This chat with CBC radio in Ontario was one of 26 interviews with the morning and drive-home shows on Friday about terrific (and surprising) pairings for Canadian wines with barbecued food. We also kicked off The Great Canadian Wine Match: BBQ Edition. Got a wine to nominate? Or maybe you’d like to see which wines others have nominated and vote for them. Check out the race so far here with lots of great ideas for July 1 barbecue wines. Read more about the wine competition here as well as prizes for those who nominate wines, including a $3,000 Weber Summit […]
Canadian Wines
Canadian Wine and the European Trade Deal
How will the new European trade deal affect the Canadian wine industry? Here are some excerpts quoted from a recent story by Dianne Buckner, host of CBC’s Dragon Den. The story ran on CBC, Reuters and Canadian Business magazine. Unlike Canada’s cheese-makers and fisheries who find themselves disadvantaged by the new deal, some in Canada’s wine industry are thrilled by the prospect of new customers. Just ask the president of the Canadian Vintners Association. “The agreement opens preferential market access to the EU’s more than 500 million consumers,” says Dan Paszkowski. “It creates new opportunities for Canadian wine exports to […]
Wine Events and Tastings in Canada
Here is my Top 10 List of Wine Shows in Canada: 1. Vancouver Playhouse Festival: January 2016 2. La Grande Dégustation de Montréal: November 5-7, 2015 Montreal, Quebec 3. World Wine & Food Expo: October 30 – November 7, 2015 Moncton 4. Californian Wine Fair (5 cities): April-May 2016 5. Winnipeg Wine Festival 6. Port of Wines Festival: Halifax Dates change, so register online with the event to get alerts on the most current information. You’ll find tips on getting the most from wine shows here. I find that the larger shows that attract 20,000+ attendees are designed more […]
Stratus Wine and Food Pairing Dinner with Beckta Cuisine
Stratus Winery hosted a spectacular wine and food tasting dinner in Niagara on September 28 that featured the cuisine of Ottawa restaurateur Steve Beckta’s three establishments: Beckta Dining & Wine, Play and Gezellig. I found that the Stratus wines paired beautifully with partner and executive chef Mike Moffatt and chef de cuisine Katie Brown Ardington’s dishes. Click on the arrow above to play the short Instagram video clip. The missing word at the end is windmill ;) Chef Moffatt is a two-time Gold Medal Plates winner and Katie is a rising star on the Ottawa restaurant scene. This dinner paired […]
Black Hills Winery: Tasting Vintages of a BC Flagship Wine
By Valerie Stride Located on one of the most arid and sunny sites in the Okanagan, Black Hills Estate Winery is abundant in many things – including quality wines. Spread across a 27-acre vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon are carefully grown and handled by the Black Hills team. The microclimate on property, in addition to long hours of sunlight and cool nights, offers this west-facing orientation vineyard added value. The vineyard manager, Steve Carberry, works closely with winemaker Graham Pierce to ensure that the authenticity of Black Hills wines remains bona fide. On October […]
Taste Ontario: Wines + Event Make Spectacular Blend
“The evening function for Taste Ontario in Ottawa was beautiful. The Westin outdid itself with food stations all around the ballroom interspersed with ice sculptured bar tables and tree stands. The majestic Chateau Laurier was lit up in the background outside the room-length floor-to-ceiling windows. Music and mingling. Eating and drinking. My favourite pairing of the night was the sauteed shrimp in a rich cream sauce with the Closson Chase Vineyard Chardonnay 2011. The event gave us a chance to talk one-on-one with the owners, representatives and winemakers at some of the best wineries in Ontario. At the Closson Chase […]
Food and Wine Pairing + Canadian Harvest: CTV
Join me on CTV’s Canada AM this Thursday at 8:30 a.m. EST when we’ll chat about how the harvest is going across the country in various Canadian wine regions, from the Okanagan Valley to the Annapolis Valley. We’ll also discuss how to pair wine with seasonal tomato dishes. On Friday, tune into CTV’s new national talk show, The Social: think The View, but with smarter hosts and much stronger social media angle. We’ll be having fun with unusual wine and food pairings from poutine to potato chips at 1:20 p.m. EST. It’s prime time for wine this week! Cheers, Natalie
Canada’s Wine Trends and Regions: Lang and O’Leary Exchange
Join me tonight on CBC’s Lang and O’Leary Exchange, the national television news program with hosts Amanda Lang and Kevin O’Leary (also of Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank). We’ll be chatting at 4:20 pm EST about trends in the Canadian wine industry as well as emerging new regions to watch from the perspective of Canada’s largest wine site and social media community. Speaking of Kevin O’Leary, you may find this Google + Video interview to the left with him about his own wines of interest. He’s definitely the “merchant of truth” even when it comes to wine ;) Enjoy your […]
Wine and Cheese Pairing with a Blockbuster BC Wine
In our second video, we chat about visiting Quails’ Gate winery, winner of the Gold Medal in The Great Canadian Wine Match: – Tips on visiting the winery, including the special menus at the winery’s Old Vines restaurant – How long can Optima age for those wanting to cellar this dessert wine? – Why don’t more Canadian wineries make botrytis affected dessert wines? – What role do people’s choice awards play in our wine and food culture? Natalie: And we’re back with Matt Steeves the wine lover who championed Optima, Quails Gate Optima in the Great Canadian Wine Match and […]
Canada’s Best Wine with Cheese: Quails’ Gate Video
In this video, we chat with the Gold Medal Winners of Canada’s Best Wine with Cheese in The Great Canadian Wine Match. Winemaker Tony Stewart joins us from his winery Quails’ Gate in BC’s Okanagan Valley along with wine lover Matt Steeves, in Ottawa, who championed the winning wine during a very competitive voting process. We talk about: – Why Optima made such a big impression on Matt the first time he tasted it – How Optima pairs with cheeses, and which types are best suited to it, as well as some desserts – What makes Optima unique on the […]
