On Global Television’s Morning Show, we chat about whether you judge a bottle of wine by its label, or at least, by its price? Does an expensive wine guarantee you a better one? We play a fun game. The hosts taste two wines and try to guess which wine they think is more expensive of the two. I share some details about the two wines as hints ;) Can you guess which wine is pricier before the hosts do? Play the game with us! Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Superiore Prosecco Veneto D.O.C.G., Italy Vines […]
Cabernet Sauvignon
Why Cabernet Sauvignon is the King of Red Wines (Video)
On CTV News, Leanne and I chat about the colourful history of the king of red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular red wine and most planted on the planet — it’s the OG (original gangster) of wines, so to speak. In 1997, UC Davis researched revealed its parents: the white grape Sauvignon Blanc and the red grape Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc is thinner skinned and early ripening than Cabernet Sauvignon. Stave & Steel Canadian Whisky Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 California, United States Cabernet Sauvignon is full-bodied, tannic, sauvignon means […]
Video: Wine Supertasters, Vinotype Quiz and Your Taste in Wine?
On CTV’s The Social yesterday, we chatted about how to find your Vinotype, or taste in wine. Click the arrow above to play the video. We also discussed what a Supertaster is: “Someone who lives in a neon taste world,” according to researcher Linda Bartoshuk, “whose taste sensations are roughly three times as intense to them as non-tasters.” I’ve also heard compared to having 500 fingers rather than 10. So yes, I was tested, did the blue dye tongue test and measurements with Tim Hanni in California (see our video chat below). You can take Tim’s quiz to find your vinotype […]
Pairing Wine & Creative Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (Video)
Carolyn, Jeff and I chat about pairing wine and grilled cheese sandwiches for Canada Day on the national edition of Global Television’s Morning Show. These aren’t your ordinary grilled cheese sammies: step it up on July 1 or 4, and create one of these for yourself and for your guests. Loblaw’s Executive Chef, Mark Russell, created these terrific grilled cheese sandwich recipes. The accompaniments are part of Loblaw’s From Our Chef line. Here are my favourite Canadian wines that I’ve tasted recently, plus wines from around the world in the spirit of international peace and diversity through food and drink! Baldersen Extra […]
Wine and Comfort Food Pairing: Revel in Your Rut
Yes, I know that I’m supposed to be forward-looking to spring with a chirpy article about zesty white wines to pair with fresh vegetables, but it’s so cold outside … and I’m tired of writing seasonally-appropriate editorial content. So let’s make wallowing fun, and turn to comfort wines paired with comfort food. In our continuing video series with Canadian Press, we look at quick tips on pairing those old favourites, from braised meat to pasta in cream sauce with wine. It’ll make you (almost) care what time of year it is when you have bottled sunshine. Here are my favourite […]
Canadian Icewine: Heroic Harvest = Epic Wine
On Global Television yesterday, we discussed the Canadian Icewine harvest. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the wines that we’ll be featuring, along with reports from the field. Fun Facts: The Upside of the Deep Freeze Our deep freeze recently turned out to be bonus for Ontario icewine winemakers. The sustained cold snap and arctic temperatures allowed them to harvest grapes in an unusually short time. Who makes the most Icewine? Ontario produces about 80% of Canadian icewine, with the remainder mostly in British Columbia though some is also made in both Quebec and Nova Scotia. About 60 […]
How to Pair Wine with People on Your Gift List (Video)
‘Tis the season for holiday entertaining and gift giving. What if you’d like to give someone a bottle of wine? How do you know which one to choose? How much do you spend? Here to help us with that is wine expert Natalie MacLean. Welcome Natalie. So if choosing the right wine is so tricky, why should we give wine as a gift at all? When you give the gift of wine, doubles are fine unlike toaster ovens, there are no wrong sizes unlike that ugly sweater and re-gifting is so much easier compared to fruit cake or a […]
Pairing Wine and Halloween Treats (Video)
Lots of laughs on CTV’s The Social this week! Click the arrow above to watch the video. The hosts chose the theme of a Royal Halloween, so Lainey dressed as Prince George, Cyn was Daenerys from Game of Thrones, Mel was Megan Markle and Marci was Queen Ramonda from the Black Panther movie. I channeled my inner (royal) wine witch and brought my broom shtick to the show. What a hoot we had together! Here are the tips, tricks and wines we discussed … Something a bit scary happens on Halloween: we’re surrounded by lots of treats, but will […]
How to Pair and Serve Wines at Dinner Parties (Video)
The hosts of CTV’s The Social and I had lots of fun chatting about which wines to serve at dinner parties, pairing tips and other entertaining suggestions. If you’re hosting a dinner party, how many wines should you serve? Count on one to two glasses of wine per guest per hour, as people tend to drink more in the evening and at a sit-down dinner, than they do at a standing reception earlier in the day. There are 4-5 glasses of wine in a standard 750 ml bottle, so if you’re entertaining ten people for, say, three hours, counting pre-dinner […]
Label Gazing: How to Read a Wine Label
The hosts of CTV’s The Social and I had lots of fun decoding wine labels to find the secret info you can use to buy better wine. Admit it. You’ve probably bought a wine based on nothing more than a beautiful label. Q: Presentation is a big thing when it comes to wine. When I’m picking out a bottle, I look for a pretty label and pay attention to the name of the wine but that’s about it. Is the aesthetic of the label usually indicative of the taste? · Not at all ;) · However, most people do […]
