Top 10 summer drinks Cool down on a hot day with this summer’s tastiest thirst-quenchers. 1. Unisex coolers “Bottled cocktails, wine cocktails or premixed drinks are always hot in the summer, especially because they are getting better,” says Konrad Ejbich. Though coolers have a rep as a fruity drink women favour, the trend this summer, he says, is ready-to-drink concoctions like Absolut Cut and Hydra, which appeal to both sexes. “They’re going unisex,” Konrad says. 2. Strong flavours No more flavours for the faint of heart — now, it’s all about serving up big tastes. Ranging from pomegranate to guanabana, […]
Serving Wine
Raise a glass of great vino with help from Chatelaine’s wine expert Natalie MacLean. Here are her tips to serving – and enjoying – a perfect glass. 1. Decanting Pour wine out of the bottle and into a decanter, which can be a water jug, specially designed wine decanter or another large vessel to soften the wine and clarify it of any remaining sediment (the tiny particles from the grapes). Exposing robust red wines to air softens their harsh tannins, which make them taste smoother. White wines don’t have strong tannins, so they taste best when fresh from the bottle. […]
Wine Snobbery
In the vestibule of my home, the other dinner guests sweep past Sebastian as he clutches his bottle of wine like a talisman to ward off evil spirits—their wines. I have to coax him to join the group in the dining room by telling him about my antique corkscrew. While he’s distracted with its mechanics, I whisk his bottle into the kitchen to decant it. Later, as we sit down to dinner, he sniffs suspiciously at my stemware, holding it up to the light to check for spots. Then he clears his palate with several conversation-silencing throat noises while ceremoniously […]
High Tech Vintners
Cisco Systems just bought your little start-up for $350 million. Careful though — money without class lands you in a Rockcliffe glass house. If you have instant wealth, you need instant culture. Unfortunately, engineering school didn’t offer electives in Expressionist painting or Russian literature. A liberal education is useful only after you’ve made the big bucks – sadly, it doesn’t get you there. So settle for something more accessible, something conspicuous you can buy. You’ve already commissioned the yacht in Holland, Donatella Versace is coming to measure Thursday, and the Z8 is on order. What you’re missing is something Old […]
Food & Wine
Dinner with wine used to be simple. The rule was white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat. But most of us don’t just eat meat and potatoes or drink claret and chablis these days. With modern fusion cuisine and wines from new regions around the world, the choices – and confusion – are great. One new school of thought is that any wine goes with any dish. However, most of us don’t put ketchup on our ice cream for the same reason as we don’t drink a delicate white wine with a hearty meat dish or […]
Ottawa Restaurant Lists 2
What’s that aroma wafting through the city? Is it poutine? No. Is it beaver tails? No. It’s the scent of a well-stocked passion. Ottawa used to be better known for hot chocolate than for wine, but a vinous Group of Seven is changing the dining landscape: seven local restaurants recently won Wine Spectator Magazine awards for their wine lists. Waiting for the awards to be issued is like waiting for Moses to come back down the mountain: first a lot of speculation, then everyone scrambles to see what’s on the list. The chosen few this year are: Juniper, Medithéo, Trattoria […]
Ottawa Restaurant Lists
Five years ago, I needed a drink just to read a restaurant wine list in this city. Most offered Kraft Dinner wines at Pétrus prices served in golf ball glasses with layers of detergent aromas. I’d like to say, “All that’s changed now.” But I can’t. Of the 1400 licensed restaurants in the region, there are about twenty-four superb wine lists or 2%. That leaves room for improvement. But rather than be a grape grump, I’ll focus on those who are doing it right — and save this magazine some legal fees in slander suits. Ottawa oenophiles are driving recent […]
Slow Food/Personal Chefs
Breakfast in a gulp, lunch on the go and dinner on the run. Life in the fast lane seems to have bypassed the slow, ancient pleasures of the table. However, an aimable group of gastromes hopes to put an end to our nuke-it-and-eat-it culture. With a charming chiocciolina (small snail) as its mascot and a philosophy that advocates the defence of pleasure, Slow Food, an international organization with 30,000 members in 35 countries is helping members rediscover the flavours of regional cooking and fresh local produce. The group believes that small doses of sensual pleasure preserve us from the fast […]
Gifts for Wine Lovers
One of the easiest people to buy for on your list this year is the wine lover. There seems to be no end to the wine books, videos, gadgets and accessories that pour on to the market each year. Even the budding oenophile will appreciate these gifts. The books can be purchased from most major bookstores across the country, while the accessories can be found in specialty wine stores in your area or by calling the stores listed below. In addition to these selections, most of the provincial liquor stores offer special gift packages for the holidays. The beautifully illustrated, […]
Frozen Food Wines
The nineteenth century French gastrome Anthelme Brillat-Savarin would have choked on his foie gras had he known that tipplers today drink wine with frozen dinners. Is this the beginning of the end for the fine art of food and wine pairing? Are we losing our ability to appreciate the finer things of life? Not according to Katie Morton who launched Stouffer’s Complete Dinner Stir-Kits with wine suggestions on the package. Morton has taken on the Quixotic quest of making frozen dinners a more “exotic meal experience.” The meal line has sold well since its launch in 1998, particularly since more […]
