On CBC’s Metro Morning we chat about terrific Ontario sparkling wines for New Year’s Eve, plus one splurge-worthy Champagne. More sparkling wine chats here. Plus, why is sparkling wine the most food-friendly wine on the planet? Shabby-chic pairings, from potato chips to buttered popcorn. Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine review site, picks her favourite sparkling wines for New Year’s Eve: Henry Of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Blancs De Blanc Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada Zesty, refreshing and balanced Niagara sparkling wine with crisp notes of green apple and baked bread. Superb quality. Great persistence of beaded […]
Wine Articles
Find Your Holiday Gift Wine from Our Team Tasting Top Picks
Our last big team tasting for the year had 150 bottles on the tables, along a variety of Balderson Cheddar Cheeses in preparation for our pairing contest. . You can watch the video reviews below of our team’s favourite discoveries. Matt Steeves Wine Expert, CTV Morning Live Jennifer MacDonald Havers Wine Columnist, Ottawa Citizen Rachelle O’Connor Wine Blogger & Judge Photo by Cherie Cole Cherie Cole Restaurant Wine Consultant Sharon […]
Top 100 Wine Sites > New Rankings: Who Made the List?
My Twitter feed lit up last night with good wishes from various parts of the planet … I clicked through to the link in one tweet and discovered that this site had just been ranked #2 in the Top 100 Wine Sites in the world. On the list: Jancis Robinson, editor of the Oxford Companion to Wine; Dr. Jamie Goode, author of The Science of Wine; James Suckling, former editor of The Wine Spectator magazine; Steve Heimoff, former editor of The Wine Enthusiast magazine, Alice Feiring, columnist for the New York Times; and Tim Atkin, columnist for the UK’s Observer […]
Holiday Gift for Wine Lovers: Give the Gift of Great Wines Year Round
Wondering what to give the wine lovers in your life? How about a guarantee that they’ll enjoy every bottle they open? With a gift subscription to my wine reviews, they get exclusive access to my best value and top rated wines: red, white, rose, sparkling and dessert wines from around the world at all price points. They’ll discover wines they’ve never heard of that go amazingly well with a wide variety of dishes: bottles they would never have pulled off the shelf based on the label alone. No more disappointing bottles, no more paying too much for too little taste […]
Wine Tripping and Sipping in Prince Edward County
By Alex and Priya, A Vine Romance Move over Niagara, Prince Edward County is coming of age as a wine country area in Ontario! Whether it’s the big names like Norm Hardie, Closson Chase and Karlo Estates, or the smaller ones like Domaine Darius or Trail Estates, we’ve spent many a weekend exploring the wineries of this region and wanted to share some of our favourite spots with you. Priya: First things first is finding a great home base for all your County experiences. We were lucky to get a spot at The Ferg, a beautiful boutique property co-owned by our very good […]
Pairing Balderson Vintners Cheddars and Wine
Tips for Serving Wine As a rule of thumb, plan on a half bottle of wine per person. White wines should be chilled for two hours (no longer) before being served. Red wines should be opened and allowed to breathe at room temperature for two hours before serving. If you’re serving several wines, start with the lighter whites, move through more robust reds and end with a port or sherry. If possible, use the correct stemware for each of the wines. The right glass does make a difference. You could win one of three Balderson Gift Baskets valued at […]
Winner of Wines of South Africa International Sommelier Cup Announced
Marc Almert of Germany is the winner of the 2016 Wines of South Africa (WOSA) International Sommelier Cup, with Joe Yang of Macau and Nathan Morrell of Canada tying for second place. The top three finalists were amongst the elite group of eight contestants flown to the Cape Winelands to compete in the prestigious event this fall. The other participants were from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States of America and Kenya. Held every three years, the Sommelier Cup seeks to raise awareness of South Africa’s wine excellence amongst international restaurant, hotel and style-bar influencers. As they […]
Pascual Toso Proves There’s More to Argentina Than Malbec
By Priya & Alex, A Vine Romance The only thing better than enjoying a good bottle of wine is getting to meet the person who made it. We were fortunate to have that opportunity recently as we sat down with winemaker, Felipe Stahlschmidt from Pascual Toso. This Argentinian winery is celebrating it’s 125th anniversary. That’s a nice age for a “New World” region. They describe their production facility as “an old Chevy with a brand new Mercedes engine inside”. It’s a great analogy for an older building that has been completely updated with state-of-the-art production equipment. Alex: Pascual Toso is a fairly large […]
Frescobaldi Wines Find New Respect with Old World Elegance
Recently, Canada’s top wine writers and sommeliers gathered in Toronto to taste an impressive line-up of wines from the Italian estate Frescobaldi with Stefano Benini, the winery’s export director. You can watch the video above to hear Stefano discuss Frescobaldi wines. Priya & Alex, A Vine Romance Wine Show Hosts & Sommeliers Alex: Overall we both enjoyed the Frescobaldi style. They’re like a bridge between traditional Italian winemaking techniques, coupled with powerful Californian-style fruit, which makes their wines appealing to all sides of the wine-drinking spectrum. Priya: It’s true. Alex and I don’t always agree on red wines especially – he […]
Tale of Two Niagara Wineries: Reif Winery Makes Big Impression
As a photographer, I capture many wonderful moments in life, with no two moments ever being quite the same. This weekend, I found out in my travels to the Niagara Region, the same can be said for its wonderful abundance of world-class wineries. This is my story about visiting two wineries in the Niagara region at opposite ends of the spectrum, one small and one large, to see just how different they really were with respect to service style, approachability, ambiance and overall experience. In Part One of Tale of Two Wineries, I wrote about my experience visiting Ravine, considered to most as […]
