| 20 July 2010
I readily admit I haven’t always been kind to Chilean wine. Historically, it has been too green, notably in the area where Carmenère is concerned. Nor has the country been high on my checklist of places to visit. Recently, two events helped to alter my stance. First was a Wines of Chile tasting featuring a new generation of wines that were more fruit driven, with little or no herbaceousness. Second was Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations Chilean episode. During his visit to the ribbon-shaped country, he experienced the gorgeous landscape, vinous jewels and gastronomy. Of all the food he sampled, there was one item that caught my attention, the Hot Dog Completo Italiano. It’s an oversized all-beef frankfurter (“a terrifying Ron Jeremy-esque tube of meat,” according to Bourdain wit), plastered with insane amounts of tomatoes, avocado and mayonnaise (the latter two being prodigious food groups amongst Chileans). Healthy? Definitely not. Delicious? Hoping to find out!| 05 July 2010
Tidings' Carolyn Evans-Hammond had the opportunity recently to speak with Kilikanoon Winery CEO, Nathan Waks, when he dropped by Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Ltd in Toronto.
Kilikanoon Winery is located in South Australia's Clare Valley where the days are long and hot and the nights are cool. Winemaker Kevin Mitchell has made the most of that climate, allowing the terroir - the soil, the climate and the people - to be fully expressed in each sip of wine. Kevin and his father, Mort, purchased the property in 1997. Since then, they've succeeded in coaxing wines from their old and new vines that reflect regional and varietal diversity.
Listen to Nathan as he describes the vineyards, the award-winning wine and how to pair Australian wine with food ....
| 17 June 2010
Not withstanding that it gave rise to “critter” wines and single-handedly made the colour yellow the bane of serious oeno-geeks worldwide, Australia can, and does, make some serious wines. Unfortunately, the former style eclipsed the latter, which was all well and good until the average Joe realized that off-dry, jammy, high-test red wines could be wrung out of Argentina for half the price. Lately the wine biz down under has taken a bit of a tailspin to the point where koala juice is becoming somewhat passé. However, all is not lost.
Wayne Stehbens, of the Coonawarra-based Katnook Estate, passed through Toronto recently to reaffirm Australia’s ability to craft noteworthy wine has not dwindled. Having helmed the winery’s production for 26 years, Stehbens knows a thing or two about crafting a decent glass of grape. A two-time winner of the Jimmy Watson Trophy (the Aussie wine equivalent of the Academy Award), Stehbens is a champion of Australian wine in general and those crafted from the parched soils of Coonawarra in particular. He’s also witty, entertaining, and a marvelous dinner companion and if we weren’t having to drive (and he not having an early morning), we’d no doubt have been watching the sun come up over a jug of beer.| 02 June 2010
Join Gurvinder Bhatia on an insider's wine and food lovers' tour of Napa Valley and San Francisco. This 4 day, 5 night once-in-a-lifetime experience is a must-not-miss delicious and decadent getaway for any food and wine lover. Travel like an insider with an insider as we access, taste and experience the best of Napa Valley and San Francisco. As well as his work as Wine Columnist for CBC Radio and Contributing Editor for Tidings Magazine, Bhatia's extensive experience was honed from years of working as a food and wine consultant, international wine judge and wine educator. He is the owner of Vinomania.