NatalieMacLean

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🎧 Unreserved Wine Talk, NYT Best Podcast
🎥 Video: Fix 5 Big Pairing Mistakes 👇

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

📉 How did one decision trigger Sherry’s decline from Britain’s favourite drink❓

🎧 One man almost single-handedly wrecked the sherry industry. Ben Howkins, author of a new book on Sherry, tells the full story in our chat.

https://t.co/WC5Zimx6QD

🏆 Ben says before still wine, before sparkling water, before all these things, sherry had a complete monopoly on British drinking habits, and Harvey's Bristol Cream was the biggest selling wine in the country.

💸 Then José María Ruiz-Mateos secured a 99-year lease on the supply of Bristol Cream, 13.5 million bottles a year, went on a major spending spree, and the sherry he offered became so bland and unexciting that people simply stopped drinking it.

🕰️ That's why it's all waned, Ben says, 40 years on and it's still going down.

🌱 What would it take for Sherry to make a meaningful comeback after decades of decline?

💰 Ben says all sherry companies are now owned by Spaniards, most either very small with a stash of good old stock or forced to diversify into table wines and food, and without better margins there's no money to reinvest or shout about the brand.

✨ The only way forward is demand, he says, for people to appreciate these blends as fine wines, and though he believes it will come, the mass-produced sherry of yesterday is history.

💃 How can you make the most out of a trip to the sherry region of Spain?

🍢 Ben says there's sunshine, flamenco, wonderful horse fairs, hilltop towns, and incredible tapas and bars in Jerez that offer tremendous value.

🎉 He'd visit a large bodega like González Byass or Hidalgo in Sanlúcar, then a smaller one, and if you can time it for the Jerez feria in May, it's a whole week of total celebration.

💃 Have you tried sherry❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@academie_du @HOPSCOTCHSeason @winetouring

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

Would you like to win a copy of "Sherry: Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent"❓

https://t.co/eATFBA2zEg

🏆 Two of you will win a copy of Ben Howkin’s terrific book, Sherry: Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent. From the book description:

✨ The essential guide to this underrated but increasingly popular fortified wine

🧳 Perfect for every serious wine drinker but also the armchair traveler and those who want to understand how sherries are made

🌟 Written by one of the most well-regarded wine writers on the subject

🎨 Beautifully designed and highly illustrated to tell the story of the wines, the makers and the region

🏺 Made in a unique way, matured in cellars dating back to the age of the Conquistadores, and bursting with a panoply of sun-drenched flavors, Sherry has – due to a succession of scandals and bad luck in the 1970s – been maligned and misunderstood.

🍾 But the Sherry scene is set for seismic change. With a series of new styles, new vineyards and a dynamic new crop of cellar masters, this wine is creating a revolution in the world’s restaurants that can’t be ignored.

🌅 Ben Howkins, in colorful words and equally evocative pictures, delves deep into sherry’s fascinating story and reveals why it is set to come back into our lives with a magnificent flourish!

🥂 “With over 3,000 years of history behind it, the future of Sherry lies in its past. Sommeliers admire it for its many varieties and Ben Howkins’ book will tell you why.” – Steven Spurrier

👇 All you have to do is:

1️⃣ Like this post

2️⃣ Tag someone in the comments below who might also be interested in winning the book

3️⃣ Follow me on X

Cheers! And good luck🥂
Natalie

This contest is in no way affiliated with X.

@academie_du @HOPSCOTCHSeason @winetouring

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

✈️ Travel the World One Glass at a Time with These 5 Wines 🍷

https://t.co/wMzPT30Atc

🍸 Boarding now, drinks in hand, with @timbolen Rick Campanelli & Mary Jo Eustace

🥂 Jackson-Triggs Reserve Sparkling VQA from Niagara is one of Canada's most popular bubblies, and every gathering should always start with a sparkling wine.

🍋 It heightens expectations and tells your guests that you thought about them before they arrived. It has a lovely floral nose, fresh citrus and apple on the palate, and a soft, creamy mousse on the finish.

🌹 After the wild success of Romeo & Juliet Prosecco, the bubbles had babies.

🍐 This brand-new Pinot Grigio from delle Venezie, Italy's Pinot Grigio heartland, is bright and easygoing with pear, green apple, and white peach, with a clean, mineral edge right to a dry finish.

🏔️ La Mascota Chardonnay comes from Mendoza at the foothills of the Andes and the Uco Valley, where barbecue or asado is a centuries-long tradition.

🍊 It opens with buttery notes and crisp pear with a lovely note of lemon blossom, and the palate is round and generous with a long finish.

🚲 Cono Sur Bicicleta Reserva Viognier from Chile's Central Valley is one of the most recognizable wine labels in the world. Bicicleta means bicycle in Spanish, a tribute to the vineyard workers who ride their bikes in the vineyards rows checkingthe grapes & the winery's carbon neutral green side.

🌸 It offers fresh notes of white peach, apple, and orange blossom, aromatic and fresh at the same time, a rare trick for a Viognier to pull off.

🍎 Poplar Grove Pinot Gris 2025 from the Okanagan Valley marks the return of BC-grown wine after the hard 2024 winter freeze hit vineyards across the region.

🍃 There's pear and white peach on the nose with a whisper of blossom, then a citrus snap and a clean, polished finish with just enough texture.

🌍 Which of these five wines would you pack in your luggage❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@mascotavineyard @Grupopenaflor @conosurwines @poplargrovewine @arterracanada @majesticwineinc @Dandurandwines @UNIVINS @authenticwine @select_wines @selectwinesto @ONCraftWineries @WineCountryOnt @grapegrowersont @OntarioTravel @WineGrowersCA @theCanadaGuide @winegroweron @ccovibrocku @ItalyinMontreal @italiadelvino @VinitalyTasting @ItalianSparkley @ITAtradeagency @icciaus @Italchambers @ItalyinUS @winesofarg @winesofchile_ca @winesofchileuk @BCWine @BCWAS

✨ Please drink responsibly.

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🏛️ How does the solera system give every glass of sherry centuries of history❓

🎧 Think sherry is sweet and old-fashioned? Ben Howkins, author of a new book on Sherry, is here to change your mind and your cellar.

https://t.co/eATFBA2zEg

🌿 Ben says it all changes when you step inside the bodegas of the sherry triangle, Jerez, Sanlúcar, and Andalucía, where the aroma of Flor, the yeast that settles on young wine, keeps Fino and Manzanilla light even after 10 or 12 years.

⚔️ Unlike Bordeaux, they never change their barrels, and he remembers tasting Amontillado and Palo Cortado from the Peninsular War at the Hidalgo bodega, wines sent to both Napoleon's army and Wellington's army over 200 years ago.

🏗️ How does Sherry’s “second terroir” shape the wine just as much as the vineyard itself?

🥂 Ben draws a parallel with Champagne: both regions share white soil and unremarkable grapes on their own, so winemakers had to create something that made them truly special.

In sherry, the Palomino grape is gentle and soft by itself, so over centuries out came fortified sherry, and the cathedral-like bodegas give it what Ben calls the second terroir, layered on top of the soil itself. 🕍 💨 🍶

🏆 Why should every great wine cellar have mature, dry Sherry?

👌 Ben says most people don't realize sherry is dry because they only think of cream sherries, Finos, and Manzanillas, but Amontillado and Palo Cortado are actually bone dry and far more complex.

✨ What he's trying to do is tell those few people in the world who are serious about wine that a great cellar is simply not complete without some wonderful dry old sherry.

🍶 Have you ever tasted a bone dry sherry❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@academie_du @HOPSCOTCHSeason @winetouring

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍁 Canadian Wines & Styles Are Booming: Here's Why (CTV News) 🍷

🥂 Ever notice the wine everyone's reaching for lately is lighter, crisper, lower in alcohol?

✨ Racy whites, sparkling, and rosé are having their moment.

🍂 The big, oaky reds are quietly taking a back seat.

🌡️ Here's the good part: Canada's built for this style.

🌿 Our cool climate gives us bright, natural acidity.

🎉 The wines that taste alive in the glass.

📈 Local sales are hitting an all time high.

🍸 Drinkers from coast to coast are pouring Canadian.

🍾 The trade dispute may have nudged them to try local first. But they're staying for what's in the bottle.

🌸 Have you tried a new Canadian wine yet?

Tell me in the comments. 👇

@VinsduQuebec @BCWine @BCWAS @ONCraftWineries @WineCountryOnt @grapegrowersont @OntarioTravel @WineGrowersCA @theCanadaGuide @winegroweron @ccovibrocku

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍁 Woo-hoo! Can’t believe I get to represent Canada as one of three finalists for the 67 Pall Mall 2026 Berkmann Award for Best All-Round Wine Communicator! 🍾

🌎 Hats off to my fellow nominees @S_ColeJohnson of @jancisrobinson and @jamiegoode for their superb work.

🏆 Thanks to the kind and tireless Richard Hemming for spearheading these awards.

🎙️ A HUGE thank you to the listeners of the "Unreserved Wine Talk" podcast. This nomination is for YOU! 💖

🔗 Link in bio https://t.co/U7GAyRDALe

💂🏼‍♂️ The winner will be announced Sept 9th in London. 🎡

🍷 What's your favourite way to learn about wine: books, podcasts, videos, tastings, something else❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🌍 How are modern Bordeaux producers, like Mouton Cadet, creating wines with more energy, smoothness, and drinkability for today’s consumers❓

🎧 Overproduction, shifting tastes, climate pressure. Véronique Hombroekx and Jérôme Aguirre from Mouton Cadet tell us how Fair for Life is the way they're making a more human Bordeaux.

https://t.co/9TwJYMLfQa

🍷 The climate is king, Jérôme says, but the 2022 vintage is singing and 2023 is dancing, and the team works to catch the fruit at harvest to create something generous and alive in the glass.

🥂 The goal is always an elegant, easy style, he says, because today's consumers don't want an old-style Bordeaux with heavy tannins and too dry.

☀️ Can Bordeaux adapt to changing wine tastes without losing its identity?

📉 It is still challenging with significant overproduction and declining volume, Véronique says, and in that context they need to reflect and adapt.

📊 The study they did suggests growing demand for wines that are more approachable, with softer tannins, more fruitiness, and greater drinkability, and white wines are also gaining ground fast with younger consumers because of their freshness and aromatic profile.

🌿 Bordeaux is pulling up thousands of hectares of vines because of overproduction. How does Mouton Cadet's model offer a way out for some wine growers?

🍇 When they pull out some vines, Jérôme says, it's because they've managed the vineyard to limit the risk from frost and climate problems.

🌾 Resilience is the key, he says, because a farmer who can produce quality and quantity every year is much more resilient than most.

🌱 Have you tried Mouton Cadet Red with the new Fair for Life certification yet❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@chartonhobbs @BordeauxWines @BordeauxWinesUK @VisitFrenchWine @WinesOfFrance @AOPLanguedoc @vinspaysdocigp @PaysdOcIGPWines

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🌍 Why did Mouton Cadet, Bordeaux, decide that sustainability needed to include people, not just the environment❓

🎧 Behind every bottle of Mouton Cadet is a community of growers, and a program built to support them. Tune in to our conversation with Véronique Hombroekx, Managing Director for the Mouton Cadet Brand, and Jérôme Aguirre, Director, Mouton Cadet Wines, about Fair for Life.

https://t.co/dQC3w3hiC3

🍃 For many years, Véronique says, they had been committed on the environmental side but felt that sustainability could not stop there.

🌾 What was missing was the social dimension, and Fair for Life came in as a continuation of what they had built with growers: long-term contracts, fair pricing, close support, and a development fund financed by 1% of Mouton Cadet Rouge sales.

🏷️ Why is the Fair for Life certification that’s focused on people, community, and respect the environment a perfect fit for Mouton Cadet?

🙏 Véronique says it was about respect for people and for terroir, with a strong ethical approach built on working together and building something collectively.

📿 She calls it a kind of revelation, a way to turn Mouton Cadet into a genuine human journey with a community of wine growers behind every bottle.

🤝 What does it mean to create trust with more than 100 grape growers that lasts for generations?

🕰️ Family is not just a word for them, Véronique says, and some growers have been part of it for more than ten years, so they know each other and each other's families.

🌿 They speak daily with their growers for technical, administrative, and financial support, and that stability is what Véronique calls the definition of being part of the family.

🍷 Have you tried the new Mouton Cadet Red Fair for Life, or would you like to❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@chartonhobbs @BordeauxWines @BordeauxWinesUK @VisitFrenchWine @WinesOfFrance @AOPLanguedoc @vinspaysdocigp @PaysdOcIGPWines

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🪨 How do Canada’s ancient volcanoes, limestone escarpments and massive tides shape our wine❓

https://t.co/1NwPxjn7kf

🍸 Five wines, five landscapes, with @jessieraeallen & @andreambain along for the ride

🍏 BASK Reserve Simply White VQA is Canada's most popular wine with zero grams of sugar per glass, made from 100% locally grown Ontario grapes in Niagara.

🍋 It's aromatic and fresh with notes of green apple and citrus, giving it a crisp finish that proves zero sugar doesn't mean zero pleasure.

🦞 Magnetic Hill's The OC Osceola by the Sea from New Brunswick just won double gold at the All-Canadian Wine Championships, named for the famous gravity hill that makes cars appear to roll uphill on their own.

🌊 It tastes like a sunny summer day by the water, fitting since the vineyard looks out at lobster boats along the Northumberland Strait shore.

💗 Henry of Pelham Three of Hearts Rosé is sustainably made by the three Speck brothers in the Niagara Peninsula, where limestone and clay soils from an ancient glacial lake give the fruit beautiful concentration of flavour.

🍒 On the nose it offers white peach and strawberry, and at just under $20 it recently earned 94 points from the Global Fine Wine Challenge.

🍾 Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 from the Gaspereau Valley sold out in hours on its first release in 2007, made using indigenous, wild yeast rather than commercial strains.

🌸 The cool Atlantic climate slows ripening naturally, preserving its delicate orange blossom aroma and keeping the effervescence gentle.

🌋 Volcanic Hills Magma Red carries aromas of ripe dark plum and baking spice, finished with a splash of icewine from grapes harvested frozen in the depths of winter.

🍕 At $30, it's a premium production wine with smooth tannins, a long finish, and total crowd appeal that would be incredible with a pepperoni pizza with hot honey.

🌟 Which of these five would earn a spot at your Canada Day table❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@HenryofPelham @Benjamin_Bridge @arterracanada @Touchstonebrds @ONCraftWineries @WineCountryOnt @grapegrowersont @OntarioTravel @WineGrowersCA @theCanadaGuide @winegroweron @ccovibrocku @winegrowersns @TourismNS @TasteofNS

✨ Please drink responsibly.

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍷 Can You Get Wine From Coast to Coast for Canada Day❓ Yes and No

https://t.co/dxWLBY2hwQ

🍸 Pouring patriotism, one glass at a time, with @KentMorrison

🌋 Volcanic Hills is a family winery in West Kelowna on the slopes of Mt. Boucherie, an extinct volcano that has shaped the region for millions of years, where three generations have honed their expertise to create a wine that expresses both the land and their perseverance.

🍒 The Volcanic Hills Magma Red nose gives you dark plum, cherry, spice, and mint, with juicy black fruit, clove, and deeper notes of leather and cigar box on the finish, plus silky tannins and bright acidity.

🍎 In 1958, Mehtab Gidda arrived in Canada to farm with five dollars in his pocket, and four generations of farming knowledge went into every vintage since.

🍐 The 2025 Poplar Grove Pinot Gris from the Okanagan Valley represents the return of BC-grown wine after the severe 2024 winter freeze devastated vineyards across the region.

🍋 It offers pear, white peach, citrus, and a whisper of blossom on the nose, with a crisp, polished palate and just enough texture to feel serious.

🥂 Served chilled, it's refreshing yet premium, the kind of white that makes West Coast patio lunches feel like a real occasion.

🍇 Clos du Soleil Winemaker's Series Syrah comes from the Similkameen Valley, one of Canada's most dramatic wine regions, where the winery's own vines are certified organic and biodynamic and 2025 marks their twentieth anniversary.

🌿 It's co-fermented with a small amount of Viognier and aged in concrete tanks imported from France, unfined and unfiltered, described by winemaker Mike Clark as hauntingly beautiful.

🫐 The nose offers crushed raspberries, plum, violets, and wild sagebrush, with dark forest fruit, black currant, pomegranate, and pepper on the palate, earning a Silver Medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

🍁 Which of these wines would you choose for your Canada Day toast❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@poplargrovewine @closdusoleil @Touchstonebrds @select_wines @selectwinesto @iconwinespirits @BCWine @BCWAS @WineGrowersCA @theCanadaGuide

✨ Please drink responsibly.

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍁 What are 4 terrific wines to celebrate Canada Day❓

https://t.co/gHzTQfE683

🍸 Celebrating Canada Day with @crystaljoyful

🍾 Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 from the Gaspereau Valley in Nova Scotia sold out in just hours on its first release in 2007. The cool Atlantic climate slows ripening naturally, preserving the wine's delicate orange blossom aroma and gentle spritz.

🌸 It's available year-round now and across the country for under $26, a wine that's been named Nova Scotia's favourite.

🍏 BASK Reserve Simply White VQA from Niagara is Canada's most popular wine with zero grams of sugar per glass, proof that zero sugar doesn't mean zero pleasure.

🍋 It's aromatic and fresh, with notes of green apple and citrus and a crisp, clean finish.

🌾 Rossignol Estate Winery Strawberry Rhubarb Wine comes from Little Sands, PEI, where master winemaker John Rossignol presses and ages PEI strawberries and rhubarb together for a full year before bottling.

🍓 It pours a warm amber colour with sweet strawberry up front and that tart rhubarb snap on the finish, what Islanders call pie in a glass.

🌋 Volcanic Hills Magma Red is a family winery in West Kelowna on the slopes of Mount Boucherie, an extinct volcano, where three generations have honed their expertise to create a wine that expresses both the land and their perseverance.

🍒 The nose gives you dark plum, ripe cherry, sweet spice, and a touch of fresh mint, with juicy black fruit, clove, and deeper notes of leather and cigar box on the finish.

🍷 Which of these Canadian wines would you pour for Canada Day❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@Benjamin_Bridge @liffordwine @arterracanada @PEILiquor @Touchstonebrds @winegrowersns @TourismNS @TasteofNS @ONCraftWineries @WineCountryOnt @grapegrowersont @OntarioTravel @WineGrowersCA @theCanadaGuide @winegroweron @ccovibrocku @BCWine @BCWAS

✨ Please drink responsibly.

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🌍 5 World Class Sips for FIFA Watch Parties and Father's Day 🍷

https://t.co/jRBHjw3TEb

🍸 Raising a glass with @Jennifer_Hsiung & @NewsguyNick this World Cup season

🌸 Poplar Grove Winery just released their 2025 Rosé from the Okanagan Valley, which took Best in Category and Double Gold at the Pacific Rim International Wine Competition.

🍓 There's lovely wild strawberry, pink grapefruit, and watermelon aromas with a squeeze of citrus zest on the finish.

🥔 Chopin Potato Vodka was founded in 1993 in Krzesk, Poland, creating the world's first super-premium vodka, with three kilograms of potatoes in every bottle.

🍏 It's creamy and full-bodied with delicate notes of green apple and a whisper of vanilla on the finish.

🥃 Glenmorangie Original 12 Year Old has been made in the Scottish Highlands since 1843, with the tallest stills in Scotland, roughly the height of an adult giraffe.

🍑 Twelve years in former bourbon barrels give this whisky sun-ripened citrus, creamy vanilla, and honey on the nose, with ripe peach and gentle spice on the palate.

🌴 Tanduay Especia Spiced Rum from the Philippines was founded in 1854, one of the oldest rum producers in the world, crafted from a blend aged up to seven years in former bourbon barrels.

🍯 The nose is inviting with vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and on the palate, warm baking spices layer over honey, soft tropical fruit, and a touch of oak.

🍷 Clos du Soleil Signature from BC's Similkameen Valley is a Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

🫐 On the nose, pencil shavings, raspberry, cedar, and blackberry with pepper, and on the palate, soft tannins carry layers of raspberry, blackberry, pomegranate, and fig.

🏆 Which drink would you serve for your World Cup watch party or Father's Day❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@poplargrovewine @tanduayglobal @closdusoleil @select_wines @selectwinesto @authenticwine @CSWS_BC @CSWS_AB @CSWS_SK @CSWS_MB @CSWS_ON @CSVS_QC @CSWS_AtlCan @BCWine @BCWAS @WineGrowersCA @theCanadaGuide

✨ Please drink responsibly.

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍷 Pairing 5 Seriously Great Drinks with Dad Jokes for Father's Day 🎉

https://t.co/LaTgWnVEME

🍸 Dad approved drinks, courtesy of @timbolen & Rick Campanelli

🥂 Rotari Arte Italiana Brut is named after the Lombard King Rotari, who ruled northern Italy back in the 7th century.

🍋 It opens with delicate aromas of ripe yellow fruit, citrus zest, lemon, and freshly baked bread, with a soft, creamy mousse and a long, persistent finish.

🍇 Megalomaniac Narcissist Riesling is an estate wine where the grapes grow right next to the winery on the Niagara Escarpment, and the limestone soil gives it brilliant minerality and racy acidity.

🍏 It offers lemon-lime citrus, white flowers, and stone fruit, with bright citrus and green apple on the palate with fresh acidity and a smooth texture.

🌋 Volcanic Hills is a family winery in West Kelowna on the slopes of Mt. Boucherie, an extinct volcano, where three generations have honed their expertise to create a wine that expresses both the land and their perseverance.

🍒 The nose gives you dark plum, cherry, spice, and mint, with juicy black fruit, clove, and then deeper notes of leather and cigar box on the finish.

🌴 Tanduay was founded in 1854, making it one of the oldest rum producers in the world, and the Especia is crafted from a blend of rums aged up to seven years in former bourbon barrels.

🍯 It opens with inviting aromas of vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon, with layers of honey, gentle spice, and tropical fruit leading into a warm, lingering finish with soft oak.

🌿 Clos du Soleil Winemaker's Series Syrah is co-fermented with Viognier grapes and fermented in concrete tanks imported from France, unfined and unfiltered.

🫐 The nose offers wild raspberries, plums, violets, and forest floor, with black currant, pomegranate, pepper, and spice on the palate, picking up a Silver Medal at the Decanter magazine awards.

🍾 Which of these drinks would your dad love most this Father's Day❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@MegalomaniacJHC @tanduayglobal @closdusoleil

✨ Please drink responsibly.

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍷 Soil, Soul, and the Sacred Cup: Wine in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament 📖

🎧 Jesus was called a drunkard and a glutton. The reason might surprise you. Listen to Unreserved Wine Talk for our chat with Professor Mark Scarlata, author of Wine, Soil, and Salvation in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

https://t.co/yNV9FfsQbq

📜 How did wine transform biblical meals into symbols of the covenant in the ancient world?

🫓 Mark says had Melchizedek brought out bread and water, it would have been a sign of simple sustenance.

🕊️ But once wine was included, some biblical scholars say that meal became a covenant, a legal agreement that bound you to somebody else.

📿 That shared cup marked a sacred bond, a moment of victory and divine blessing that shaped how wine was understood throughout the Hebrew Bible.

🌿 Why did overflowing vineyards and giant clusters of grapes become such powerful symbols of the Promised Land?

🏜️ Mark points to an ancient Egyptian text that talks about wine flowing like rivers in the land of Canaan.

⚔️ The Egyptians kept returning to attack Canaan partly because the wine flowed so freely that their armies would end up drunk.

🌾 It was a place bursting with abundance and an almost mythical fertility that the ancient world could not stop talking about.

😤 Why did religious leaders label Jesus a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of sinners?

💬 Mark says the criticism had an element of truth.

🪔 As a typical Jew growing up in Galilee, Jesus would have had wine at the Sabbath, at Passover, and at other festivals.

🍞 The Pharisees' label stuck because he was out eating and drinking with the people they considered sinners of society.

🙌 Rather than separating himself, Jesus chose the table as a place of welcome, and wine was part of that radical hospitality.

🍾 Have you ever thought about wine as more than just a drink❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@mwscarlata

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍹 The Best Drinks for World Cup Watch Party & Father's Day ⚽

https://t.co/EvSQowW4mu

🍸 Great drinks, great games, and @melissalambtv in the game!

🥥 Monin Toasted Coconut Syrup, from a French family-owned company founded in 1912, uses only real botanicals with no artificial flavours or preservatives, making it the go-to for bartenders and home cocktail enthusiasts alike.

🍹 Their "Raise a Toast" cocktail blends Monin Toasted Coconut Syrup with lemonade, green tea, and prosecco for a warm, nutty, caramel-kissed sip perfectly named for when Canada scores.

🌸 The Monin Floral Flavour Collection brings five small-batch syrups in one gift-worthy set: Violet, Lavender, Rose, Hibiscus, and Elderflower.

🥂 The Elderflower Champagne Cocktail pairs half an ounce of Elderflower syrup with bubbly for a fresh floral lift that makes sparkling wine feel like a terrace in Provence.

🥃 Crown Royal Whisky & Cola puts Canada's most recognized whisky brand, created in 1939, into a ready-to-drink can. Pour over fresh ice with a squeeze of lime for the ideal serve.

🍂 It delivers rich vanilla and hints of oak playing perfectly against deep, rounded cola notes.

🍺 Side Launch Northbound Lager, crafted in Collingwood, Ontario since 2014, is cold-fermented for a crisp, smooth finish at 4.4% ABV. The taste transports you to cool lake water, pine trails, and a summer evening.

🏔️ Every 6-pack at The Beer Store gives you a chance to win a Norco Sight VLT e-mountain bike valued at $6,999.

🍍 Captain Morgan Spiced Rum Punch comes in a variety 12-pack made in Quebec, with three bold flavours: Tropical Pineapple, Citrus Lime, and Wild Berry, all blended with Captain Morgan's smooth spiced rum.

🎉 The Tropical Pineapple is fruity and bright with a hint of vanilla and warm spiced rum. It feels like the party's already started.

🌍 Which one would you serve at your watch party or Father's Day celebration❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

✨ Please drink responsibly.

@MoninUSA @sidelaunch @SpiritsCanada

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍷 Why does wine play a central role in the Bible and our culture, symbolizing abundance and joy, and not other food or drink❓

🎧 What does wine have to do with memory, the Bible, and our sense of belonging? Find out on Unreserved Wine Talk in our chat with Professor Mark Scarlata, author of Wine, Soil, and Salvation in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

https://t.co/EZxS5A5eWH

✨ Why does wine hold such a special place in the Bible and our culture?

📜 Mark ties alcohol to the idea of easing toil, a thread he traces from Noah and the Garden of Eden through Greek and Roman literature, where wine relieves the burden of humanity.

🌿 Life can just be very difficult, he says, but there's something about the relaxation it brings, and the joy.

🚴 How does biking through wine country help you better understand the wines?

🌾 Mark says France has been his real schooling in wine, cycling through villages, coming across vineyards and churches, and buying local wines to taste the terroir and connect to the land.

🍷 How do the aromas and complexity of wine create such deep connections to memory in the brain?

🔬 Mark came across a book by Gordon Shepherd devoted to neuroenology, who argues that wine is the single most important drink for engaging our memories in different parts of the brain.

🧬 Neurologically, he says, there's something about the complexities of wine's smells and tastes that latch on, as it were, to our memories.

🌍 Why do so many people feel disconnected in modern life despite being more connected than ever?

🌱 Mark points out that Adam comes from adamah, the biblical author's wordplay for saying we are literally from the soil.

🏡 He finds himself thinking about what we're doing to establish roots in our lives and communities amid digital technologies that leave us feeling rootless.

📖 Have you ever noticed a connection between wine and religion❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@mwscarlata

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🥃 What makes a well-made mint julep cocktail much more complex than you expect❓

🎧 Some of the best food stories start with a fugitive, a concert tour, or a silver cup. Hear them all on Unreserved Wine Talk in our conversation with James Chatto, co-author of Acquired Tastes: The Lives and Recipes of Eight Culinary Ambassadors.

https://t.co/euHKEVAJsB

🌿 James says a classic mint julep starts by muddling mint, sugar, and bourbon in a silver julep cup, then layering in crushed ice, more bourbon, and a "garden" of mint sprigs on top so each sip delivers mint aroma first.

☀️ He says the sugar, mint, bourbon, and melting ice all work together, making it a slow drink meant to be savoured in hot weather.

🍛 How did an Indian revolutionary leader end up creating one of Japan’s most famous curry recipes?

🍜 James recounts that Rash Behari fled to Tokyo after a failed assassination plot, where he hid near a bakery and cooked Bengali curries for the Japanese couple sheltering him using whatever spices they could find.

🏮 That curry ended up on the menu of their restaurant, Nakamuraya, which still exists today and still serves a version of that original recipe.

🎂 How did a recipe collected during a 1930s concert tour in Indonesia become the legendary Queen Mother’s Cake?

🎶 James explains that pianist Jan Smeterlin encountered a rich chocolate cake during a 1930s concert tour in Batavia and liked it so much he got the recipe and recreated it in England.

👑 When he served it to Lady Fermoy, she passed it along to her friend the Queen Mother, who loved it and asked for a second slice.

🌿 Have you ever tried a mint julep cocktail❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@jameschatto @utpress

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

Would you like to win a copy of "Acquired Tastes: The Lives and Recipes of Eight Culinary Ambassadors"❓

https://t.co/JROUxbsjTi

🏆 Three of you will win a copy of James Chatto’s wonderful new book, Acquired Tastes: The Lives and Recipes of Eight Culinary Ambassadors. From the book description:

🌍 Spanning centuries and continents, Acquired Tastes explores the extraordinary journeys of specific recipes as they moved from one culture to another—carried and transmitted by eight remarkable individuals.

🍴 Their stories unfold against the social and culinary backdrop of their time, revealing the unique—and often serendipitous—journeys these dishes and drinks have taken.

🧑‍🍳 Drawing on decades of immersion in food culture and historical research, James Chatto, W.L. Martin, and Joseph Sproule share the intimate biographies of their subjects and the evolution of their recipes.

🍹 The wide-ranging collection includes Queen Bona Sforza’s introduction of Renaissance Italian lasagne into Poland, Fujianese merchant Chen Zhenlong’s smuggling of the sweet potato from Manila to China, the international ovation for concert pianist Jan Smeterlin’s flourless chocolate cake, and U.S. Navy doctor Lucius W. Johnson’s role in popularizing the Cuban Daiquiri, among others.

🍲 In telling these lively stories and including all the recipes, the authors uncover motivations for culinary exchange at the personal level, ranging from exhibitionism to famine relief, and from anti-colonial propaganda to the simple and generous impulse to share something delicious.

👇 All you have to do is:

1️⃣ Like this post

2️⃣ Tag someone in the comments below who might also be interested in winning the book

3️⃣ Follow me on X

Cheers! And good luck🥂
Natalie

This contest is in no way affiliated with X.

@jameschatto @utpress

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍝 What did lasagna taste like in Renaissance Italy before tomatoes and ragù became standard❓

🎧 The stories behind the world's most iconic dishes are more surprising than you'd expect. Tune in to Unreserved Wine Talk for our conversation with James Chatto, co-author of Acquired Tastes: The Lives and Recipes of Eight Culinary Ambassadors.

https://t.co/JROUxbsjTi

🧀 In the late 1400s, every town in Italy had lasagnerie dedicated solely to making pasta, with sheets rolled thin, boiled in rich chicken stock, and layered with melted chicken fat, parmesan, and spices from the Venetian spice route.

🔥 James says that when tasted today, it turned out to be absolutely delicious, especially when kept hot.

🍮 Why are some of Thailand’s most iconic royal desserts rooted in Portuguese convent recipes?

🍬 James says Maria Guyomar de Pinha, a half Japanese, half Portuguese woman in 17th century Siam, introduced Portuguese convent desserts to the Thai royal court, preparing intricate egg yolk and sugar desserts learned from her aunt in a nunnery in India.

🏯 Their golden colour, considered auspicious and royal in Thai culture, helped make them hugely popular, and those Portuguese inspired desserts remain part of Thai cuisine today.

🕰️ How did a chance conversation at dinner unexpectedly unlock hidden pieces of food history?

⛪ James recalls sitting across from a young Italian wine importer at a wine dinner in Toronto while writing about Queen Bona Sforza, who immediately recognized her name because he grew up in Modugno, where her name was inscribed on the cathedral outside his window.

🗺️ Since Bona spent much of her life connected to that town, the conversation unexpectedly revealed historical details and local stories James had never encountered before.

⏳ Would you travel back in time just to taste what people ate centuries ago❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@jameschatto @utpress

[NatalieMacLean @NatalieMacLean]

🍸 What’s the difference between drinking for pleasure and drinking for relief❓

🎧 The line between drinking for pleasure and drinking for relief is closer than you think. Tune in to Unreserved Wine Talk for our conversation with Dr. Charles Knowles, author of Why We Drink Too Much: The New Science of Alcohol.

https://t.co/LZ6IqbF0CJ

🧩 Charles says addiction has two sides: reward and relief. He explains that once alcohol dependence develops, drinking shifts from pleasure to relief, where alcohol is needed to ease the unpleasant feelings that appear when drinking stops.

🧊 He describes standing in front of the fridge in his early 30s as the moment he realized he had crossed that line, and believes that once it is crossed, the outcome becomes inevitable.

🧬 How does your body’s early reaction to alcohol predict your long-term risk of developing alcohol dependence?

⚠️ According to Charles, some people are naturally intolerant to alcohol and rarely develop problems because drinking feels unpleasant, while others are highly tolerant and can drink large amounts without obvious effects, placing them at greater risk.

🍻 He also explains that teenagers who feel the greatest stimulation and pleasure from alcohol have the highest risk later in life of becoming alcohol dependent.

🔄 How do some people drink heavily for years without developing the same dependence that others struggle to escape?

⏳ Charles notes that heavy drinking alone does not automatically lead to dependence, as some people can drink heavily for long periods and stop without difficulty.

⚡ He contrasts that with his own experience and points to overlaps between alcohol problems, hyperactivity, and ADHD traits such as restlessness and intensity around drinking.

🍺 Have you ever wondered why alcohol affects people so differently❓

Let me know in the comments 👇

@profcknowles @CeladonBooks