Today we’re chatting about wines owned by celebrities. Are the wines any good or is this just a marketing gimmick? Here to give us the inside scoop is Natalie MacLean who offers North America’s most popular online wine and food pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome Natalie. So let’s start off with why celebrities would want to own a winery? Owning a sports team or restaurant is just so 2021. These days, if you really want to show some class, you need to own a winery. There’s no better photo opp than one with you getting dirty pruning […]
California Wine
Best Barbecue Wines: Pairing Wine with Your Grilled Grub (Video)
Now that we’re officially into barbecue season, you may think of having beer with your grilled grub, but wine can also work. Whether you love BBQ seafood, veggies, chicken or beef, there’s a wine for that. Here with her tips for you is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine and food pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com/class. Welcome Natalie! Let’s start with lighter fare like grilled veggies and seafood. Which wines work well with those? Loimer Grüner Veltliner Kamptal D.A.C., Austria Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling […]
7 Best Wine and Book Pairings: What to Drink While You Read (Video)
Alex and I had so much fun chatting about pairing bottles with books on CTV’s morning show. What’s the first pairing you recommend? We’re starting on the west coast with The New York Times bestselling memoir, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. After Cheryl loses her mother to cancer and her own marriage is destroyed, she decides to hike the Pacific Northwest Trail, more a thousand miles, from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State alone and without any training. It’s a deeply moving story of how this young woman heals through this treacherous journey I’d pair […]
You Say Tomato, I Say Wine: Let’s Pair Them All Off (Video)
On CTV News, we chat about pairing wine with tomatoes, from heirloom to vine-ripened varieties. In Ode to the Tomato, Chilean poet Pablo Neruda described them as “the stars of the earth” that are upon the table, belted by summer” and “grant us the festival of ardent color and all-embracing freshness.” Now is the time to indulge in tomatoes while they’re in season with their thin skins that slide off plump like silk lingerie and yield their juicy, chin-dripping pleasure—the opposite of those tired February pellets that taste like mid-winter despair. Tomatoes hang heavy in our backyards and […]
The Best Online Wine Tasting & Pairing Classes (Video)
As the kids head back to school, let’s chat about how the adults have changed the way they learn about wine, especially with online courses. It’s a virtual world of wine learning at your fingertips. Yesterday, I chatted with Nicole Dube on CTV’s Morning Live show. First, tell us why online wine courses have become so popular? Online courses offer the best of both worlds: they’re accessible to everyone no matter where you live, they’re more comprehensive than a one-off class, but not as technical and time-consuming as college courses. Plus, there’s no drinking, then driving home, […]
9 Best Napa Valley Wines to Drink Now
On CTV news, Leanne and I chat about terrific Napa Valley wines at the LCBO. You can watch our first chat about California wines on CTV News here. We’re narrowing our focus on Napa Valley wines in this segment. Tell us about this region. What would surprise us about Napa Valley? It’s the most famous wine growing region in the U.S. but it’s actually tiny, producing just 4% of Californian wine and only 0.4% of the world’s wine production. The valley floor is just 30 miles long and just 5 miles at its widest point. […]
California Wines: Grapes, Styles, Regions and What to Buy
On CTV News, Leanne and I chat about why Californian wines are among the most popular at the liquor store. You can also watch our second chat about Napa Valley wines here. How the wildfires impacted California wineries? Thankfully, 2021 is a “drama free harvest.” It’s small but mighty, as drought is the defining feature in Napa and Sonoma, as it was the third-driest year in more than a century, and the stress has meant fewer grapes. But drought also causes smaller grapes with more concentrated flavor and tannins. People talk about intense aromas and depth, […]
Best Summer Wine Pairings
Global News Host Carolyn and I chatted about great summer wines yesterday to please your palate and keep your cool. Here are the wines we featured: Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc Nobilo Regional Collection Sauvignon Blanc Cave Spring Cellars CSV Riesling Cave Spring Cellars Estate Bottled Cave Spring Vineyard Pinot Noir Ruffino Ducale Riserva Chianti Classico Clos du Bois Rouge Alamos Malbec McWilliams Wines JJ McWilliam Shiraz Cabernet Barefoot Zinfandel Cave Spring Cellars Indian Summer Late Harvest Riesling Video: These Summer Wines Will Surprise Your Taste Buds Carolyn: Natalie Maclean is the editor […]
Barbecue Wines for Father’s Day: Best Bottles for Grilled Grub
On CTV’s The Social, we chat about great wines for BBQ fare on Father’s Day. Nat, some dads are just not wine guys, they’re more beer guys. But are you saying these selections you’ve brought today can change that? It’s mostly a perception that wine is for fancier occasions than beer, but that’s just not true. Anytime you think of having a beer, you can probably substitute it with a bubbly. I’m not talking Champagne, but value-priced sparkling wines from other regions. They’re both frothy and fun, like our first wine here. Great segue! Tell us about the first […]
Video: The Ultimate Guide to Pairing Wine and Chocolate
The hosts of CTV’s The Social and I shared lots of scandalous laughs this week pairing wine and chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Click on the arrow above to play the video. Laurent-Perrier Millésimé Champagne 2007 Champagne A.C., France What’s you favourite pairing? We love chocolate not just for its taste, but also for its sensual texture. Cocoa butter, one of its main ingredients, melts close to body temperature, so sliding a piece into your mouth and feeling it seep out to coat your tongue can almost be orgasmic. Maybe that why’s the […]
