A few months ago, a wine friend sent me a list the top wine lovers on Twitter whose tweets get reteweeted most often: which tweets do wine lovers find most interesting or valuable, and forward to others, answering that eternal question: Is anyone out there listening or am I just twittering to myself? It’s a fascinating way to look at how the worlds of wine and social media are coming together. I think that Twitter in particular suits wine lovers who can dash off a quick note about a wine they’ve just discovered or they can ask others which wine to […]
‘Tis the Eating Season
Of course, with all the holiday feasting, it’s easy to let your good eating and exercise habits fall by the wayside. Here are some neat ways you can enjoy without ruining your good habits. First, try eating something before you go to the dinner party and make sure you drink plenty of water. If there’s an open service area, or buffet, try taking only one thing at a time, going back to your place and going back for another choice afterwards (you’ll fill up more quickly). Another tip – if you just have to indulge, make it on something worthwhile, […]
Food & Wine Pairing Rules Aren’t What They to Be
It used to be so simple: Red wine went with red meat, white wine went with white meat, and that, essentially, was that when it came to pairing food and wine. These days, it’s a bit more complex. For one thing, wines are being made in more styles and more regions than ever before. For another, our diets now include flavours from all over the world as well as casual fare that once we would never have dreamed of enjoying with wine. By Joanne Sasvari The old rules don’t always apply. But what has replaced them? Are there any rules […]
New Wine Reviews
Number of Wines Recommended: 73 Review date: December 5, 2009 The highlights in this Vintages release include: – 17 wines under $20 – Best value white: Orange zest and apricot lively Pinot Gris from Alsace for seafood and pork $13.95 – Favourite white: Chardonnay from the wine that put New Zealand on the map for for roast chicken 93/100 – Best value red (tied): Berry-ripe red from Chile for steak and hamburgers $14.95 – Best value red (tied): Spanish red for mushroom and rice dishes $15.95 – Favorite red: Cult Cabernet from Napa Valley that will age for decades 95/100 […]
Frolicking with Sheep and Hawks in Niagara
One of the highlights of my recent visit to Niagara was meeting husband-and-wife Louis Engel and David Johnson at Featherstone Winery. They, in turn, introduced me to one of their hawks, Zeke. He was an adorable little fellow that we took out into the vineyard with us. I noticed that as we walked down the rows of vines, the birds went silent. That’s because Zeke is a hunter, trained to go after the number one enemy of ripened grapes: starlings. Other birds, such as robins and orioles, also attack the fruit, but starlings cost the industry hundreds of thousands of […]
Google & Wine: Great Pairing!
My team and I are thrilled that our site has hit #1 on Google for the most popular wine-related search terms: – wine and food – wine newsletter – wine and food matching – wine with food These search term rankings are driven by traffic. You can’t buy this traffic, you can only build it … in a sense these are click-through votes from wine lovers who visit the site. On these key search terms, these sites all ranked highly in the #2 or #3 spots: – Food Network – Globe & Mail – Montreal Gazette […]
Tasty Holiday Winetails
Holiday season’s here, which means doing pretty much everything inside – especially entertaining. Enter [yellow tail] wine, which is the star of these refreshing, winetails, suitable for all your guests this Holiday season! This first recipe is for a delicious Berry Mochatini and other winetail recipes brought to you by [yellow tail] wine: Berry Mochatini 2 oz [yellow tail] Shiraz 1 oz coffee 1 oz pomegranate juice 1/2 oz Crème de Cassis Splash of simple syrup Strawberry Directions: • Shake all ingredients and strain into a martini glass • Garnish with a strawberry […]
What’s Wrong with Panel Wine Scores? Lots
There’s always debate about how useful wine scores are, with the usual pro arguments (easy to understand) and cons (wine is subjective and can’t be trapped in a number). Fair enough. I resisted scoring wines for the first three years that I wrote about wine until I realized that consumers want them. Plain and simple. There’s a lot of clutter, information, crowd-sourcing, tweets, Facebook posts, blog entries and other info coming at us these days. Most people don’t want to spend hours analyzing multiple wine reviews to buy a bottle. That’s why scores work: they’re as clear and simple as […]
New Wine Reviews
Number of Wines Recommended: 51 Review date: November 21, 2009 The highlights in this Vintages release include: – 14 wines under $20 – Best value white: Orange blossom zest in this lovely Muscat from southern France for seafood and salads $13.95 – Favourite white: Niagara’s benchmark Chardonnay, no question 95/100 – Best value red: Blackberry-rich Argentine Malbec for pizza and lasanga $12.95 – Favorite red: Iconic Australian Shiraz that’s worth three times the price 96/100 – Favourite Sparkling Wine: The bubbly that all the rappers rapsidize about, pure luxury 93/100 – Favourite Dessert Wine: Niagara’s classic and iconic icewine producer, […]
New Wine Reviews
Number of Wines Recommended: 48 Review date: November 7, 2009 The highlights in this Vintages release include: – 17 wines under $20 – Best value white: Chilean Chardonnay with toasted almonds and buttery richness for roast chicken $15.95 – Favorite white: German Riesling with mouth-watering aromas of ripe peach for glazed ham and soft cheeses 93/100 – Best value red: Argentine Malbec with fleshy dark berries for hamburgers, lamb and pizza $12.95 – Favorite red: An Italian Super Tuscan bursting with notes of violets, aged leather, black cherry for prime rib and filet mignon 93/100 – Favorite Sparkling Wine: James […]
