Carol Anne and I chat about this year’s beaujolais nouveau in the video above. Catch our second video chat about more easy-drinking red wines for the holidays that aren’t nouveau. The annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau and other nouveau wines happens on the third Thursday of November. According to several liquor store chains, they are one of the fastest-selling products with about 80% selling out during the first week. In the LCBO, there are usually two Ontario nouveau wines (Reif), five French and two Italian nouveau-style (novello) wines released, and a total of more than 10,000 cases sold. The Beaujolais […]
Wine Type
10 Best Zinfandel Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Zinfandel
In our latest Facebook Live Video chat, we chat about the robust red wine Zinfandel. What makes it different from other red wines? How is it related to the Italian red wine Primitivo? What foods pair best with Zinfandel? What’s the group Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) all about, and International Zinfandel Day on November 19? You can click on the arrow above to play the video. Zinfandel is a vitis vinifera red wine grape that produces deep robust wines, most famously from California. You’ll find my most recent Zinfandel reviews and ratings here. Surprising Facts about Zinfandel: […]
Minerality in Wine, Great Hybrid Grapes & What Jimi Hendrix Can Teach Winemakers with Aleks Zecevic
Introduction Is minerality a flavour or a texture? What does it feel or taste like? Why do wines made from hybrid grapes deserve your attention? What can winemakers learn from Jimi Hendrix? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m interviewing Aleks Zecevic, wine writer and host of the Vintners 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 […]
Wine Spectator and Sotheby’s Auction House Dream Jobs with Aleks Zecevic
Introduction What’s it like to work at the prestigious Wine Spectator magazine and Sotheby’s fine wine auction house? How can you distinguish real wine from fakes? What’s the secret to putting together the perfect wine flight? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m interviewing Aleks Zecevic, wine writer and host of the Vintners 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 […]
Haunting Wines for Halloween Treats and Pairings that Won’t Spook You
In our latest Facebook Live Video chat, we pair wines with Halloween treats. If you’d like to read the 140 comments, or make a comment yourself visit the link to this video here. You’ll find the most recent live video wine tasting at the top of the Facebook timeline here: www.facebook.com/natdecants We used to taste every Sunday evening at 6 pm eastern. You can add us to your calendar to be notified of the next tasting and grab a glass of wine! Click on Follow, Like and Signup on my Facebook Page to get notified when we go […]
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 […]
Wine & Global Weirding, Canadian Wine and New Regions with Brian Freedman
Introduction As a wine lover, what can you do to help mitigate the impact of climate change? Why do many experts consider the phrase “global warming” a big marketing mistake? How is climate change pushing the boundaries of where great wine comes from? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m interviewing Brian Freedman, wine and spirits educator and author of Crushed: How a Changing Climate Is Altering the Way We Drink. 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 […]
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 […]
“Crushed: How a Changing Climate Is Altering the Way We Drink” with Brian Freedman
Introduction Are you curious about the deeper, less obvious impacts of climate change on wine? How is it different from the impact on our food? What are Israeli winemakers doing to bring back a whole ecosystem approach? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m interviewing Brian Freedman, wine and spirits educator and author of Crushed: How a Changing Climate Is Altering the Way We Drink. 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 […]
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. […]
