Natalie MacLean's Blog, page 13

Festive Wines for Every Budget and Celebration

  ‘Tis the season for holiday gift giving. What if you’d like to give someone a bottle of wine? How do you know which one to choose? Here to help us with that is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at  nataliemaclean.com   Welcome back, Natalie. So if choosing the right bottle is so tricky, why should we give wine or spirits as a gift at all?   When you give the gift of wine, doubles are fine unlike toaster ovens, there are no wrong sizes unlike that ugly sweater and regifting is so much easier […]

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Vines with Values: Wines That Taste Good and Do Good

  Welcome back everybody. As consumers this holiday season, our purchases can make an impact. And if wine is on your gift list, you can shop with intention since many wineries are prioritizing sustainability and community support.   Here to highlight wines that taste good and do good is Natalie MacLean who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes! Welcome back to the show!   Welcome, Natalie.   Great to be back with you! I think of these wines as drinking with a conscience — we get to feel virtuous and tipsy at the same time.     Natalie, the […]

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Holiday Spirits: How to Choose a Great Gift Bottle

    ‘Tis the season for holiday gift giving. What if you’d like to give someone a bottle of wine or spirits? How do you know which one to choose? Here to help us with that is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at  nataliemaclean.com   Welcome back, Natalie. So if choosing the right bottle is so tricky, why should we give wine or spirits as a gift at all?     When you give the gift of wine or spirits, doubles are fine unlike toaster ovens, there are no wrong sizes unlike that ugly sweater […]

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Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings December 14, 2024

  You can access the wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. You can also see my wine reviews for November 30th. These are just some of the benefits of supporting our wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. Curious about […]

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Exploring Piemonte Wines Beyond Barolo and Barbaresco with David Way

Introduction Are you curious about the wines of Piemonte in northern Italy? Why are Barolo and Barbaresco often compared with Burgundy? What makes Nebbiolo unique as a grape? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with David Way, author of the new book The Wines of Piemonte. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Giveaway Two of you will win a copy of his terrific new book, The Wines of Piemonte.   How to Win To qualify, all you have to do is email me at natalie@nataliemaclean.com and let me know that you’ve posted a review of the […]

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Toast to the Season: Choosing Wines for Every Celebration

    ‘Tis the season for holiday gift giving. What if you’d like to give someone a bottle of wine? How do you know which one to choose? Here to help us with that is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com   Welcome back, Natalie. So if choosing the right bottle is so tricky, why should we give wine or spirits as a gift at all?   When you give the gift of wine, doubles are fine unlike toaster ovens, there are no wrong sizes unlike that ugly sweater and regifting is so much easier compared […]

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Raise a Glass! The Best Bottles to Gift This Holiday Season

  ‘Tis the season for holiday gift giving. What if you’d like to give someone a bottle of wine or spirits? How do you know which one to choose? Here to help us with that is Natalie MacLean, who offers Canada’s most popular online wine classes at nataliemaclean.com   Welcome back, Natalie. So if choosing the right bottle is so tricky, why should we give wine or spirits as a gift at all?   When you give the gift of wine or spirits, doubles are fine unlike toaster ovens, there are no wrong sizes unlike that ugly sweater and regifting is so […]

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Why We Struggle to Describe Wine Yet Keep Trying with Hugh Johnson

Introduction Why is it so difficult to describe wine? How did England pave the way for Champagne as we know it today? What do winemaking and gardening share beyond being plant-based? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Hugh Johnson. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Giveaway Two of you will win a copy of his marvellous memoir, The Life and Wines of Hugh Johnson.   How to Win To qualify, all you have to do is email me at natalie@nataliemaclean.com and let me know that you’ve posted a review of the podcast. It […]

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How Much do you Know About Champagne? Take the Pop Quiz

Got your champagne ready for New Year’s? Here are my Top 20 Champagnes to celebrate the New Year and which stores have them in stock now. Take the Pop Quiz below and you’ll have some trivia to drop this evening as you celebrate the New Year! Pop Quiz 1. Is all sparkling wine champagne? No. Only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France may be called Champagne. It’s a trademarked word. 2. Before the modern era of product placement in movies, which Champagne was the favourite of James Bond? Bollinger or as Bond would call it, Bolly. That was also in […]

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The legendary Hugh Johnson, author of The World Atlas of Wine, on how you can improve your wine-tasting skill and pleasure

Introduction Are you curious what it would be like to ask for wine advice from legendary Hugh Johnson, author of The World Atlas of Wine, among many other books? What would he advise you on how you can improve your wine-tasting skill and pleasure? Why was Hugh initially against wine scoring and how has his perspective changed over the years? What makes a wine great in Hugh’s opinion? Why does Hugh now prefer English sparkling wines over his long-time favourite Pol Roger Champagne? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Hugh Johnson. You can find the wines we […]

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