Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings August 22

If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. You can also see my wine reviews for August 8. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Curious about what my scores mean or my tasting process? Find out here. Here is […]

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Austrian Wine Sparkles with Sekt Style

Sponsored Post by the Wines of Austria Austria has outstanding wine regions, wineries – and internationally acclaimed wines. Where “Austria” is written on the outside, Austria must be inside, too; only this can guarantee the top image of Austrian products in the future and around the world. According to Austrian wine law, “Austrian wine” is defined as a wine made in Austria from grapes grown in Austria. This applies also to Austrian sparkling wine. The Austrian Sekt Day Every year, the Austrian Sekt Day is celebrated on October 22nd. That is when this high-quality domestic product is given the spotlight […]

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How to Break Wine & Food Pairing Rules? with Chris Scott

Introduction Why should you pair wine to the diner, not the dinner? Do you always have to follow the “rules” when pairing food and wine? Which fun food and wine pairing should you try with your pandemic snacking? How can you develop your aroma vocabulary? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Chris Scott, a U.K.-based sommelier who published the world’s first-ever wine podcast, the UK Wine Show and who, with his wife, Jane also founded ThirtyFifty, a company which offers fun and no-nonsense wine tastings for private and corporate events. You can find the […]

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Why Should You Take Online Wine & Food Classes? with Chris Scott

Introduction Can being a supertaster affect your preferences in alcoholic beverages? Why don’t you find a lot of wineries in Ottawa? How do online classes give you an advantage over in-person classes? How is the pandemic impacting the way you buy wine? Why should you buy wine directly from wineries? How can my Wine App help you find the best wine to pair with your food? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Chris Scott, a U.K.-based sommelier who published the world’s first-ever wine podcast, the UK Wine Show and who, with his wife, Jane also […]

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Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings August 8

    You can access the 107 wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. You can also see my wine reviews for July 25. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before […]

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How Does a Wine’s Name Affect How Much You’ll Pay for it? with Dr. Antonia Mantonakis

Introduction How does the ease with which you can pronounce a winery name affect your perception of both the wine and its price? Are wine experts or novices more likely to assign a higher value to wines with complicated names? How do grape names affect your purchase decisions? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Dr. Antonia Mantonakis, Fellow of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute and Professor of Marketing and Consumer Psychology at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business in St. Catharines, Ontario. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Highlights […]

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6 Tips to Make You Wine Smart Quick (Video)

1. Expensive Doesn’t Mean Better: Do you need to pay a lot to get a great wine?         Ruffino Prosecco Tuscany, Italy                   Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Superiore Prosecco Veneto D.O.C.G., Italy         2. Look for Second Labels         Woodbridge Winery Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 California, United States                 Robert Mondavi Winery Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast, California, United States           3. Quick Pairing Tip: Is the Wine ​Mouth-​Watering or  […]

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Pairing Wine with Sharks, Dragons and Kevin O’Leary

Introduction What should you consider when buying wine as an investment? What’s the cold, hard truth about the Canadian wine industry? What makes for a successful wine brand launch? Are Kevin O’Leary’s wines as great as he says they are? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Kevin O’Leary, prickly merchant of the television shows Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank, as well as the founder of O’Leary Fine Wines, O’Leary Funds, and O’Leary Financial Group. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Highlights What should you consider when buying wine as an investment? […]

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Box Wine: Good or Grim? How to Drink Inside the Box

On CTV’s Your Morning, host Lindsey Deluce and I chatted about boxed wines. These are otherwise known as bag-in-a-box or casks, and in the past have had a nasty reputation with consumers; the Rodney Dangerfield of wine. However, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what’s in the box these days. That may be the reason that boxed wines are one of the fastest-growing categories in the wine industry, both in Canada and in the United States. In Ontario, sales represented $119 million last year in the LCBO. In 2016, the California Wine Market Council reported that three-litre boxes posted the strongest growth in […]

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Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings July 25

You can access the 119 wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. You can also see my wine reviews for July 11. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the […]

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