Cheese and Wine Pairing Video Part 2

In part two of our video chat, Janice Beaton and I discuss pairing wine with ash-crust cheeses (not as nasty as I make them out to me), including the lovely Tidal Bay wines of Nova Scotia … bring it! You can also watch part one of our wine and cheese chat. We’ll post part three of this trilogy before it gets mouldy … Janice sure has a whey with curds.         You may also enjoy these video chats: Pairing Wine and Cheese: Cheddar, Gouda, Blue Dragon’s Den Arlene Dickinson talks about wine, women, business Social Media & […]

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Video: Pairing Wine and Cheese: Cheddar, Gouda, Blue

For more than 10 years, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese has been known as Calgary’s best place to buy artisanal, fresh-cut cheeses from around the world. In the video chat below, owner Janice Beaton joins me today to talk about pairing wine and cheese.     Why are many people as obsessive about cheese as they are about wine? What makes Canadian cheeses different from other regions? What are your best tips for tasting cheese? Pairing it with wine? Let’s pair the following wines and cheese to see how well they go together (or not).     Mountain-Ash Goat Cheese from […]

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Pairing Wine and Dark Chocolate Video Part 2

In the video below, Roxanne Browning and I continue our chat about pairing wine and chocolate, as well as the health benefits of wine. Get out a chunk of artisanal dark chocolate and a robust red wine and taste along with us! You can also watch part one of our wine and chocolate conversation.       Roxanne leads a tasting of wine and chocolate:       You may also enjoy these video chats: Pairing Wine and Cheese with Janice Beaton Dragon’s Den Arlene Dickinson talks about wine, women, business See all wine video chats here. Is there someone […]

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Video: Pairing Wine and Chocolate with a Chocolate Sommelier

In the video below, New York Chocolate Sommelier Roxanne Browning chat about the difference between great chocolate and candy, pairing it with wine, Fair Trade and serving tips. Roxanne’s life-long search for the “ultimate bar led her down to the Ecuadorian Amazon rain forest where she helped with the cacao harvest.       Here’s part two of our wine and chocolate conversation.         Masi Costasera Amarone Classico, Veneto, Italy A full-bodied and richly flavoured red with aromas of black cherry liqueur, cigar box and dark spices. Hedonistic and satisfying. Food matches: dark chocolate, hearty meat dishes. […]

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Creating a Persuasive Brand of Wine: Arlene Dickinson Part 2

We’re back with Arlene Dickinson in this video chat below, one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs who has had phenomenal success in many fields, from television to books; consultancy to consumer products. We’re going about her wine Persuasion. Let’s start with your own experience with wine: Was wine on the family table when you were growing up?     First time drinking wine? How did you acquire a taste for good wine? Do women buy wine differently from men? Women buy 80% of wine as the household purchasers of most consumer goods, the social organizers and dinner planners. Is their approach […]

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Restaurant Wine Service: the Good, the Bad and the Gross

In part two of our video chat below, Scott shares his most memorable wine experiences in restaurants, including a hilarious story about the worst one (watch him in the small screen with the bottle when he explains what the waiter did)       The International Culinary Center     Bastianich Adriactico Friulano A floral white with mouth-watering acidity and a pleasantly dry, bitter and refreshing finish. Drink 2012 – 2014 277467 13% XD 750 ml $18.95 Score: 87/100     You may also enjoy these video chats: Master Sommelier Video: What it Takes to be a Restaurant Wine Expert […]

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Master Sommelier Video: What it Takes to be a Restaurant Wine Expert

In the video below, Scott Carney, Director of Wine Education at the International Culinary Center, shares his insights on the education and training required to become a Master Sommelier. As well: How is the Master Sommelier different from the Master of Wine? What makes your approach to teaching wine different from other schools? Why is it important for chefs to know about wine if they’re not going to be sommeliers? What are the three most important traits of an excellent sommelier? What trends and changes are you seeing in the sommelier field? We’ll post part two of our conversation in […]

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Video Part 2: Santa Margherita Walks the Talk with HIV/AIDS Community

  In part two of our video chat below, Bruno talks about why Santa Margherita selected the AIDS Walk for Life among many charities to support and how the winery contributes beyond simply writing a cheque. You can also watch part one of our conversation.         Santa Margherita Impronta del Fondatore Pinot Grigio                   Santa Margherita Brut Prosecco di Valdobbiadene             Find Santa Margherita Wines here on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram.   You may also enjoy these video chats: Tasting Pinot Noir, Tips for Writers […]

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Video: Winery Backs AIDS Walk for Life: Living Well; Doing Good

As many as 68,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in Canada. One third of them don’t even know it. To date, there is no cure and no vaccine to prevent new infections. This topic may sound completely unrelated to wine, but it’s not. In the video below, we talk to Bruno Zaratin from the Italian winery Santa Margherita, which been a major supporter of the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life that happens across the country every September for the past six years.       What is Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life? Santa Margherita goes well beyond writing a cheque: […]

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Video: Wine Industry Must Adapt or Face Digital Darwinism Part 2

The flood of e-mails, tweets and Facebook requests to post this second part of this video conversation below with Paul Mabray of Vintank on the wine industry and Digital Darwinism is heartening. Sometimes, you think you’re just talking to yourself … but when Paul Mabray is part of the conversation, people listen. Didn’t catch Part One of this conversation about wine and social media? Pull up a comfy chair, top that glass up and let it play.       Here’s Paul’s presentation:   Wine + Digital     Here are the Robert Mondavi wines that we tasted:     […]

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