Canadian Wine & Cheese – Part Deux

On this Wino Wednesday  we join Canada’s Natalie MacLean for another in her series of live video Wine & Cheese Tastings on Google + focusing on fine Canadian product, with a panel of chatty enthusiasts.   The first was such a hit we’re all at it again.

The Wine & Cheese Gang (as we are lovingly called) is a collection of opinion makers chosen by Natalie that includes; Jason Solanki, Nina Syas, Dan Trcka, Susan Desjardins, Allie Hughes, Dawn Montgomery,Gaby Israel, Travis Oke, Courtney Flood (our guest at Chez Gypsy), Mark Britton, Sara Connelly, and this Gypsy.  Experienced sommeliers, writers, journalists and lovers of food and drink, it is always an interesting (wine fueled) exchange.  I’m still not sure how I landed on this list, word must be out that I have a robust liver.

Here’s a link to our first live hangout with solid commentary on the Canadian wines & cheeses under our review that evening.

This time around we paired six Canadian cheeses with a section of Canadian wines in a structured format that allowed us to explore pairings and build to a heightened crescendo of taste.

Be sure to check out the companion post with my picks for the evening, as well as a few tips for hosting your own wine and cheese party, in real life. 

If you’re new to the Google+ technology, check it out.  It allows you to meet in real time with friends, family or crazy wine & cheese freaks, in a multi-screen format.  Unlike services such as Skype, there’s very little sound delay, the picture quality is as good as your camera is capable of, and you can “hangout’ with several people at a time.  If you choose to record, you can manage the video feed as you go so you can record and produce a video straight to YouTube.  (We at Food Gypsy are working on something special via this technology, and will be ready to unveil it soon, so get Google+ registered now!)

A big thanks to Natalie, who manages to direct this rag-tag bunch into a conversation that makes for a lively informative piece of video.  She also sends us wonderful wine and terrific cheese!  Next time, you can watch live and unedited through the link that we provide via your Google+ account, in any timezone, just tune in… or wait for the produced version where Natalie edits out all the naughty bits.

If you’re not a member of Natalie MacLean’s site, we highly recommend  a tour to get to know her.  You can find links to multiple reviews (including mine) as well as industry insider tips and news.  Our Chef B. (Benoit Gelinotte) has her wine app on his new iPhone, and loves it!  Instant links to reviews (via bar-code), his own cellar list, and inventory locations at LCBO &  SAQ.  It makes shopping for wine a breeze.  Me?  I’m old school, I just wander around hypnotized by snazzy marketing gimmicks and shiny bottles.

Live, love, eat WELL… and drink wine, it’s good for you.