The Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz (above), was among hundreds who gathered near Parliament Hill in Ottawa last night to celebrate Canadian cheese and wine with the terrific pairings below. It was a privilege to meet the farmers and producers across this country who create these artisanal cheeses. It proved to me, once again, just how well our own food and drink pairs together, and the incredible range of styles and flavours we create. Le Mont-Jacob Fromagerie Blackburn Jonquière, Québec The Blackburn Farm has been in the family for over 80 years. In 2006, 4 generations later, the […]
Taste Wine
BC Wines Toast Large Twitter Tasting
BC wineries celebrated a vibrant wine tasting on Twitter last night. The positive energy and support from the wine community coast to coast poured out in tweets that came rapid-fire one after the other. A tasting event like this proves what we can build and create together using these new social media tools. Not only did we support our homegrown producers, but we showed our strength and commitment to having access to all of our wines across this country. Ontario wants more BC, BC wants more Ontario and Canada wants more Canada. We were fortunate to have @DanAlbas join us […]
Canadian wine community gets behind (and into) BC wine
Here’s a toast to the terrific team of wine reviewers who joined in a terrific wine tasting on Twitter last night. Their enthusiasm and positive energy came through in both their tweets and their reviews for these incredible BC wines (scroll down on the page for each wine to see their notes and scores): Mission Hill Reserve Chardonnay 2010, BC VQA Gray Monk Gewürztraminer 2011, BC VQA Quails’ Gate Chardonnay 2011, BC VQA Eau Vivre Pinot Noir 2008, BC VQA Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2008, BC VQA Mission Hill Quatrain 2009, BC VQA I raise my glass to an […]
Ontario Produces Such Great Wines – Maclean’s Magazine
This story about Ontario wines by Jessica Allen in Maclean’s Magazine deserves to be shared widely: she makes some excellent points about Ontario wines … By I spent American Thanksgiving with friends in Washington D.C. They’re enthusiastic wine drinkers and the last time they visited this side of the border they couldn’t contain their excitement over a variety of Niagara wines they’d enjoyed. So, I brought along a couple to share. They did not disappoint. But I did: when they asked me how it’s possible that cold Ontario could produce such standouts, I babbled on about Southern Ontario being on […]
How to Taste Wine in 5 Steps Video
In this video, I read a few short sections from Unquenchable, including the parts about meeting Wolf Blass in Australia and Charles Back in South Africa. We also do a quick wine tasting with the 5 steps to tasting wine. It’s tongue-in-cheek but will give you the basics for getting more from each glass. What’s your favourite wine for tasting, or drinking? You can also watch a shorter wine video of the Airmiles Gold event at Willow Park Wine & Spirits. 10801 Bonaventure Dr SE Calgary, Alberta T2J 6Z8 Phone: 403.296.1640 http://willowpark.net
Wolf Blass Wine Tasting in Ottawa, 2 Videos
The excitement for the Ottawa Wolf Blass tasting started with a long lineup that snaked down the sidewalk in front of Restaurant 18. The great vibe from the people who attended, Wolf’s rascal humour and the tasty wines made it a wonderful evening. Here’s more on that plus two video clips from CTV News below … Wolf loves women … I couldn’t find any pictures of him with men :) I couldn’t keep up with the tweets during the event, but it was lovely to see how much people enjoyed themselves with the comments […]
Wolf Blass Wine Tasting: An Unforgettable Evening
What a spectacular evening we had in Toronto last week at the Wolf Blass tasting! A full-house of 90 guests packed the waterside restaurant Against the Grain. As I interviewed Wolf about his experiences, we tasted his wines and some delicious tapas. More details on the event as well as the Canada AM clip below … Here’s the clip from Canada AM … Wolf has a great sense of humour and such a long history in the wine industry. Wolf talks about the wines we’re tasting as did the current winemaker Chris Hatcher. […]
An Unforgettable Evening of Wine, Laughter and Storytelling
Join Natalie MacLean and Wolf Blass in Toronto Sept 10 and Ottawa Sept 17 for a tasting of 12 Wolf Blass wines, a range of sumptuous tapas dishes prepared by Toronto’s award-winning Against the Grain Restaurant and a personally signed copy of Natalie’s book Unquenchable. Natalie MacLean, named the World’s Best Wine Writer at the World Food Media Awards, will interview one of the most witty, provocative and colourful characters from her book Unquenchable: Wolf Blass of Wolf Blass Wines Australia. Yes, this is the man who once described his Red Label Shiraz as “the leg opener,” but he’s also […]
Master Sommelier Video: What it Takes to be a Restaurant Wine Expert
In the video below, Scott Carney, Director of Wine Education at the International Culinary Center, shares his insights on the education and training required to become a Master Sommelier. As well: How is the Master Sommelier different from the Master of Wine? What makes your approach to teaching wine different from other schools? Why is it important for chefs to know about wine if they’re not going to be sommeliers? What are the three most important traits of an excellent sommelier? What trends and changes are you seeing in the sommelier field? We’ll post part two of our conversation in […]
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 […]
