, as an author! Her deeply personal memoir “Wine Witch on Fire” is about divorce, defamation, and drinking too much. Please join us in welcoming Natalie MacLean back to the show! Nat, we want to start with a toast to say congratulations on the book! We’ve all got a little bubbly, mine is non-alcoholic, so let’s do a cheers to you! Thank you so much, it’s great to […]
Malbec Day: A Tale of Tango and Taste
World Malbec Day on April 17 (#MalbecWorldDay) reminds me of both a recent Argentine tasting with the Opimian Wine Club as well as a trip I took to Buenos Aires several years ago. The tasting featured a terrific range of Latin American wines. It was an evening of Latin music, food, friends, and yes, tango! We gathered at a local restaurant, El Gusto Mazzola, where the husband-and-wife owners, Elena Mazzola and chef Victor Mazzola treated us to an authentic Argentine tapas dinner paired with the Malbec and other wines. Rounding out the feeling of an Argentine bistro, Réjean Simard and Diane Clément offered superb demonstrations of the three forms of […]
Wine Pairing: Corned Beef and Cabbage
Do you really need to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the liquid abomination of green beer? You bet your lucky stars, no! “Green wine” can be magically delicious. No, I’m not talking about wine that’s the colour green, but rather about wine that has green aromas and flavours such as lime, peas, asparagus (stay with me), green apple and herbaceous notes. These zesty wines dance a jig with corned beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie and colcannon (mashed potatoes and green cabbage). When I think of ‘green’ wines, those that come to mind are zippy whites with herbal notes such […]
