Drinking Diaries: Women Serve Their Stories Straight Up

October 9, 2012October 11, 2012 Natalie MacLean Leave a comment

Why did you start a blog and then publish a book about women and drinking? It all started with a night of…drinking. We are neighbors, friends and fellow writers who often enjoy sharing a bottle of wine (or two) over dinner at home with our husbands and children. The other thing we share is that both of our mothers have struggled with alcoholism. Yet we both love to drink wine. This contradiction seemed ripe for digging deeper, and we found that—other than descending into a church basement—there was no forum for women to share their stories. So we started one. […]

Wine and Women Go Hand in Hand – National Post

September 24, 2012September 25, 2012 Natalie MacLean Leave a comment

By Hollie Shaw Wolfgang Blass says women are his long time weakness and the secret to his success. In a recent interview with the thrice-married raconteur behind Australia’s Wolf Blass wine label, females were a frequent topic, both for a good bon mot — he repeats his oft-quoted trope, that his wines “make strong women weak, and weak men strong” — and detailing a canny business strategy. Mr. Blass, 78, was in Toronto last week to support the brand’s extensive film festival sponsorship, and chronicled how he left war-torn Germany at age 23 to pursue winemaking. Now the fourth largest […]

More Magazine Celebrates Fifth Anniversary with Four Women Leaders

May 8, 2012May 8, 2012 Natalie MacLean Leave a comment

I’ve been an avid reader of More since it first started publishing its classy, smart magazine five years ago. With the fifth anniversary, they did a complete redesign and I was happy to sign on on the wine columnist. On Thursday, I’ll join four women I admire immensely for a panel discussion that’s part of the celebratory activities: Rosey Edeh, ET Canada Host; Lisa LaFlamme, CTV National News Anchor; Suzanne Timmons, The Hudson’s Bay Company Director; and Bev Thompson, Canada AM Host. (I’ll be chatting with Bev earlier that day on her show about wines for Mother’s Day.)

Women & Wine 2

March 14, 2011March 14, 2011 Natalie MacLean Leave a comment

For too long, oenology (een-ology, the study of wine) was considered off-limits to the average American consumer. Wine knowledge was a carefully guarded male stronghold of stuffy sommeliers, grumpy English professors with big, red noses and the wealthy. But in the late ’80s and early ’90s, the wine industry began selling its products in the United States with a more inclusive approach. A methodical marketing scheme began with easily understood White Zinfandel. Wineries started selling people on Chardonnay and then Merlot, varietals that were easy to drink, whose names had a ring of sophistication. People took notice. It was a […]

Wine, Women and Connection

June 27, 2010February 28, 2013 Natalie MacLean Leave a comment

The July issue of Chatelaine has a terrific article by Anne Kingson on how women connect over wine: it brings them together for conversations (and wine-fuelled confessionals) and connection through shared emotions. She says that women, who now account for 80% of wine purchases, tend to browse when buying wine and are more open than men to trying new things. They’re also far more likely to think of wine-food pairings and other social factors. Recent Stats Can numbers say that white wine sales have increased 50% and red wine sales have doubled largely because of the increase in female buyers. […]

Wine Sulphites, Mindful Drinking and Marketing Alcohol on The Erica Diamond Podcast

Introduction Should you avoid wine with sulphites? What are some of the important differences in the way wine is marketed to men versus women? How can you practice mindful drinking without giving up the wine you love? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m being interviewed by Erica Diamond on The Erica Diamond Podcast. You can find the wines we discussed here. Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at 7 pm eastern on Instagram Live Video, Facebook Live Video or YouTube Live Video. I’ll be jumping […]

Bourbon, Mint Juleps + Kentucky Derby: A Spirited Race

April 20, 2024April 25, 2024 Natalie MacLean Leave a comment

When the Kentucky Derby runs this Saturday, the horses won’t be the only ones racing. Over at the Seelbach Hotel, the mint juleps will be flying too. By the end of the day, the hotel staff and its bartender, Edward Duffy, will have concocted more than 3,000 of these traditional cocktails made with bourbon and fresh mint hand-picked from the hotel grounds. Built in 1905, the Seelbach Hotel was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s favorite watering hole—and it was also his setting for the wedding of Daisy and Tom Buchanan in his novel The Great Gatsby. But today, amid the creaking bar […]

How the New Wine Tax Impacts You — Even If You Don’t Drink Wine

Click the arrow above to play the video Most of my topics on the TV morning shows are about enjoying wine with family and friends. However, recently I’ve started speaking out on the 6 pm newscasts, like this one from CTV, about the taxes levied on the Canadian wine industry. They’re higher than any other wine-producing country. This issue deserves your attention given its impact on the future of our wineries. I encourage you to contact your Member of Parliament (email addresses are noted with each member’s name). CTV News at 6 pm: The latest excise tax increase on […]

Pairing Bestselling Books With Best-Cellaring Wines

We’re back with Natalie MacLean. You can watch our first segment on book and bottle pairings here. This time we’re going outside the wine category of books with these pairings. What do you have for us first? We’re starting with one of my favorite authors, Candace Bushnell, who wrote this book, Is There Still Sex and the City? a fantastic follow-up to her blockbuster hit, TV series, several movies and now a theatrical production. I’d pair this book with this Rosé sparkling wine from La Marca because it’s just fabulous, as the four women in the […]