By Natalie MacLean What’s the big deal about sulfites in wine? Most wine labels bear the warning “contains sulfites” (or sulphites, the Canadian and British spelling), which can alarm consumers into thinking that the substance is harmful or unhealthy. In fact, sulfites, the salts of sulfurous acid or sulfur dioxide (SO2), are just a common food preservative that prevents the wine from oxidizing after fermentation (it turns brown and the fruit aromas go stale) or spoiling from bacteria once bottled. Traditionally, in Europe no warning label was required if there was less than 100 parts per million of sulfites added, […]
Serving Wine
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 […]
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 […]
How a Wine Name Impacts Price: Dr. Antonia Mantonakis Video Chat
In this fascinating video chat, Dr. Antonia Mantonakis reveals the insights from her research on how the name of a wine affects both our perception of it and how much we’re willing to pay for it. Difficult to pronounce names score higher, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that wineries should use them… find out why in this video. Why does the ease with which we can pronounce the name of a wine influence our perception of both its quality and price? How much more were research subjects willing to pay for the difficult-to-pronounce wine name? Why is that […]
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, […]
Buying Wines that are Affordable (not cheap) and Delicious – Sympatico Lifestyle
What defines a bargain wine? Is it just a low price or is there something more? What are some tips on finding wines that are affordable but still delicious in the liquor store? Wines mentioned in this video: Segura Viudas Cava, Spain Yum, smells like fresh baked bread just out from the oven! Wonderfully toasty, this bubbly will warm you after a day of sledding or skiing. Love the notes of hazelnuts too. $14.65 Score: 87/100. Freixenet Cava Cordon Rosado, Spain How festive is this pink bubbly? Aromas of ripe field raspberries tickle your note. Float a raspberry on top […]
Is there a big difference between a $10 and a $30 wine? How can you find good but affordable wines in the liquor store? The Link, CBC Radio
How do you find wines that are affordable, but still delicious and not too corporate or homogenized? Is there really a big difference in quality and taste between a $10 and a $30 wine? Does your ability to taste diminish as you get older? How can you become a better wine taster? Marc and I chat about these and tips on how to find these wines in the liquor store.
Ideas for Holiday Gift Wines, How to Spot Bargains, Mobile Wine App to Help Shopping – CBC Ontario Morning
Why it pays to “go south” when hunting for wine bargains, what are sure bet gift wines and why go local is a delicious decision (not just the right one). Wines recommended include Huff Estates, Closson Chase, Inniskillin, Tawse and Le Clos Jordanne.
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Nat Decants: Comprehensive wine guide for iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Droid, Nexus, Nokia, Palm Pre and other smartphones www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp Wine lovers know there’s nothing like the right pairing to complement a good meal, but not everyone knows whether the Chianti or the Merlot goes best with what’s for dinner. That’s where mobile devices come to the rescue. With quick access to a large resource of wine recommendations in seconds, even a vino novice can uncork the right vintage. Mobile wine apps promise to help you with picking a bottle for dinner, gift or special occasion. Nat Decants recommends pairings around […]
Mobile Wine Apps 1
A Magnum-Sized Resume Natalie MacLean is more than just an accredited sommelier; she’s a wine writer, speaker, wine judge, and publisher of one of the largest wine newsletters on the Internet. “I’ve been writing about wine for 10 years,” says MacLean, “I love the ‘research’ aspect of my job and am very thorough about it.” She’s good at it, too. Her book, Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass, was named Best Wine Book in the English Language at the Gourmand Cookbook Awards. It also won the Culinary Literary Book Award in the Cordon […]
