Category: Wine and food pairing (Page 2 of 6)

Wining with Mel virtual happy hour image

Our next FREE virtual Happy Hour!

February 5, 2021 / Mel / 0 Comments

Happy Hour: Friday, February 12, 7:30 pm EST

For our next virtual happy hour, we’ll do a quick recap of wine tasting, and up our game with some food and wine pairing basics!

Wining with Mel Ontario sparkling picks part 1

Best Ontario sparkling wines to celebrate the end of 2020 – Part One

December 7, 2020 / Mel / 2 Comments

It’s the time of year where we all start thinking about bubbles! Whether for gift‑giving purposes, or just to open in honour of surviving another day, there is a bubbly for every occasion. To that end, I have compiled a list of the top Ontario sparkling wines to get you through the holidays and celebrate the New Year. I think we can all agree that it’s time for this godforsaken year to come to an end already (don’t let the door hit you on your way out, 2020!).

Niagara Wine Picks for October

October 12, 2020 / Mel / 4 Comments

People often tell me they don’t like Ontario wines.

I understand where they’re coming from. Many Ontario vines are babies in the grand scheme of things. They haven’t had time to settle into the terroir and establish themselves, so the wines they produce may not be at the same level as Old World wines that have been around forever.

That said, there are many wineries in Ontario whose vines have been around long enough to make absolutely stellar wines. Today I am sharing four stunning Niagara wines, one from each wine group (sparkling, red, white, and rosé!). Let this be a reminder to all the skeptics that it’s time to try Ontario again.

What the heck is Côtes du Rhône Villages?

September 18, 2020 / Mel / 19 Comments

Did you know that Côtes du Rhône wines are some of the most popular blends in the world? And then there is Côtes du Rhône Villages. What’s the difference? Is one really better than the other? This month, as part of the French #winophiles meet-up, I set out to investigate Côtes du Rhône Villages. As in any legitimate experiment, this involves tasting some examples of the different classifications to see if the wines at the top of the “quality” pyramid really are tastier.

Top summer wine picks under $25

August 24, 2020 / Mel / 0 Comments

How is summer almost over? The days are already getting depressingly shorter. Sunset at 7:30? No fair! It feels like we were all just getting the hang of summer living in COVID times. But despite this crazy year, we can’t stop the passage of time. So here are my red, white and rosé top summer wine picks (all under $25!) to send summer off in style: