Tidings Magazine

Is it me or does every has-been celebrity seem to have a line of wines named after them nowadays?

Why so surprised? Celebrities are as good as superheroes — able to leap onto any marketing opportunity in a single bound. Surely if they can blend their own cologne, design clothes and create salad dressing, then thinking they can slap their name on a wine bottle should come without any burden of guilt, right?

That said, it might surprise you to hear that, what with all the new famed-named labels on liquor-store shelves, celeb-endorsed vino isn’t a current trend. Major and minor stars from music, sports and Hollywood have been involved in the industry (at different levels of intensity) for decades.

What’s your notion of the ideal comfort food? I asked a few friends and answers were pretty much the same: warm, soothing, and, yes ... comforting food. There seems to be a real hunger for comfort foods and, for the most part, the basic list of familiar classics probably has not changed in decades. Burgers, meatloaf, mac & cheese all seem to have endured the test of time and continue to be favourite sources of solace for even the most finicky appetites.

Many think of comfort foods as a way to warm up on a cold winter night, but comfort food is really great at any time of year. So if you’ve had a tough day, a long week or just need a little “ahhhh,” look to one of the soothing dishes below. Some are familiar classics, while others are the favourites of my youth and dishes I’ve enjoyed at some of my favourite restaurants.

And what better way to enjoy your favourite dish than by pairing it with a great bottle of wine? Even better when that bottle is in a comfortable price point — under $25.

I’m new to wine and am still having trouble coming to grips with what tannins are and where they come from. Can you help?

Though I wasn’t much of a chemistry student (too much time spent with a calculator and not enough with a Bunsen burner), tannins are pretty straightforward. If you’ve ever taken a sip of over-steeped tea or twisted the stem off an apple with your teeth and felt that astringent, bitter impression on your palate, you’re already well on your way to a doctorate in tannins.

Tannins are natural chemical compounds found in the skins, seeds and, yes, stems of fruit and in other organic materials like tree bark and tea leaves. Though white wines rarely come into contact with tannin-carrying compounds during their making, the juice for red wines is exposed to the grape skins for extended periods of time (that’s where the colour comes from, kids) and, during pressing, to the seeds and stems.

When we have big family dinners, we never seem to pick wines that please the whole clan. Can you recommend some choices with universal appeal?

A wise man once said, “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives.” And I know from experience that nothing fans the flames of smouldering opinions like a big family food-fest. Whether it’s your sister’s know-it-all husband (the expert on everything) or the mother-in-law who never met a pause in conversation she couldn’t fill, you should realize right now that nitpicking will always be more important to some people than finding satisfaction with what’s put in front of them to drink.