MyWinePal

Did you know that SpierHead Winery from South East Kelowna won the “Best New Winery” at the 2012 BC Wine Awards, and that their Pinot Noir was ranked #1 by the judges at the 2012 Canadian Wine Awards?  Well now you know.  I’ve been in contact with SpierHead for a year now, tasting their wines [...]

Bartier Scholefield‘s slogan is “Wine is Narrative“, which I agree it is, at least maybe for boutique wineries, sourcing grapes from a small region.  In my previous article, BC Has a Wine Story, I talked about the story that wine tells through the terroir that the vines were planted and the grapes ripened. Bartier Scholefield’s [...]

Driving down to Seattle from Vancouver, BC for Taste Washington, I always think about the wineries I’ve tried last year; how will their wines taste this year, and what new surprises will I find.  There is always some wine that fits your palate, whether it is a light, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc, a round full bodied [...]

The first time you walk into the International Festival Tasting Room can be intimidating, with 175 wineries pouring 3 or more wines each, you have at least 525 wines to try.  But over time, you become a wine tasting veteran like me, setting up a strategy, checking out the background of some wineries you may [...]

The British Columbia Wine Institute welcomed me and a room full of other revelers to the “BC Paired: Indulge Your Senses!” during the Vancouver International Wine Festival. This event was a celebration of BC wines, red, white, sparkling and fortified, paired together with locally sourced BC ingredients prepared to complement the wines. 23 wineries were present to [...]

Are you a lover of Pinots?  Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, I am sure will be front and centre at the Vintage Oregon, all-Oregon wine tasting in Portland on April 28, 2013.  Along with these well known varietal wines, you should also get to taste some Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, and Viognier, and [...]

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to interview Ezra Cipes, CEO of Summerhill Pyramid Winery, located in Kelowna, BC.  One of the things Ezra told me about was a new line of BC VQA wines that they are producing called “Alive“, making both a red and a white wine.  The wine labels really [...]

When you talk with visitors to the Okanagan, most will say they want to visit Summerhill Winery and see their pyramid, where they partially age all their wines. Some may say they also want to visit because it uses biodynamic farming methods.  I sat down with Ezra Cipes, CEO of Summerhill, and son of the founder, [...]

Last night was a Media preview of the new food menu at the Establishment Lounge in Kitsilano, 3162 W. Broadway (at Trutch).  The Establishment Lounge food is created by Executive Chef Victor Bongo.  Chef Bongo is the author of a cookbook titled: “The Excellence of Chef Victor Bongo“, which was published in March of 2009 [...]

I recently stopped in to visit Ed and Vicki Collett from Harper’s Trail Estate Winery in Kamloops, BC. Yes Kamloops!  I first met Ed and Vicki at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, and then at a recent Media Trip to Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland, where Harper’s Trail wines are being vinified.  I was [...]