If I only had $100…I would buy at LCBO Vintages

 Pop into your closest LCBO Vintages for the release on Saturday April 30 – just in time for Mother’s Day! you’ll find Pacific Northwest Wines, Aussie whites and interesting coloured  Rosés. There is something for every mum! I haven’t made the wine trek to Oregon but whenever wines appear from

You Drink It – We’ll Deliver

 On my fridge there is a magnet that reminds me: “so many wines, so little time.” The truth is that we are creatures of habit and despite so many options, it’s often easier to simply reach for a bottle of wine that we know. A friend called me recently and asked me to

Healthy Food Choices This Holiday Season

 The holiday season is upon us. Special gatherings with family, friends, and plenty of food are in order. But if you are trying to watch your waistline, or simply want to make healthier choices this holiday season, here are 6 tips to make sure you have a great time without

A Glimpse Into ARC the Hotel’s New Winter Menu

 Photo by Eric Vance. Earlier this month ARC the Hotel celebrated their freshly-launched winter menu by treating a selection of local foodies to lunch. OLM was there and we have the low-down on what’s changed and what you have to try. What’s New The ARC Lounge menu hasn’t just changed under

Rosé Rules for Thanksgiving

 All photos courtesy of Savvy Company. Which wines will you be serving this Thanksgiving weekend? Harvest moon has certainly changed the weather to cooler autumn temperatures but…did you know rosé wines are considered by many – including our Savvy Sommeliers – the best wines to serve with any Thanksgiving feast.

The Best Brine and Gravy For Your Next Turkey

 Just in time for Thanksgiving, Weber serves up another great recipe. Didn’t think a turkey could be cooked on the grill? Think again! Why not try something new this Thanksgiving and treat your loved ones to a brined and barbecued turkey? Once you taste a turkey that’s been grilled, you’ll never

Sharing the Good Things in Life

 All photos courtesy of Savvy Company At Savvy Company, we specialize in creative social experiences by discovering the world of wine, craft beer & artisan cheese with our Sommeliers. Looking for a fun night out?  Join us at an upcoming Savvy Event where we’ll introduce to the people who make the wine,

Head to Hudson for a Great Blind Date

 It takes an incredible combination of wit and talent to create what Rebecca Northan has ingeniously done in her play Blind Date. It is an innovative piece of theatre that brilliantly mixes improvisation with traditional theatre. It has had successful runs in London, New York, Toronto and across Canada for

Venture into the Mind of Experts with OSFAS

 With our busy day-to-day lives, it’s not too often we get the chance to sit back and engage in something new. If you have a passion for arts and sciences, here’s your chance to discover new information at the upcoming presentations from the Ottawa Society for the Arts and Sciences (OSFAS).

Nepean Fine Arts League Spring Show and Sale: Buying Local Art

 By Melody Duncan Forty years ago, I bought my first painting at a local art show. It was the first of many. Today, I am one of the 124 area artists who belong to that same association. The Nepean Fine Arts League is now 51 years old, still going strong

Bite the Winter Blues With Ottawa’s Gastronomic Extravaganza

 Photos courtesy of Anne Girard ’Twas the night before Winterlude, when in downtown Ottawa… Leading hotel chefs were stirring and sipping fine wine! The second annual Dine Wine Wintertime will take place the evening of January 29 at Ottawa’s City Hall in support of the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa. For

Pass the Wine and Cheese, Please!

 Perusing over a showcase of signature wines from Ontario wineries unavailable at the LCBO sounds like a great night. Join Savvy Company for A Wine and Cheese with a Twist! This taste and buy event will allow you to stock up on your new favourite Ontario wines from Casa Dea

Tapas and Theatre at Teatro Café

 Take a walk down Wellington Street West and you will find an array of restaurants--all ready to feed a hungry stomach. So how does a new restaurant make the move to join in on the food fiesta and compete, let alone survive, in the area? Just ask Teatro Café owner

Place in the Sun Puts 300 Days of Sunlight in a Bottle of Shiraz

 Three hundred days of sunlight might seem like a dream, with all this wacky Canadian spring weather, but Place in the Sun has managed to bottle those golden rays. Here’s something new to sip on this summer—Place in the Sun has a South African Shiraz made with the grapes of

Four Must Buys this Labor Day Holiday Weekend

 If you’re like me, you look forward to Vintages Saturday with equal parts excitement and dread… excitement, because soon you will be sipping on a new wine… dread because there goes another 100 bucks out the window (granted, it’s on wine but still). This coming weekend is another Vintages release

Three Essentials

 I recently got a taste of the Vintages Essentials catalogue… these are wines that are “always available” at Vintages outlets. I scratch my head on occasion when I see this list, wondering how certain wines make it while others, much more deserving of a spot on the list, do not.

Summertime Wines of All Kinds

 There are two wines that were released by the LCBO in June that you’ll need to do a little digging around for but they are well worth the effort. Starting with a sweetie from Spain: Torres Floralis Moscatel Oro ($16.95 / 500ml - #642173). Why this one? Simply put, it’s

Burning Down the Kiln

 Usually I tell you about wines you can get at the LCBO… but here I’m going to recommend wines to keep your eyes peeled for because they could be coming to the LCBO (yes, I did say "could", because they are pending an LCBO decision). Recently, I set foot on

The perfect meal for the perfect Prince Edward County wine

 Wine on its own is good. But, with a delicious complementary meal, it’s that much better. The diversity of wines in Prince Edward County offers the ideal selection for any meal. Below, we offer a pairing guide for the main varietals of wine present in the Prince Edward County region.

Joining the Trend for Less

 Sitting on the back deck enjoying the spoils of summer: sun, warmth, friends, burgers, roasted tomato dressing on mixed greens – nothing could be more organic than a spontaneous BBQ… but wait, you can add something more to this organic party: organic wine.  Organic is pervasive in the market these

History of Wine in Prince Edward County

 Wine, food and respite – these are the things that Prince Edward County is known for. But, there are layers of history that lie behind this quaint island region nestled off-the-beaten-track in Southern Ontario. There was a time when Prince Edward County was barely associated with wine – instead, it

A Matched Pair from New Zealand

 People are always asking me for a pair of wines they can bring to a BBQ, or over to a friend’s house, that won’t embarrass them but make them look like they know something about wine and food matching. I’m always intrigued as to why people think they have to

The Rosé That Might Just Change Your Mind…

 Back in 2008, I went to a lunch for a tasting of Château d’Esclans wines… the centerpiece of this tasting were four rosés and that might come as a surprise to many. First off, you don’t usually see a winery centering its production around pink wine, and secondly, they were

One This Afternoon, One This Evening

 People often ask me if there really is such a thing as afternoon wines and evening wines.  The simple answer is no, you can drink whatever you like at any time you want, but there are some wines that make better sense at certain times of the day. For instance,

The Two Faces of Grigio

 The buzz-grape in the world of wine over the past few years has been Pinot Grigio... but Grigio is a style and one that has been bastardized in favor of the trend. Pinot Grigio is Pinot Gris in an Italian style, which means crisp and citrusy. Pinot Gris is a