{"id":11933,"date":"2012-11-23T13:15:19","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T18:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/?p=11933"},"modified":"2012-11-23T13:16:37","modified_gmt":"2012-11-23T18:16:37","slug":"huffington-post-wine-column","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/huffington-post-wine-column\/","title":{"rendered":"Huffington Post Wine Column"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I’m excited to be starting a new weekly wine column for the Huffington Post. This online newspaper has a broad reach and so it’ll be great to share my passion for the grape with new readers. Let me know if you have suggestions for future columns. Here’s the second one …<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s the full text of the article…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Top 5 Wine & Book Pairings for the Holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Natalie MacLean<\/p>\n

I\u2019m already savouring the books I plan to dive into this holiday season as much as the wines I\u2019ll enjoy. Just for fun, I\u2019ve paired some of this season\u2019s bestsellers with this season\u2019s best cellars. (Sorry, I couldn\u2019t resist.) Let\u2019s drink to the marriage of wine and words!<\/p>\n

Fifty Shades of Grey<\/em> by E. L. James @E_L_James<\/p>\n

What better way to brighten a grey title than with a pink wine? Mas Des Bressades Ros\u00e9 Cuv\u00e9e Tradition<\/a> from the Rhone Valley in France is a vibrant ros\u00e9 with flirty aromas of field strawberry and raspberry that are perfect for this erotic novel, the first of a trilogy. Yet the wine is also bone-dry and refreshing, with incredible quality and taste for this price. Perfect for a book that\u2019s been described as Twilight<\/em> for grown-ups. You can also pair\u00a0this wine with pan-fried sea scallops or planked salmon.<\/p>\n

Drink:\u00a02011-2014\u00a0 |\u00a0 950576\u00a0 |\u00a0 $13.95\u00a0 |\u00a0 Score:\u00a088\/100<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why Men Lie<\/em> by Linden McIntyre<\/p>\n

Yes, I was so tempted to pair this book with the Californian wine Fat Bastard, but then thought of a better match: Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay<\/a> from Chile\u2019s Casablanca Valley. This luscious, full-bodied chardonnay is a toast to all men who go off in a wild tangent in mid-life: Good wine and good riddance! There\u2019s a buttery, hazelnut richness that\u2019s both generous and multi-layered: exactly what you want in your divorce settlement. Pair this with roast chicken, pasta in cream sauce and the new BMW he doesn\u2019t realize that he just bought you.<\/p>\n

Drink:\u00a02012-2015\u00a0 |\u00a0 738393\u00a0 |\u00a0 $17.95\u00a0 |\u00a0 Score:\u00a088\/100<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake<\/em> by Anna Quindlen<\/p>\n

This memoir by the former New York Times <\/em>columnist about celebrating mid-life and aging reminds me of another favourite in the same genre: Nora Roberts\u2019 I Feel Bad about My Neck<\/em>. (She also wrote the book and screenplay for When Harry Met Sally<\/em>.) My favourite line from Lots of Candles<\/em>: \u201cI\u2019ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and in the years to come. This book deserves a mature wine like Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon Winemaker’s Blend<\/a> from Napa and Sonoma countries, California, a spirited and full-bodied red brimming with fleshy black fruit aromas and ghostly memories on the finish. Pair\u00a0with:\u00a0grilled steak and meat lovers\u2019 pizza.<\/p>\n

Drink: 2012-2016\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0 135376\u00a0 |\u00a0 $19.95\u00a0 |\u00a0 Score:\u00a090\/100<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins<\/p>\n

The movie is as gripping as the book, especially during the hunting scenes of the games themselves. (I won\u2019t spoil it for you by divulging more.) Suffice to say that the appropriate wine is The Wolftrap<\/a>, a blend of syrah, mourv\u00e8dre and viognier grapes from South Africa. Its full-bodied richness is balanced with plush tannins and savory dark fruit, exactly what you need to survive in the wild (or a weekend at the cottage). Pair\u00a0with: black bean sauces, rabbit, wild mushroom dishes and anything you can catch with your bow and arrow.<\/p>\n

Drink: 2012-2015\u00a0 |\u00a0 626333\u00a0 |\u00a0 $13.95\u00a0 |\u00a0 Score:\u00a088\/100<\/p>\n

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin<\/p>\n

HBO is now airing the second novel in this wildly successful series of six books about seven fictional, medieval kingdoms who fight for dominance. In honour of Queen Cersei Lannister<\/em>, a central character in the plot twists, I\u2019ve selected Peter Lehmann Wines Cabernet Sauvignon<\/a> from the Barossa Valley, South Australia. On the bottle label is The Queen of Clubs, or \u201cGambler\u2019s card\u201d that represents the risk winemaker Peter Lehmann took in starting the winery back in 1979. This full-bodied red has the structure and strength that you\u2019d expect from a queen (or king), yet it\u2019s also elegant and balanced, unlike Cersei <\/em>herself. Pair\u00a0with:\u00a0barbecued spare ribs, brisket and great ballet scenes.<\/p>\n

Drink:\u00a02011-2017\u00a0 |\u00a0 \u00a0605741\u00a0 |\u00a0 $19.95\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0 Score:\u00a091\/100<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m excited to be starting a new weekly wine column for the Huffington Post. This online newspaper has a broad reach and so it’ll be great to share my passion for the grape with new readers. Let me know if you have suggestions for future columns. Here’s the second one … Here’s the full text of the article… Top 5 Wine & Book Pairings for the Holidays By Natalie MacLean I\u2019m already savouring the books I plan to dive into this holiday season as much as the wines I\u2019ll enjoy. Just for fun, I\u2019ve paired some of this season\u2019s bestsellers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,4,5,71,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-unquenchable","category-books-food","category-books-wine","category-wine-gifts","category-wine-picks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11933"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11937,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933\/revisions\/11937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}