Welcome back. The long weekend is almost here and if you’re looking for vino to sip on, our next guest has you covered with her amazing recommendations! Here to highlight some family-owned vineyards from across the country is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes. Hi Natalie! Natalie, we love getting your wonderful wine recommendations but before we get to talking about the specific vineyards you’re going to highlight today, can you tell us a bit about the wine production in Canada? • There are four major regions in Canada that produce wines made from grapes: […]
Canada Wine
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings December 17, 2022
You can access the wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. You can also see my wine reviews for December 3rd. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing […]
The Best Holiday Books & Bottles for Gift Giving
The holiday season is right around the corner. Looking for a great book or bottle to give to someone you love or perhaps as a treat for yourself? Here with her tips is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome, Natalie. Great to be here, Leanne! What’s the first pairing you recommend? We’re starting with one of my favourite authors, Dani Shapiro is known for her bestselling memoirs, especially Inheritance. Signal Fires is her first novel in more than 15 years, Signal Fires and it was worth the wait. It’s […]
5 Great Holiday Books & Bottles to Give or Get
We’re back with more book and bottle pairings with Natalie MacLean. What do you have for us first? We’re starting with The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais This is a magical novel about a modern-day coven of witches who are under the threat of losing their home. This is really a story about the power of sisterhood, secrets and identity. Bianca is a lyrical writer who infuses great insight and humour into her story. I should also note that Bianca will be at Perfect Books in Ottawa this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in conversation with author, […]
Canadian Wines, Grapes & Styles with Drink Adventures’ James Atkinson
Introduction Is Icewine the major part of Canada’s wine industry? How does Icewine compare to other dessert wines like Sauternes? How has climate change impacted Canadian winemaking? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m being interviewed by James Atkinson, drinks journalist and host of the Drinks Adventures 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 we watch […]
What is Mead? How is it Different From Wine? Which are the Best Meads to Drink?
What’s old is often new again and that’s the case when it comes to alcohol. In fact, the oldest alcoholic beverage, mead, is having a resurgence! So, grab your goblets because here to highlight meaderies from across the country is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome, Natalie! Natalie, I had never heard of mead before so let’s start with explaining what it is and how long it’s been around? Mead is fermented honey and water. It’s been around for at least 12,000 years, the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage. Honey wine is what those […]
Pairing Comfort Wines with Comfort Food (Video)
As the weather cools, we enjoy heartier dishes, including comfort food. But which wines should you pair with them? Here with her tips is Maritimer Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com. Welcome Natalie. First off, are there such things as comfort wines? After much research on this topic, I concluded there were no “uncomfortable wines” since I found them all of great comfort ;) However, I found that certain wines tend to pair better with comfort food than others. Great! Tell us about your first pairing. Comfort food tends to have rich, robust flavours. […]
Perfect Pairings for Thanksgiving with Quails’ Gate Wines
The post is sponsored by Quails’ Gate Winery Nothing says harvest season like giving thanks over a large gathering of friends and family. This Thanksgiving we at Quails’ Gate Winery are thankful for a rich harvest from our vineyard and for you! To celebrate the season, we’ve compiled a list of perfect harvest pairings. These pairings can be your guide as you begin to plan and enjoy gatherings, feasts and being together. Below are 12 harvest-inspired meals and their corresponding wine pairings. Together these perfect food and wine experiences will have you satiated, satisfied and maybe even surprised! Pairing […]
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, […]
How to Choose the Perfect Anniversary Wines?
Cyn: Anniversaries are a time to celebrate and reflect on memories made along the way. So today we’re going to do that through wine! We’re raising a glass to season 10 with the wine expert who’s been with us from the beginning. Mel: Here to help us pick out awesome anniversary bottles is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes. Welcome, Natalie! Jess: We’re going to take a walk down memory lane with you, Natalie, to see if we can recall the wine wisdom you’ve shared with us over the years. But first, you’ve brought us […]
