MyWinePal

Let’s welcome J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines to the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2025 and enjoy their wines from the Paso Robles region of California. Here is some background to the winery and a list of the wines they will be pouring at the International Festival Tasting Room.  Enjoy. About J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines,…

You may not have heard of Jean-Claude Mas but his family began growing grapes in the south of France in 1892.  Jean-Claude gained experience in the wine business and education around the world, coming back to the family business when he inherited his father’s vineyards in Pézénas of 35 hectares.  In 2000 he created Les Domaines Paul Mas from these…

Monte Del Frá, from the Verona region of Italy for the past 60+ years has produced wines from indigenous grapes; both red and white grapes. Verona is a province within the Veneto wine region in Northeast Italy. They make two fun wines I’ve written about in the past, but bringing it up again as they are fun wines, easy to…

I and other Trade individuals were invited to Discover Extraordinary Italian Wines.  Some of the wineries at the event were searching for local representation, while other wineries already have an agent and their wines are in BC Liquor stores or private wine shops and restaurants.  I’ve put a “*” beside those wineries that have local representation, so you should be…

Hillside Winery on the Naramata Bench was the last winery on my wine-tasting tour.  The founders of the winery were Vera and Bohumir Klokcka who had emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1979, buying the property but did not plant the first grape vines till 1984.  Although no longer owners, I’m told that winemaker, Kathy Malone, still talks with Vera, who is…

When you visit Da Silva Vineyards & Winery on the Naramata Bench, it feels like you are transported to Portugal.  The tasting room is beautiful, with bone-white walls and chandeliers, giving off a European feel.  The wines are equally special.  Richard and Twylla da Silva own the winery, with Richard coming from a Portuguese background. The names of some of…

Today’s visit on my Naramata Bench trip gave me a bonus.  Besides tasting wine, I also enjoyed some cheese pairings.  Upper Bench Estate Winery & Creamery is the place to go as they make their own cheeses, which you can also buy.  Yes, I bought cheese to take home.  I spoke with Josh Edwards, their winemaker, before tasting the wines. …

Little Farm Winery is a small production winery located in the Similkameen Valley run by Rhys Pender MW and Alishan Driediger.  Their wines are low / no intervention from start to finish.  They use wild yeast, neutral barrel, lees ageing and little to no fining or filtering when the wines are bottled.  I received two bottles of their Chardonnay.  One…

During my week-long trip to Penticton, I took a one-day side trip to Kelowna to see the Farmer’s Market and to visit Spearhead Winery. I’ve been a fan of their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines for many years. They recently received recognition as WineAlign 2024’s Best Performing Small Winery. I also appreciate the winemaking skill of Grant Stanley who was…

I have two white wines to tell you about from BC’s Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars. The winery is located in the Okanagan Falls area, which has the perfect climate for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. One of the wines I tasted is Blue Mountain’s Reserve Cuvée Chardonnay 2022 while the other wine is their Blue Mountain Estate Cuvée Pinot Gris…