Natalie MacLean’s Wine of the Week

 Saltram Winemaker's Selection Shiraz Tempranillo Wine Review Barossa Valley, South Australia A full-bodied red wine with the majority being Shiraz and a splash of Tempranillo grapes grown in a very low-yield, small vineyard. Loaded with blackberry, cassis, and fleshy black plums, yet offering supreme balance and pleasure. Try it with

Natalie MacLean’s Wine of the Week

 Wakefield Jaraman Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Review Clare Valley, Coonawarra, South Australia Lots of attractive mint and fleshy blackberries on the nose of this seductive, full-bodied red wine. Loaded with character and well worth the price.   Complete Cheese Pizza Wine   Price: $24.95 Score: 92/100 Alcohol: 14.5% Sweetness: Dry Drink:

Bon Appétit: Health Check and Le Cordon Bleu teach Canadians how to cook healthy

 It’s time to eat healthy – with style and taste. The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Health CheckTM program and Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa are partnering to offer healthy cooking classes aimed at teaching Canadians how to prepare healthy meals using classic French culinary techniques. The recipes were created specifically by

Privacy and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario

 What started out as a simple privacy commissioner complaint has turned into a constitutional challenge of the validity of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) – and this time the Board has only itself to blame for the brouhaha, proving once again that Ontario’s LCBO is so far out

Abbotts & Delaunay Wines Are Worth Seeking Out

 There’s a myth in Ontario that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario is the only place to buy imported wines… while it’s true the LCBO owns the monopoly on single-bottle buying, there are these guys (and gals) in flannel suits called agents who also bring booze into the province –

Something “Completely Yummy”: 2011 Montes Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon

 I’m going back to Chile for the second week in a row and once you put your lips on a glass of this wine, you’ll realize why I am recommending it. You see, just recently in Toronto, the Chileans came to town and held their annual Grand Tasting, which they call Discover

Thirst Impressions: Piedmont or Bust

 As usual, we'll look back at a few releases before we sample the newest bottles on Vintages’ shelves. The October 13 release had one for those of you who like sparkling wine but aren't big fans of the price of Champagne. Head a little south of Champagne to Burgundy for

A Very Good Pinot Gets Even Better for a Few Weeks: Chanson 2010 Le Bourgogne

 This week, we'll swing on down to France and look at the signature red grape of Burgundy. Pinot Noir is a seemingly love-it or hate-it grape. Some dig the earthy, barnyard, almost musky scents of a good Pinot Noir can give off – others shy away, saying that the wine

Pink Bubbles with a Cause: Bottega Il Vino dei Poeti Rosé

 It’s October and that means that the colour pink is all the rage… it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and from football players’ shoes to towels, candles and Five Hour Energy drinks, everybody jumps on the “Breast Cancer Awareness” bandwagon by tinting their product pink. I’m a guy. I like wine and I

Fall Back on an Old Favourite or Find a New One…

 As we head into fall, we swap those light and fruity whites for the heavier, warming appeal of reds. I like to give you the latest releases available, but it’s always good to step back a few weeks to see if certain faves are still kicking around the LCBO. We’re

Thirst Impressions

 Every second Saturday the LCBO's Vintages section releases over one hundred wines into the Ontario market. With such choices, you may be asking what is the best bang for the buck? Vintages has an array of wines at many price points, but I'm always hunting for those value wines (under

Opposition Leader Tim Hudak says with Ontario facing unprecedented job losses and a massive deficit, six million in bonuses to LCBO management is wrong

 Premier Dalton McGuinty recently announced that the Ontario government is considering selling off crown assets such as the LCBO to reduce the deficit. Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak is convinced that such a move is not the right way to go. "Selling off crown assets is the wrong approach to

Andrea Horwath says LCBO bonuses show a culture of entitlement

 By: Dina Zeldin OLM: Ex-LCBO employee Larry Paterson discovered through Freedom of Information requests that the LCBO dished out over 6 million dollars in bonuses to employees in 2008 (which had increased from just over 400 thousand in 1997). Can you comment on why these bonuses were awarded? What was

LCBO Monopoly

 Awhile back, my brother and I were talking and the topic of the LCBO came up. "How exactly does it work?" he wondered. I gave him my layman's knowledge. Imagine, if you will, that for every camera that comes into Ontario (he happens to work for a camera retailer so