Category: Wine and food pairing (Page 2 of 3)

Vineyards on a hill by the sea — Roussillon vineyard by the Med. Photo credit: Vins du Roussillon Facebook page

Adventures in Roussillon white wines #Winophiles

July 17, 2020 / Mel / 23 Comments

Today I am joining the French Winophiles, a group of wine bloggers from around the world who love fermented French grapes, in their monthly virtual meet-up. Saturday morning’s discussion over on Twitter will focus on white wines from Roussillon, France’s southernmost winemaking region. Read to the end for more details.

A personal connection – or not

Being a Canadian/French dual citizen, I often consider myself quite familiar with France and its geography. And when I first heard that this month’s Winophiles chat would be on Roussillon, I thought “Great! I know that region and I’ve been there quite a bit in the last few years.” Except that once I started doing some research, I realized that it might not be the case. Continue reading

Two Sisters Margo rosé bottle and tasting notes

Best rosés in 2020

June 14, 2020 / Mel / 6 Comments

You asked for it, so here they are: my top rosé picks for 2020.

Agronika food pairing experiment – video

June 5, 2020 / Mel / 7 Comments

To celebrate the upcoming weekend, I did a virtual food and wine pairing experiment with Novaripa‘s Agronika Terre di Chieti Passerina*. This lovely white wine from the Abruzzo region in Italy is dangerously drinkable, especially when paired with food!

*I capitalized the grape variety here because it is part of the wine’s title, as it appears on the label.

The video

Loios Red – a quality and affordable wine from Portugal

May 8, 2020 / Mel / 5 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself at the local liquor store, stocking up for…well…the Apocalypse. With the new social distancing measures in place, the line-ups at the cash had customers snaking up and down the aisles. Taking my place in line (2 metres behind the person in front of me, of course), I found myself in the Portugal section and perused the shelves while waiting for my turn. My eyes quickly darted from price tag to price tag. Were these prices for real?? Was I dreaming? Everything was under $15! In the name of research, I grabbed a bottle of Portuguese red wine on the lower end of the price range, thinking to myself it would probably be undrinkable.

I was wrong.

Between the seasons – four Thanksgiving wine picks

October 11, 2019 / Mel / 3 Comments

Well folks, summer may officially be over, with ever shorter days and increasingly nippy nights, but it’s hard to tell with these lingering warm temperatures and only the beginnings of gorgeous fall views. And here in Canada, it’s somehow already Thanksgiving weekend! Not to worry, I’ve got your Thanksgiving wines covered, no matter what you’re eating! And all at less than $20 a bottle to boot!

Taste Community Grown 2019 — Ode to Prince Edward County

October 6, 2019 / Mel / 3 Comments

Have you ever felt so drawn to a place, but you don’t know why? That’s Prince Edward County for me. Every time I come here, everything just feels…right. Comforting. I’ve always lived in cities and balked at the idea of living even in a small town, let alone the full-out country. But there’s something about this place. It’s irresistibly charming. So when my husband was offered a three-week job which involved staying in a lake house in the County, I obviously offered to tag along and keep him company.

Pizza and Brouilly wine — Pizza with Chateau de

Food sensitivities, pizza and wine

April 26, 2019 / Mel / 0 Comments

Travelling with people with food sensitivities can be tricky. When sailing, we are lucky that we have a galley kitchen on the boat and can make meals onboard to our tastes. But it means getting creative sometimes. Continue reading

Wine and chocolate in the Caribbean

April 4, 2019 / Mel / 0 Comments

Hello friends!

It’s that time of year again when I resurface from a hiatus!! We are nearing the end of our sailing season in the Caribbean. It has been a great winter of island hopping, hosting friends on board and enjoying a slower, simpler kind of life.

But all good things must come to an end, and our time in the Caribbean is no exception. And there is nothing more depressing for a cruiser than watching your boat come out of the water. Except maybe knowing that you are flying home to subzero temperatures and snow still on the ground. And then I seriously question all my life choices. And consume a vast amount of chocolate. And (obviously) drink wine. And that helps a bit. Continue reading

Have you tried this affordable bubbly red wine? The lowdown on Lambrusco.

August 26, 2018 / Mel / 0 Comments

Hello my wine-loving friends!

I know it must be a shock to see Wining with Mel re-appearing out of the blue like this after such a long absence. Five months, to be exact. Rest assured that despite the lack of posts, you have not left my thoughts. I have been battling a heavy dose of guilt for not writing. Did you think of me a little while I was gone?

It goes without saying that coming back to the “real world” after a year off – first traipsing around Europe, then sailing around the Caribbean – has been a bit of an adjustment. I have gone from a completely unstructured life on a boat to being back in an office 5 days a week. I have gone from wearing flips flops or going barefoot to donning high heels. Continue reading

Bordeaux meets Antigua

February 28, 2018 / Mel / 0 Comments

What do you think of when you hear Bordeaux? France, certainly. Row upon row of vines. Left bank and right bank. Cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Highly structured reds that cellar for years, even decades. Fried chicken. Wait, what? Continue reading