Quick! Whether you forgot to get a stocking stuffer, a host gift, or something for a third cousin who'd never let you live it down, here are some last-minute gift recommendations that foodies might love. Books About Food Two recommendations this year come from former … [Read more...] about Very, Very Last-Minute Gift Recommendations for Food Lovers
wine
Re-Branding Barolo as an Anytime Wine
When two lovely Italian gentlemen invite you to a lunch and to drink wine, you say yes. Well, in real life you think harder about it, because who are these Italian gentlemen, you may ask? But when the offer comes through a PR department and includes a four-course lunch … [Read more...] about Re-Branding Barolo as an Anytime Wine
Soif Wine Bar: The Hidden Gem of Gatineau in Any Season
I have a favourite place to eat in Gatineau since moving here this year. Really, it was my favourite place in Gatineau before I moved here, and it's worth the trip from Ottawa (or further) if you haven't been to Soif Wine Bar yet. What you need to know: The food … [Read more...] about Soif Wine Bar: The Hidden Gem of Gatineau in Any Season
With Montreal’s Wine-Tasting Season Back in Person This Year, There’s No Reason to Wing It at the SAQ
For anyone who likes to make an informed purchase, whether on wine, winter wardrobes, or weird cat barista aprons, the pandemic was a depressing time to be a consumer. Testing before buying was really not a thing anymore. October and November used to be the season of wine salons … [Read more...] about With Montreal’s Wine-Tasting Season Back in Person This Year, There’s No Reason to Wing It at the SAQ
Champagne, Cava, Crémant and Sparkling Wine: The Most Expensive Aren’t Always Worth the Price
If you've ever wondered if paying big bucks for Champagne is really worth it when there are Cavas, Crémants and other sparkling wines at much lower, budget-friendly prices. Will you really taste the difference? After drinking a very expensive Champagne last year and not really … [Read more...] about Champagne, Cava, Crémant and Sparkling Wine: The Most Expensive Aren’t Always Worth the Price
Montreal’s Biggest Wine and Spirits Tasting Event, La Grande Dégustation, Goes Online, Oct. 26-31, 2020
For a lot of years, I, and thousands of others, traipsed through the basement of Place Bonaventure with a SAQ tasting glass in one hand and a map and index of the hundreds of wines and spirits available to be tasted in the other. In more recent years that map was replaced by a … [Read more...] about Montreal’s Biggest Wine and Spirits Tasting Event, La Grande Dégustation, Goes Online, Oct. 26-31, 2020
Wine Suggestions for the Holidays: Natural Wines, Private Imports and a Rosé to Drink Year-Round
With back-to-back-to-back salons in Montreal this fall, there was plenty to wade through for suggestions for what to drink right now. I headed into the two days of the natural wine salon, Raw wine, fully energized, but ended up not making it to RASPIPAV (the private import salon) … [Read more...] about Wine Suggestions for the Holidays: Natural Wines, Private Imports and a Rosé to Drink Year-Round
Rosé Wine for Summer: Three to Try
I never liked rosé until I tried one from Bandol. But like a summer fling, our affair ended when I ran out of (on?) it. Private import wines are tricky like that. Symbiose didn't have any cases left. So I went to Toronto and got a few bottles of Val D'Arenc, another rosé from … [Read more...] about Rosé Wine for Summer: Three to Try
Desert (Not Dessert) Wines: Interview with Award-Winning Arizona Winemaker Sarah Hammelman of Sand-Reckoner Vineyards
You might not think Arizona could make great wines – it's a desert, after all – but that's what people used to say about California wines, Canadian wines and hordes of other winemaking areas. And they were wrong. Sarah Hammelman and her husband Rob were certainly believers in … [Read more...] about Desert (Not Dessert) Wines: Interview with Award-Winning Arizona Winemaker Sarah Hammelman of Sand-Reckoner Vineyards
Lambrusco: Hunting for Quality Among Italian Sparkling Red Wines
Have you ever had a sparkling red Italian? A wine, I mean, but some of the same criteria fall to men I've dated, too: questionable ethics, a lack of concern for the environment, excessive sweetness or bitterness, and the tendency to try to present themselves as the kind of … [Read more...] about Lambrusco: Hunting for Quality Among Italian Sparkling Red Wines