Wine and cheese: two of life’s greatest pleasures … On CTV’s The Social, we search for the perfect pairing with a fun take on the fashion quiz: Who wore it best? Which one of two wines paired best with a particular cheese? Find out who got it right and who didn’t ;) 7 Unusually Great Wine & Cheese Pairings Guide Here are the wines we featured on the show … see links below for reviews and to find them in your local liquor store. Cheddar Hard cheeses like cheddar become not just stronger, but […]
Cabernet Sauvignon
Easy Entertaining with Wine and Cheese (Video)
In the second segment, Leanne and I talk about chat about what makes wine and cheese pop on a plate visually, and how to mix textures, tastes and flavours. You can watch our first video segment on wine and cheese pairing here. Pasqua Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie Veneto DOC, Italy Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand Miguel Torres Chile Las Mulas Sauvignon Blanc Central Valley, Chile […]
Celebrity Wines from Brad Pitt, Pink, Sarah Jessica Parker, Francis Ford Coppola
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Wines for Summer BBQ, Picnics, Seafood: CJAD Radio
Which wines to crack open for summer BBQs: big reds for meats and flavourful whites for seafood and veggies. Seven Deadly Zins, Menage a Trois, Innsikillin Riesling, St. Nicholas Cider and Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc. Do you have to pay much a lot for good wine? No, and here’s why. We chat about this and other tasty topics on CJAD radio, one of the largest morning talk shows in the country. Wines for Summer BBQ, Picnics, Seafood: CJAD Radio Barry: 7:41 summer’s here, although it’s kind of tough to tell this morning, but summer is here. So what wines go […]
Pairing Wine & Creative Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
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! […]
