The latest study on social media from Forrester Research surprised me: women are the majority of users on Twitter and Facebook. I expected this to be the case for Pinterest, now the fastest growing social media site, but not for the two largest social media communities. All three social media sites are terrific for sharing wine info, whether it’s a great bottle that you tried recently or a pairing that really worked. Here are those stats… 17 out of 24 social media sites (71%) have more female than male users. Most male-dominated site? Slashdot (87% males), followed by Hacker News […]
Wolf Blass Wine Tasting Full Video with Wines Tasted
You can watch the video below of the whole Wolf Blass wine tasting in Ottawa and taste along with us. The full-house had a great vibe that night … not a drop of pretentious stuffiness that sometimes tries to substitute for lack of personality at these events. Yet attendees felt that they had learned a lot, per their comments below… I was so impressed that the 220 folks who attended the two events made a serious commitment to be there, about $100 by the time they paid for parking, unlike free events. There were another 70 tickets waitlisted, so it’s […]
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe with Grant Burge Summers Chardonnay
Grant Burge Summers Chardonnay won a Silver Medal at the Hong Kong International Wine Challenge 2011 for ‘Best Wine Paired with Kung Pao Chicken’. I was inspired to create a version of this classic dish for the home cook to enjoy. Kung Pao Chicken Ingredients: For the marinade: 3 boneless chicken breasts cut into small cubes 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry 1 tbsp cornstarch For the sauce: 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar 2 tsp sesame oil 1/3 cup water 3 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice […]
Wolf Blass Wine Tasting in Ottawa, 2 Videos
The excitement for the Ottawa Wolf Blass tasting started with a long lineup that snaked down the sidewalk in front of Restaurant 18. The great vibe from the people who attended, Wolf’s rascal humour and the tasty wines made it a wonderful evening. Here’s more on that plus two video clips from CTV News below … Wolf loves women … I couldn’t find any pictures of him with men :) I couldn’t keep up with the tweets during the event, but it was lovely to see how much people enjoyed themselves with the comments […]
Domaine De Vaugondy Vouvray, Simonsig Chenin Blanc, Catena Zapata Malbec: Top LCBO Wines Vintages Release September 29
Here are my top picks from the September 29 Vintages Release. You can also get all 40 of my Best Value Wines and Top Rated Wines for red, white, rose, sparkling and dessert wines that encompass many price points, styles and regions. You can add my wine picks to your shopping list by clicking on the little shopping cart icon. You can also create a custom list just for this release that will be saved in your account. Print a text-only version of the reviews. 2010 Domaine De Vaugondy Dry Vouvray, Loire, France Juicy wonderful! Lemon essence […]
Grant Burge Wines Summer Chardonnay, Miamba Shiraz
We continue our discussion with Grant Burge or Grant Burge Wines Australia and his two wines the Summer Chardonnay and the Miamba Shiraz. Below you’ll also find reviews for two of the wines that we discussed. You can also watch part one of our conversation. Grant Burge Summers Chardonnay Barossa Valley, Australia Love the hazelnut richness and green apple vibrancy that mingle on the nose of this wine! The palate is a rush of white peach, nectarine and nutmeg with refreshing lime acidity on the finish. I love the back story on this wine: it was named in […]
Grant Burge Wines Australia Video Chat
In this video chat, Grant Burge recounts his most memorable winemaking experiences, the difference that old vines make to the taste of a wine and the importance of a family-owned business that now has the fifth generation of winemakers coming to the fore with Grant and his wife Helen’s three children. We’ll post part two of our conversation this week. You may also enjoy these video chats: Blue Cheese and White Wine Pairing: Video Part 3 Building a Persuasive Wine Brand: Arlene Dickinson Restaurant Wine Service: The good, the bad and the ugly with […]
Hearty Lentil, Pesto and Colby Soup with Cotes du Rhone or Pinot Noir
Take a mid-week break with fast and delicious comfort food. Hectic work days. Long commutes. Multitasking half a dozen household crises. How can parents be expected to prepare something tasty in the precious little time they have between getting home and their children’s first cries of hunger? They can’t be – not without a little help. So this week I’m suggesting a nutritious and delicious recipe that is so fast to prepare it will leave you with enough time to treat yourself to a nice glass of wine. This hearty lentil, pesto and Canadian Colby soup pairs wonderfully with Côte […]
Wolf Blass Wine Tasting: An Unforgettable Evening
What a spectacular evening we had in Toronto last week at the Wolf Blass tasting! A full-house of 90 guests packed the waterside restaurant Against the Grain. As I interviewed Wolf about his experiences, we tasted his wines and some delicious tapas. More details on the event as well as the Canada AM clip below … Here’s the clip from Canada AM … Wolf has a great sense of humour and such a long history in the wine industry. Wolf talks about the wines we’re tasting as did the current winemaker Chris Hatcher. […]
Stuffed Zucchini Recipe and Sauvignon Blanc
By Pat Anderson I’m sure most people who have grown zucchini have had the experience of finding the zucchini they missed… which has grown to a massive size, is seedy, and too big to be used in the normal way. What do you do? Here’s what I did: Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 massive overgrown zucchini… this one was 2 pounds 5 ounces. Failing that, use 4 6″ zucchini. 1 small onion 2 cloves garlic 1 oz (by weight) grated romano cheese One large roma tomato, seeded & diced 1 cup cooked arborio rice ¼ fennel bulb Handful of flat parsley, […]
