Nero d’Avola is one of the most important red wine grapes in Sicily and increasingly in Italy as a whole. You’ll find my top 10 Nero d’Avola reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Nero d’Avola: 1. Nero d’Avola is named after Avola, a small town in South East Sicily. Several hundred years ago Nero d’Avola was known as “The Black Grape of Avola.” Nero d’Avola is also known as Calabrese, which lends to the idea that Nero d’Avola originated in Calabria on mainland Italy at the tip of the boot. 2. The best Nero d’Avola comes from the […]
Mobile Wine App is Your Pocket Sommelier in the Liquor Store
Anthony and I chat about how mobile wine apps are changing the way we learn about wine, and buy it. You can get my new wine app here as well as watch a video clip about it on CTV News. We also chat about great wines for summer barbecues and casual gatherings. Post with permission for Global Television. Mobile Wine App is Your Pocket Sommelier in the Liquor Store Anthony: Just in time for the summer. Have you ever gone to the LCBO and been so overwhelmed by the amount of choice? You don’t know if this goes […]
Prize Winners of the Great Canadian Wine Match
So here they are: the prize winners of The Great Canadian Wine Match! Everyone who nominated a wine was eligible to win one of 25 Weber BBQ Cookbooks or one of 3 Weber grilling utensils. Those who nominated wines that made it to the finalist round were also eligible to win the grand prize of a $3,000 Weber Summit Gas Grill. You can watch a short video of this magnificent grill here. Winners have not yet been notified … this is the big reveal! Yes, I could list the winners here, but then you might not watch the video. This […]
True North Vine: A Toast to Canadian Wine – Metro News
The Liquid Assets wine column is syndicated in Metro Newspapers across the country in every major city. You’ll find the winners of The Great Canadian Wine Match: BBQ Edition here. Posted with permission from Metro News.
Best New Zealand White Wines for Summer Sipping: LCBO Vintages July 5
You can access the 70 wines that I reviewed for July 5 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches and the stock for each bottle in their closest LCBO stores. You can also see my wine reviews for June 21. You can add my wine picks to their custom shopping list with one click and access that list on their smartphone. This is one of the benefits of becoming a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Here are […]
Wine Jobs and Careers: Wine Course on Importing Wine is Good Training
By Debbie Trenholm Since I began working in the wine industry over 10 years ago, there are two questions that I am constantly asked: “I was away on holidays in ‘wherever’ and discovered X Wine that isn’t at the LCBO. How can I get it shipped into Ontario?” “I want to get a job in the wine and beer business. Any tips on where to start?” If I had a toonie for each time I get asked these questions, I would be drinking Champagne every day! With the rapid growth of the wine, craft beer and premium spirits too, there […]
Canadians Vote for Their Favourite Wines for Canada Day
This Canadian Press (CP) story was published in the major daily newspapers across Canada. Canada’s best wine for barbecue? Tipplers can vote on favourites By: The Canadian Press OTTAWA – Many Canadians opt for beer or gin when it comes to pairing beverages with grilled food. But wine lovers can now weigh in with their picks in an online poll. In The Great Canadian Wine Match: BBQ Edition, launching Friday, wine lovers can nominate and vote for their favourite Canadian wines to pair with grilled chicken, beef, seafood, pork, vegetables and dessert. Unlike traditional competitions judged by experts, wine lovers […]
Wine Critic Writes with Humor and Contagious Passion
By Jessica Yadegaran For someone who grew up in a whiskey-drinking Scottish family, Natalie MacLean has come a long way in wine. Today, the Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Award winner is Canada’s answer to Jancis Robinson. She is a critic who writes about wine with humor and contagious passion. She counts Kermit Lynch, Rex Pickett and Gary Vaynerchuk among her fans. Her best-selling books, “Red, White, and Drunk All Over” (Bloomsbury, 2007) and “Unquenchable” (Perigee, 2011), share tips on hunting the world’s best bargain wines. But these days, MacLean’s website, which she launched in 2000, is a go-to […]
10 Best Sangiovese Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Sangiovese
Did you know that the Latin name for Sangiovese, Sanguis Jovis (San Gioveto), translates to “blood of Jove or Jupiter”? The first written reference to the grape was in 1722. You’ll find my Top 10 Sangiovese reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Sangiovese: 1. Sangiovese represents 10% of Italy’s entire vineyard acreage, the most-planted grape in the country, with 247,000 acres. 2. Until the 1980s, Chianti was bottled in squat oval straw-covered fiasci. It was viewed a modest bistro wine rather than one for collectors. Then winemakers started experimenting with premium blends of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon or […]
Got Wine? There’s an App for That from Nat > Video
Leanne and I chat about Canada’s first wine app, and the only one that gives real-time, GPS-based liquor store inventory across the country. Just scan a bottle bar code and you get instant stock data along with: – professional wine reviews – food pairings – custom shopping list – cellar maturity dates – top 10 wines in your closest liquor store Check out the features here for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad as well as for Android and the mobile site for other smartphones. Got Wine? There’s an App for That from […]
