St. Patrick’s Day is often celebrated with a pint or two, but what if you love wine? Here to chat with us about the best pairings for Irish food and classic dishes is Natalie MacLean who offers North America’s most popular online wine classes. Hi Natalie. Is there a wine that pairs with corned beef and cabbage? This begs the question: Can we skip the corned beef and cabbage and just have wine? My Irish grandmother is probably turning over in her grave. Traditional matches for this meal usually include Irish stout, like Guinness. But what about wine? Corned […]
Austria Wine
10 Best Zinfandel Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Zinfandel
In our latest Facebook Live Video chat, we chat about the robust red wine Zinfandel. What makes it different from other red wines? How is it related to the Italian red wine Primitivo? What foods pair best with Zinfandel? What’s the group Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) all about, and International Zinfandel Day on November 19? You can click on the arrow above to play the video. Zinfandel is a vitis vinifera red wine grape that produces deep robust wines, most famously from California. You’ll find my most recent Zinfandel reviews and ratings here. Surprising Facts about Zinfandel: […]
Minerality in Wine, Great Hybrid Grapes & What Jimi Hendrix Can Teach Winemakers with Aleks Zecevic
Introduction Is minerality a flavour or a texture? What does it feel or taste like? Why do wines made from hybrid grapes deserve your attention? What can winemakers learn from Jimi Hendrix? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m interviewing Aleks Zecevic, wine writer and host of the Vintners 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 YouTube Live Video. I’ll be jumping into the comments as […]
Riesling, the Four-Octave Diva + Austrian Wine Revival with Valerie Kathawala
Introduction Why should we change the way we talk about Riesling? How have Austrian and German wines transformed in recent years? How can you pair German-speaking wines with food? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m interviewing journalist and co-founder of TRINK magazine, Valerie Kathawala. 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 YouTube Live Video. I’ll be jumping into the comments as we watch it together so […]
The Best Gruner Veltliner Wines: How They Taste, How to Pronounce It + Food Pairings (Video)
Ah summer, we want to hang on to it as long as we can. What better way then with wines that are best enjoyed at this time of the year, especially Austrian Gruner Veltliner, as Natalie MacLean of nataliemaclean.com discusses on CTV. You’ve picked a white wine for us today that some people may not be familiar with. Tell us about it. I have a bouquet of Gruner Veltliners from Austria for your summer sipping pleasure! Grüner means “green” and I think that’s fitting because it offers a lot of lime zest and green apple refreshment in the summer. […]
10 Best Pinot Noir Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Pinot Noir
Leanne and I had fun chatting about Pinot Noir this past Wednesday on CTV News! I’ll be posting the wines we featured soon. Pinot Noir is a wine of great sensuality, a silky texture and seductive aromas. “God made Cabernet Sauvignon whereas the devil made Pinot Noir,” winemaker André Tchelistcheff once remarked. This thin-skinned berry is known as the “heartbreak grape” because it’s difficult to grow and is unstable even bottled. That’s why you often pay more for Pinot Noir than most other red wines. You’ll find my top 10 Pinot Noir reviews and ratings here, including pinot […]
Natural Born Beauty in a Bottle: Wachau Wine
By Rebecca Meïr-Liebman of Chef & Somm One of the most wonderful aspects of wine is that it allows us to travel the world without leaving home. From anywhere in the world, we can taste the terroir of Bordeaux, Sonoma, or the Mosel, especially when we successfully pair the cuisine of a particular region with its wine. But can we truly grasp the complexity of a wine and its terroir without actually going there, without touching the land, breathing the air and getting to know the regions’ style, tradition, and philosophy? At the risk of coming off as elitist, I […]
Which Wines to Drink for Spring
We had such fun chatting about spring and summer wines on CTV’s The Social yesterday! Are the wines we drink in the winter that different from the ones we drink in the spring and summer? · Yes, most people’s drinking habits change with the seasons. · We typically drink heavy, alcoholic, heavily oaked wines in the winter because they comfort us and keep us warm. · “Drink what you like” remains in effect no matter the weather, but for most people, lighter drinking in the summer generally means more consumption of white wines. LIGHT & COLD This […]
Perfect Pairings and Recipes for Asparagus and Wine
Sponsored Post by the Wines of Austria Seldom have young wines gone so well with springtime’s most distinctive calling-card as do Austria’s 2018 wines. Completely harmonious and beautifully blessed with refined acidity, they provide an ideal partner to the dazzling variety of asparagus dishes due to dominate Austria’s menus in the coming weeks. Asparagus & Wine from Austria: Delicious Essence of Springtime Asparagus Season is once more in session! No other vegetable stands for culinary pleasure in springtime like the delicious white or green shoots, which are certainly best when locally grown. Whether with Hollandaise sauce or with […]
Travel Tips for Austria & Washington Wine Regions with Interpreting Wine’s Lawrence Francis
Introduction What’s the smartest strategy you’ve never heard when it comes to visiting any wine region? More specifically, what’s the best way to explore the wineries of Washington state or Burgenland in Austria? Why is there such a variety in the complexity of Grüner Veltliners? What are the essential six stories about wine? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Lawrence Francis, host of the Interpreting Wine 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 […]
