In his book How to Love Wine, New York Times wine columnist Eric Asimov observes: “I’m sometimes dismayed that sommeliers confuse their professional training with what consumers need to know to enjoy wine. We don’t need to know whether you can identify wines blind. “Those are just parlor games for professionals. I think that professionals, like sommeliers, need to be able to communicate with the public in a language that they understand and that they find useful.” When I tasted wines blind with Eric at the paper’s headquarters several years ago, he lived those words. The blind tasting was to […]
Wine Videos
The Ancient Greeks Invented the Concept of Pairing Wine and Food Together
Last week in Toronto, I attended a terrific tasting of Greek wines, with more than 40 Greek wineries pouring more than 120 wines at the Royal Ontario Museum (thus the dino). According to the Greek embassy of economic and trade affairs, Greek wine exports to Canada are up 66% since 2010 and are also up 7.5 percent so far in 2017. Last night, we were joined by a special guest, Christina Boutari, North America Brand Ambassador of her family’s wines, to chat about them as well as the surprising changes in Greek wines. Join us on the Sunday […]
Ontario’s Best Sommelier to Compete for National Title
Last night, we were joined by special guest Emily Pearce-Bibona who has just been named Ontario’s Best Sommelier in a gruelling day-long competition. Click on the arrow above to watch the video. We went behind the scenes with Emily to chat about what it was like to compete (and win) in this competition hosted by the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers. Plus, she shared her expert tips on tasting and enjoying wine, including how to choose a great bottle from a restaurant list, with the help of your sommelier, of course ;) You can read 69 comments here and […]
How to Taste Wine Like a Pro at a Winery or Restaurant
On CTV’s The Social yesterday, we chatted about how to get the most from your winery visit, including what to bring, what to ask and how to spit your wine. You can watch the full video here. However, when you’re at home, please don’t spit the two lovely wines that I selected for this show: Rosehall Run Pinot Noir and Viewpointe Auxerrois ;) I absolutely love it when there’s a strong reaction to any segment we do on The Social: it means we’re engaged and passionate about wine! When I mention that there shouldn’t be sediment floating around in your […]
Wine Prices: Is the Price Right?
In this segment of CTV’s The Social, we chat about how wines are priced: does a $100 wine taste ten times better than a $10 one? How can you spot the bargains in the liquor store? What clues can you find on the bottle label about quality and price? You can get a shopping list with my top rated and best bargain wines showing the stock at your closest liquor stores when you join as a VIP Member. Many of us love to shop and nearly all of us love a good bargain. But finding a Versace dress […]
Video: How Can you Become an Ontario Wine Specialist? IWEG Wine of-Course!
We had a lot of fun this past Sunday sipping on our favourite Ontario wines and chatting about the New Ontario Wine Specialist Certificate! Click on the arrow above to play the video. You can read the 138 comments here (and comment yourself). Share your thoughts on your favourite Ontario wines and discover which wines others love that you might want to try. Also find out how you can become a Certified Ontario Wine Specialist. Sip with you soon! P.S. If you click on the “Like” and “Share buttons on Facebook now, you’ll get the heads up when […]
Why Does Vancouver Wine Festival Need to be on Your Bucket List?
This Facebook Live Video above, we chat about the Vancouver International Wine Festival. You can click on the arrow above to play the video. We’re joined by guest wine columnist, Monique Sosa of Ottawa Family Living magazine. You’ll find our most recent live video wine tasting here: www.nataliemaclean.com/live We taste every Sunday evening at 6 pm eastern so add us to your calendar and grab a glass of wine. Click on the buttons for “Share” and “Like” on the page above to get notified when we go live. If you’d like to read the comments for this video, or make […]
How to Shuck an Oyster (Video) and Pair with Sauvignon Blanc
Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc Share your Nobilo experience #NobiloWines #NobiloAndOysters. Get the Secret “5 S” Tips for enjoying oysters at home. These tips on selecting oysters are courtesy of Nobilo Wines.
Top 20 Wines Under $20: Beat the Heat with Bargain Bottles
In last night’s Facebook Live Video chat, we talk about how to get out of your wine rut with some ‘go to’ bargain wines. Continuing my tipsy quest for the world’s best bargain wines that I started in Unquenchable, here’s the July edition of my top 20 wines under $20. I love finding those bargain-priced bottles that taste twice as expensive as they cost. Here’s the full list of 20 wines. You can see the full wine reviews, ratings and food pairings if you are a Paid Member of our community. As well, you will see the liquor stores […]
Balderson Cheddar Cheese and Canadian Wine Pairing Contest
You can read the 85 comments from our interactive tasting on Facebook. Savour your holidays with these terrific Balderson Cheddar Cheese and Canadian wine pairings. Congratulations to the winners of the Balderson Cheddar Cheese and Wine Pairing contest! It was a fierce race for 10 days … Lori Kilmartin Sommelier & Blogger Lynn van der Linde Certified Sommelier and Event Planner Donna Hargrove Wine Blogger & Tasting Group Leader Which Balderson Cheddar & Wine Pairing Gets Your Vote? This poll closed on December […]
