A few days ago Erin invited herself to some friends’ house for Sunday visit; hoping to get to the LCBO to pick a bottle of vino as a hostess gift, she was thwarted when work kept her passed the liquor store closing time. To her surprise, when she arrived empty-handed, her friends admitted they had...
Is it just us, or does the holiday season go hand in hand with sparkling wine? Now, don’t get us wrong, we like to drink bubbles all year round — we think it’s great with brunch, a delicious accompaniment to cheese, perfect as an appertif before dinner … in our books, there’s really no time...
Decoding the mysteries of wine terminology A few days ago, a friend of mine was telling me about an experience she had while trying to order a glass of wine. New to a certain bar, this friend was perusing the wine list, looking for something that would sooth the soul after a hard day at...
I think by now it’s pretty clear I love wine. And I think you should too. But what’s concerning me is all the rules people have come to associate with wine — and the ensuing panic that comes from doing the “wrong” thing. Earlier today I was reading a news article about rinsing your wine...
Last night I was relaxing with some friends and decided the occasion called for a one of my favourite go-to grapes, Dolcetto. It’s a delicious and not often heard of red wine grape from Piedmont, in the north west of Italy. It means “little sweet one” but rarely is it sweet – in fact, it’s...
There’s no doubt about it: it’s fun to be a sommelier. Tasting wine, selecting wine, ordering wine, pairing wine with food … it’s all good stuff and makes us feel a little guilty for getting paid to do it – but only a little. What’s not so fun about being a sommelier, but probably the...
One of the ways a sommelier stays busy is by recommending wines to people who aren’t sure what will taste good with the dinners they’ve just ordered. But what do you do when you’re at home, or there’s no sommelier around, or the wine list is longer than War & Peace? Here’s another quick cheat...
People always ask me about decanting. It’s not just how it’s done, it appears there’s much confusion about when it should be done, and which wines merit the Big Show. While this is by no means a comprehensive tell-all, it’s a quick cheat sheet aimed at making you look spectacular at your next soiree. Salute!...
If you’ve spent anytime in Toronto this summer, you know it’s hot, hot, hot! And the best way we know how to beat the heat is with some crisp and cool whites. We are big supporters of the Ontario wine industry so here’s what we quenched our thirst with: Courtney: Tawse “Sketches Riesling” VQA Niagara...
