MyWinePal

Gérard Bertrand, coming from the south of France, in the Languedoc, took over his father’s winery in 1987, although he started off as a professional rugby player in France.  Gérard Bertrand currently owns 16 estates with their unique terroirs in the region. The Languedoc has been growing grapes for wines for 24 centuries (Greeks planted grapes around 550 BC) and…

Standing before the sprawling shelves of a BC Liquor store, LCBO, SAQ, or local specialty grocer, deciding between dozens of Tuscan red wines and artisanal extra virgin olive oils can feel overwhelming. Labels boast enticing imagery, but how do you spot true regional authenticity amidst slick marketing? Enter Savor Quality from Europe, an EU-cofunded initiative spotlighting the rich provenance behind…

Recently, I attended a Burgundy seminar led by Laurent Drouhin, a fourth-generation family member and Export Director of Maison Joseph Drouhin, in Vancouver. Laurent brings over 140 years of family heritage to the seminar.  He started off by introducing us to the supply pyramid of Burgundy wines, followed by the effects of climate change on the vineyards, the philosophy and…

British Columbia’s wine industry continues to show just how much can be achieved in a relatively young wine region. The 2026 National Wine Awards of Canada provided a good reminder of that, with BC wineries earning an impressive 640 medals, representing 51% of all medals awarded at the competition. Beyond the medals, the results also point to the diversity of…

Trips do not need to be hours away, requiring you to get up early to be at the airport three hours before the flight, then to sit in economy, squished into a seat that doesn’t recline very well, for hours, while there are people around you sneezing and coughing.  Sometimes a trip can be done in one day, with a…

If someone asked if you would like to try an Espumante wine, would you know what they asked? Espumante is the Portuguese term for sparkling wine.  Typically made in the Charmat method, it is usually a fun, friendly, easy-to-sip, wine.  I received a bottle of the Okanagan’s Adega on 45th Espumante 2025 to review for you.  This wine is a…

Kathleen Mildred Burk is Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London, who uses her skills at sourcing in-depth historical information for her book, ” Wine A Global History“. There are 18 chapters for this book, starting you off with wine production in ancient Greece and Rome, how wine spread through religion and wars, the spread of…

BC’s Sandhill Wines is introducing Secco, a fresh, fruit-forward BC VQA sparkling wine made using the Charmat method, made from 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir.  I received a bottle to try.  It is a test release, so not widely available; it is just at a few private liquor stores. I thought I would let you read the winemaker’s notes…

For those of you looking for organic-certified BC wines, here are two from the Similkameen Valley’s Robin Ridge Winery.  It is a small, family-operated winery located in Keremeos.  They keep to minimal intervention in winemaking, using indigenous yeasts for fermentation.  The two wines I recently received to review are the Robin Ridge Winery Riesling 2022 and Robin Ridge Winery Gamay…

Recently I attended a dinner at Sopra Sotto on Commercial Drive that hosted the wines from Tenuta Cali in Italy.  Angelo Dalbello, the export manager, attended and talked to us about the wines we were about to enjoy with our Italian dinner.  There are actually two wineries, Tenuta di Capraia in Tuscany and Graffetta in Sicily, that together form Tenuta…