Natalie MacLean's Blog, page 34

Taboo Wine Topics: The Alcoholic Buzz of Wine + Shaming Sweet Wines with Calla Bischoff & Kara Ferreira

Introduction Why does it seem taboo to talk about the intoxicating effects of wine? What’s prompting so much wine shaming of those who enjoy easy-drinking commercial wines that have residual sugar, and why do these wines play an important role in the wine market? How can memoirs have more emotional impact than biographies, and what’s the difference between the two? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m being interviewed by Calla Bischoff and Kara Ferreira on their Boozy Biddies Talk Wine podcast. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube […]

The post Taboo Wine Topics: The Alcoholic Buzz of Wine + Shaming Sweet Wines with Calla Bischoff & Kara Ferreira appeared first on Natalie MacLean.

Pumpkin Spice: Is There a Wine for That?

Watch this CTV News video here   Pumpkin spice seems synonymous with fall when it comes to specialty drinks and food, but what if we’d like to pair this flavour with wine? Here to share her tips is Natalie MacLean, author of the national bestseller Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much.   First, what is pumpkin spice and how did it become so popular? Pumpkin spice is made from cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and allspice. It usually doesn’t contain any real pumpkin bits, but that’s never stopped a good marketer from positioning it […]

The post Pumpkin Spice: Is There a Wine for That? appeared first on Natalie MacLean.

Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings September 23, 2023

  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 September 9th. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out 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 […]

The post Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings September 23, 2023 appeared first on Natalie MacLean.

Pinot Noir, the Nervous Breakdown Grape + Navigating Bad Life Vintages with the Boozy Biddies

Introduction How do bad vintages in life help us to thrive? Why is Pinot Noir the grape that teeters on the edge of a nervous breakdown? How can moderation help to preserve our passion for wine? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m being interviewed by Calla Bischoff and Kara Ferreira on their Boozy Biddies Talk Wine podcast. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at 7 pm eastern on Instagram Live Video, Facebook Live Video or YouTube Live […]

The post Pinot Noir, the Nervous Breakdown Grape + Navigating Bad Life Vintages with the Boozy Biddies appeared first on Natalie MacLean.

Wine Supertasters Live in a Neon Sensory World

Watch this CTV News video here   In her new book Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much, Natalie MacLean talks about being a supertaster. The book has just become a national bestseller and she’s here to tell us more about supertasters and how we can find out if we are one.   Welcome Natalie.   So what is a supertaster and why are women more likely to be one? Dr. Linda Bartoshuk, at Yale University School of Medicine, discovered the supertaster phenomenon in 1999. Women are more than twice as likely […]

The Secrets of Barbaresco, Barolo and Mourvedre with Andy James, Author of Bandol Wine and the Magic of Mourvedre

Introduction Why is Bandol the only wine region that leads with Mourvèdre? What would surprise you about the northern Italian grape and wine Barbaresco? What would it be like to spend a day picking grapes in a Sauvignon Blanc vineyard? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Andy James, author of Bandol Wine and the Magic of Mourvèdre. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at 7 pm eastern on Instagram Live Video, Facebook Live Video or […]

The Art of Austrian Wine: From Auslese to Zweigelt

By Alana Lapierre   If a question on the American game show Jeopardy! showcased the varietes Gruner Veltliner and Blaufrankisch, a contestant would surely respond promptly with, “What are two of Austria’s most well-known varieties?” They’d be correct of course, but that answer would also belie the great depth and variety of Austria’s terroir, one that I had the pleasure of tasting through following Austrian Wine’s June 2021 Ontario online tasting event that included wine samples, public seminars, and private video meetings with winemakers. Austria is known mostly for fresh, pure white wines and exceptional value for money in terms […]

The post The Art of Austrian Wine: From Auslese to Zweigelt appeared first on Natalie MacLean.

Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings September 9, 2023

  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 August 19th. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out 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 […]

Bandol Wine and the Magic of Mourvèdre with Author Dr. Andy James

Introduction How does Mourvèdre taste different from other southern French grapes that also produce full-bodied red wines? Did you know that Mourvèdre can age for up to 40 years but has stages where it shuts down completely? What would a 20-year-old Rosé taste like? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Andy James, author of Bandol Wine and the Magic of Mourvèdre. You can find the wines we discussed here.   Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Video Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wednesday at 7 pm eastern on Instagram […]

Sustainable Austrian Wine Goes Greener

  By Jenny Ratcliffe-Wright CWM For over two millennia, wine has been a part of Austrian culture, with the first findings of wine dating back to the Celts and Romans around 700BC. In fact, Austria’s flagship white grape, Gruner Veltliner, which covers 37% of Austria’s vineyards today, was created in the 10th century.   Today the wine growing area of Austria totals 113,000 acres and is farmed by 23,000 wine growers. Almost all of Austria’s fine wines are produced by small family wineries which have been doing so, in the same way, for centuries.  Today’s young winemakers are building on […]

The post Sustainable Austrian Wine Goes Greener appeared first on Natalie MacLean.