St. Patrick’s Day is often celebrated with a pint or two, but what if you love wine? On CTV News, we chat about the best pairings for Irish food and classic dishes. Is there a wine that pairs with corned beef and cabbage? This begs the question: Can we skip the corned beef and cabbage and just have wine? My Irish grandmother is probably turning over in her grave. Traditional matches for this meal usually include Irish stout, like Guinness. But what about wine? Corned beef is salty and cabbage can be skunky, so you’ll avoid those wines […]
Sauvignon Blanc
Can You Guess This Wine’s Price? (Video)
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 are […]
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 […]
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 […]
Video: Which Wines for Turkey, Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Pie?
CTV’s Your Morning Host Ben Mulroney and chat about which wines to pair with your holiday turkey dinner, from appetizers and the big bird to side dishes and dessert. Happy holidays! Natalie Start with an aperitif As the heady aroma of the turkey wafts through the house, and sounds of Miracle on 34th Street come from the livingroom, offer family and friends an aperitif. This pre-dinner drink will whet their appetites before they sit down to the table. An excellent choice is a chilled dry sherry. Its nutty flavours go well with spiced nuts, olives, cheese and other pre-dinner […]
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 Terrible Food and Wine Matches (Video)
On Global’s Morning Television Show, I asked Carolyn and Jeff to try five terrible food and wine matches … their expressions are priceless. We chatted about why these pairings don’t work, and then how to fix them: either with the food or the wine. I can’t cook, so I go the wine route ;) However, a squeeze of lemon or a dash of salt will often help. Here are the wines and pairings we featured below. We all know that a big red wine pairs well with a steak, but what about more difficult dishes like vegetables and […]
Pairing Wine with Weird Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes (Video)
You may have some wines in mind for your Thanksgiving roast turkey, but what should you drink with non-traditional recipes, like turducken or deep-fried turkey? That’s what Lindsey and I chat about on CTV’s Your Morning, the country’s national breakfast show. Let’s start with beer can turkey. What is it and which wines should we have with this dish? So for this wonderfully weird recipe, you sit the turkey on a beer can on a grill, which results in a moist meat, and a crispy, satin-brown skin. Of course, you could pair this dish with beer since you cooked with […]
5 Tips to Pick Wines for Thanksgiving
No other holiday celebrates the gift of wine like Thanksgiving. Wine is a taste of the harvest along with all the delicious dishes on the table. But actually choosing a bottle can feel like a thankless task, especially with so many flavours to match. Relax. Have a drink. And try some of my suggestions for great wines to pair with Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings that Leanne and I chat about in the video above. You can also watch our first video on fall wines here. In my free online matching tool, you can click on “turkey holiday dinner” […]
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 some […]
