{"id":23489,"date":"2015-05-21T07:04:19","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T11:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/?p=23489"},"modified":"2017-02-16T14:47:50","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16T19:47:50","slug":"canadian-cheese-wine-pairings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/canadian-cheese-wine-pairings\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian Wine and Cheese Pairings Meet Their Match"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0JmSwK836gc?rel=0\" width=\"630\" height=\"354\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>CJAD, Montreal&#8217;s most popular talk radio station, featured <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/wine-cheese-pairing\/\"><strong>The Great Canadian Wine &amp; Cheese Match<\/strong><\/a> yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>You can listen to the clip above by clicking on the arrow.<\/p>\n<p>Winners and runners up will also be announced on Global Television and CTV News in June.<\/p>\n<p>You still have time to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/wine-cheese-pairing\/\"><strong>nominate and\/or vote for your favourite Canadian wines<\/strong><\/a> to pair with Canadian cheeses.<\/p>\n<p>If you do, you could also win one of three <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/balderson-cheddar-cheese-wine-pairing\/\"><strong>Balderson Cheddar Cheese and Gourmet Gift Baskets<\/strong><\/a>, each worth $500.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Canadian Wine and Cheese Pairings Meet Their Match<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>I know you like wine. Well I like wine and cheese. Wine and cheese pairings are certainly something that we want to be able to do well but we don\u2019t necessarily have all the tools<\/span> <span class=\"s1\">or the knowledge to be able to do that. Thankfully we have joining us someone who does. That is Natalie MacLean who is the editor of Canada\u2019s largest wine review, Natalie ,Welcome.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>Thanks Sheila, great to be here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>I am so glad that you could join us. First tell us about the idea of the contest that we could all participate and make our own choices of good wine and cheese pairings in Canada. Is that right?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>Absolutely, yes that\u2019s right. It&#8217;s a fun online social media event where wine lovers from coast to coast can nominate their favourite Canadian wines and ciders to pair with Canadian cheeses. It is on NatalieMacLean.com and there you\u2019ll see 6 categories. We have popular cheeses like a Canadian cheddar, mozzarella, feta, goat cheese, creamy cheeses and blue cheeses. You don\u2019t have to be a wine expert. You pick your favourite cheese category. There\u2019s a little blank and you can start typing in your favourite Canadian wine. You can nominate and go from there. Then, start getting votes for your favourite pairing. If you don\u2019t want to nominate a wine, you can just vote for wines that are already nominated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Well there\u2019s a lot of interesting things about what you\u2019re proposing. For one, you\u2019re promoting and encouraging us to see what great wines we have in Canada. Often times we talk about great wines that exist in other countries but this is an opportunity for us to look at what we have here and to discover a new wine. So that\u2019s a great opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>Absolutely. What we have, here in Canada, coast to coast, in every province, are terrific wines. There have been lots of nominations in Quebec \u2026 not just the ciders but the a lot of the dry whites and ice wines from the Eastern Townships. I think it just makes sense for home-grown wines and cheeses to go together. They come from the same sort of climate and soil conditions.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019ll see the nuances that pair well between the cheese on the plate and the wine in your glass.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Interesting because I think a lot of people might like wine and might like cheese when you think of a competition, you imagine there are judges. You might think that it could be a little snooty and not really accessible for the regular person. You\u2019re saying all of us regular people can discover cheeses and wines that go together. What are some tips that would help us through this?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>Exactly, so you\u2019re right. This is the people\u2019s choice competition. It\u2019s just for fun and it\u2019s about nominating what you like to drink or conversely what you like to eat when it comes to cheese and sharing that with others. We share so much on social media and we don\u2019t feel like we have to be a movie critic to say, \u201cI love that film I saw last night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Absolutely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>Right and this is the same thing. \u201cI just had Domaine Pinnacle Ice cider from Quebec or Henry of Pelham Baco Noir from Ontario and I love it\u201d. I put that particular wine or cider with a Balderson cheddar or Cow\u2019s Cheese from PEI or maybe a creamy cheese from B.C.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I really think that it makes a lot of sense. Start with what you like to drink and with what you like to eat. Then take a look at what other people are nominating.That\u2019s the power of this. It\u2019s like, \u201cOh I never thought to pair a Nova Scotia Sparkling wine with a B.C goat cheese. They actually work together. That\u2019s part of the fun of this too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Absolutely, we\u2019re speaking to Natalie MacLean who\u2019s the editor of Canada\u2019s largest wine review and specifically about an opportunity for you to participate in a wine pairing with cheese contest. So how long does this voting period lasts?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>Well, it only lasts until May 31<\/span><span class=\"s3\"><sup>st<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0 \u2026 we\u2019re keeping it fairly tight \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Okay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>\u2026 so that we generate lots of enthusiasm which is definitely happening. The nominations are still coming in so there\u2019s still time to do that. All you have to do is go to NatalieMaclean.com look for The Great Canadian Wine and Cheese Match and either nominate a wine and vote for it or just vote for what\u2019s there already and then we will be announcing the winners sometime in late June, just before Canada Day. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Oh that\u2019s interesting. Is this a first time initiative?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>We have done this match previously but not with this cheese themed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Okay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>The first year we did it we just chose Nova Scotia lobster or a BC salmon and so on but this is the first time we\u2019ve really taken the deep dive into one category of Canadian food with Canadian wine and cheeses. Questions I most often get asked as a wine writer are about pairing wines and cheeses. I get lots of other questions as well but the one that comes back over and over again is \u201cOkay, what about these kind of cheeses?\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Cheese has such a range of flavours just as wine does. They\u2019re both products of fermentation. There are so many different combinations that are possible and that\u2019s not meant to be overwhelming. It&#8217;s meant to be an exciting sort of taste journey that you can experiment with.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>A lot of other people feel like \u201cOh! That\u2019s a no no, you can\u2019t possibly try that wine with that cheese.\u201d You\u2019re an expert and you\u2019re saying essentially, try what you like. You can\u2019t go down the wrong path as some might suggest, is that fair to say?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>That\u2019s right and you don\u2019t need to get caught up in the perfect pairing with other types of food. Steak doesn\u2019t just go with Cabernet Sauvignon. Have a beautifully oak full-bodied chardonnays with that. You can do the mixing and matching because it is about taste and taste is personal. You may well discover that some combinations you don\u2019t like but that\u2019s good learning, too. You\u2019ve learned to explore your own palate and find what combinations you like personally. I found some wonderful pairings in other food categories like Champagne and potato chips \u2026 shabby-chic. The most unusual food and wine, sometimes, will go together and that\u2019s what we\u2019re exploring here with cheese and wine. There\u2019s just so many different flavours. If you look at cheese itself there\u2019s different degrees of salt and maturity and milk solids. Does it have that blue tinge, the molds? There is a vast spectrum of flavours. Then you go to wines and you have a light Riesling all the way to a full-bodied Cabernet or a dessert wine or an ice wine.It\u2019s pretty exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Now it sounds pretty exciting and very easy to participate in. The voting ends on May 31<\/span><span class=\"s3\"><sup>st<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0and you\u2019ll be announcing the winner or should I say winners in June by Canada Day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>Exactly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>So what do the winners get? What is the price?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>Besides fame and glory?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Yes and accessibility to a lot of people that would like to drink and pair the wines and cheeses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>They will get that experience of pairing and when you nominate a wine you know you can choose to put your own profile picture so other people are seeing what you love. There is a lot of fun with that already happening. The wineries themselves are getting involved in sharing or re-forwarding these nominations and votes on social media. The people who are participating are getting a lot more followers on Twitter and Facebook. We do have 3 gift baskets of fine Canadian cheeses and gourmet foods. Among them is Balderson and some other kinds of gourmet gift items for those who nominate or vote for wines who don\u2019t have the most votes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>Oh wonderful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Natalie:\u00a0<\/b>You just have to participate. It\u2019s all about participation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sheila:\u00a0<\/b>We\u2019re out of time. Thank you so much. Natalie MacLean who\u2019s the editor of Canada\u2019s largest wine reviews. Lots of great ideas and pairing wine and cheeses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CJAD, Montreal&#8217;s most popular talk radio station, featured The Great Canadian Wine &amp; Cheese Match yesterday. You can listen to the clip above by clicking on the arrow. Winners and runners up will also be announced on Global Television and CTV News in June. You still have time to nominate and\/or vote for your favourite Canadian wines to pair with Canadian cheeses. If you do, you could also win one of three Balderson Cheddar Cheese and Gourmet Gift Baskets, each worth $500. &nbsp; Canadian Wine and Cheese Pairings Meet Their Match Sheila:\u00a0I know you like wine. Well I like wine [&hellip;]<\/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":[404,109,113,1299,1293,753,77,193,1291,10,246,1117,16,49,146],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baco-noir","category-bc-wines","category-best-wines","category-blue-cheese","category-canada-cheese","category-canada-wine-awards","category-wine-cheese-pairing","category-cheese-pairing","category-cheese-types","category-food-wine-pairing","category-the-great-canadian-wine-match","category-nova-scotia-wine","category-pairings","category-radio-interview","category-wine-blue-cheese"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23489","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=23489"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31746,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23489\/revisions\/31746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}