{"id":63171,"date":"2024-02-13T10:36:10","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T15:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/?p=63171"},"modified":"2024-02-14T06:21:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T11:21:58","slug":"galentines-grape-escape-wines-for-your-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/galentines-grape-escape-wines-for-your-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"Galentine’s Grape Escape: Wines for Your Squad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ottawa<\/p>\n

Patricia Boal\u2019s show is heard on Newstalk 1010 and 580 CFR radio, part of the Bellmedia network, as well as iHeart Radio. Listen to the interview here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Valentine\u2019s Day is tomorrow, but what if you\u2019re not in a relationship? There\u2019s a special day for you, too. It\u2019s called Galentine\u2019s Day and it\u2019s happening today.<\/p>\n

Here with her suggestions for what we should be drinking on both days is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada\u2019s most popular online wine and food pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s start with what is Galentine\u2019s Day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of those made-up micro-holidays, like Friendsgiving just before Thanksgiving, that\u2019s a reaction against the day that commercializes romance and instead celebrates female friendship and the bond that lasts longer: women and wine!<\/p>\n

The comedian Amy Poehler created it in 2010 with the thing that has always brought women together: a long, gossipy brunch plus frittatas.<\/p>\n

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So which wines might we crack open if we\u2019re celebrating Galentine\u2019s Day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re coming out of a break-up or divorce, there are many aptly named wines for your tasting, like the Squealing Pig Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. It\u2019s dry, crisp and refreshing, like the honesty you expect from your best friends rather than the sentimental mush that\u2019s in most Valentine\u2019s Day cards.<\/p>\n

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Squealing Pig Sauvignon Blanc<\/strong><\/a>
\nMarlborough, South Island, New Zealand<\/p>\n

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Then there\u2019s Conundrum Red from California, when you\u2019re trying to decide which to burn first: your ex\u2019s love letters or the work files that he couldn\u2019t find when he was moving out.<\/p>\n

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Conundrum Red<\/strong><\/a>
\nCalifornia, United States<\/p>\n

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You can also go with a lovely Pinot Noir from KIN Vineyards. The winery is nestled on 47 pristine acres on the Carp Ridge, in the heart of the Ottawa Valley, and practises sustainable viticulture.<\/p>\n

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Kin Vineyards Carp Ridge Pinot Noir<\/strong><\/a>
\nOntario V.Q.A., Canada<\/p>\n

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The wine is as smooth as liquid satin or lingerie, if you will, and has less tannin, that natural compound that gives you that furry mouth feeling like eating walnuts. Therefore, it pairs better with milk chocolate than more full-bodied reds. The spectacular wine is bursting with ripe cherry and subtle spice notes.<\/p>\n

Pinot Noir is known as the heartbreak grape because it\u2019s so difficult to grow, just like some relationships.<\/p>\n

A great alternative is the Fontanafredda Barolo, from Italy with its full-bodied strength and a pleasantly bitter finish. It pairs perfectly with dark chocolate and signing the alimony documents, especially if you had a great divorce lawyer.<\/p>\n

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Fontanafredda Serralunga d’Alba Barolo<\/strong><\/a>
\nSerralunga d’Alba, Piedmont D.O.C.G., Italy<\/p>\n

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What if we want to lighten up the tone and wine selections, say over brunch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing more celebratory than sparkling wine like the Wander & Found Ros\u00e9 Sparkling wine that\u2019s also alcohol-free. It\u2019ll pair well with omelettes and quiche.<\/p>\n

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Wander + Found Sparkling Ros\u00e9<\/strong><\/a>
\nGermany<\/p>\n

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However, if you\u2019re doubling down on the syrup, then go for a sweet wine like the Henry of Pelham Riesling Icewine.<\/p>\n

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Henry of Pelham Riesling Icewine<\/strong><\/a>
\nNiagara Escarpment, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s the rule of thumb when pairing wine and chocolate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make sure the wine is sweeter than the chocolate otherwise the wine will taste bitter by comparison.<\/p>\n

Dark chocolate is the easiest to pair with wine as it has the least sugar and dairy content, and the most cocoa.<\/p>\n

White chocolate is the toughest because it\u2019s the sweetest and doesn\u2019t have any cocoa, which is why purists don\u2019t even consider it chocolate.<\/p>\n

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Do you have a favourite local producer of chocolate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do! Hummingbird Chocolate was founded by husband-and-wife team Erica and Drew Gilmour who spent much of their careers working in international development with farmers in countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

They wanted to continue to support these farmers when they moved back to Almonte. So they founded Hummingbird Chocolate, made from cacao sourced directly from farmers at better than Fair Trade prices, grown sustainably, and farmed ethically and humanely. They\u2019ve won over 125 international chocolate awards for their products.<\/p>\n

You can find them in many gourmet food stores as well as Farm Boy, Natural Food Pantry and Whole Foods.<\/p>\n

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You can find the wines that Natalie recommended as well as her online pairing courses at www.nataliemaclean.com\/courses<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patricia Boal\u2019s show is heard on Newstalk 1010 and 580 CFR radio, part of the Bellmedia network, as well as iHeart Radio. Listen to the interview here.   Valentine\u2019s Day is tomorrow, but what if you\u2019re not in a relationship? There\u2019s a special day for you, too. It\u2019s called Galentine\u2019s Day and it\u2019s happening today. Here with her suggestions for what we should be drinking on both days is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada\u2019s most popular online wine and food pairing classes at nataliemaclean.com.   Let\u2019s start with what is Galentine\u2019s Day? It\u2019s one of those made-up micro-holidays, like Friendsgiving […]<\/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":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-wines"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63171","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=63171"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63218,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63171\/revisions\/63218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}