MyWinePal

This is the final article for my Ontario Chardonnay Review.  I’ve reviewed the wines, compiled tasting notes, identified soils associated with the participating wineries, and identified the weather conditions for each vintage.  Are there any similarities between wines produced on the same soil type, and are there any similarities between wines produced in the same year, and finally are there…

In BC we welcomed the bountiful grape harvest of 2025, after we had two terrible years with cold winter weather that devastated our grape vines.  White wines are usually the first to be released after a harvest.  I received several bottles of the 2025 vintage wines from Lillooet’s Fort Berens Estate Winery, and today I tasted two of those wines: …

It is not too late to start checking out wine-inspired vacation destinations in British Columbia.  But if you have children and/or fur babies, you may want to pick locations and wineries that have something to offer for them as well. Here is a list of BC wineries and more that have family-friendly options for parents travelling with children or pets for…

We are having wonderful summertime sunny weather, and it is a great time to review two BC rosé wines for you.  I have Hester Creek Estate Winery’s Rosé Pinot Noir 2025 and Rosé Cabernet Franc 2025.  Many people know about rosé wine being made from Pinot Noir grapes, but not too many know that Cabernet Franc also makes an excellent…

I have been interviewing Ontario winery principals for many years about their harvest and the growing season.  Weather and growing conditions can vary widely from year to year.  For my Ontario Chardonnay Review I tried to get wines that were from one or two growing seasons.  Most of the wines I received came from 2023 and 2024, with a few…

Soil is one of the important factors influencing the aromas and flavours produced by wine grapes.  For my Ontario Chardonnay Review, I checked with the Government of Canada National Soil Database (NSDB) Soils of Ontario to determine the soil types associated with each of the Ontario wineries that provided their bottle(s) of Chardonnay.  Using the free, open source, computer mapping…

I recently decided to review two French red wines that are blends.  Blends have the benefit that two or more grape varieties together fill in the weakness of the other grape.  For example, one grape may be fruity but lack tannins, while another grape has plenty of tannins but lacks much fruit character.  Putting the two grape varieties together makes…

Many wine lovers have probably heard of RIEDEL glasses or have RIEDEL glasses.  I have a few sets, with many glasses that have broken over time.  Such is the fate of all wine glasses eventually.  But what do you know about the history of RIEDEL glasses?  I recently received an advanced copy of the “Heart of Glass, RIEDEL and the…

The last Chardonnay to review for my Ontario Chardonnay Review is a sparkling wine made by  Drea’s Wine Co. which produces small batch, single vineyard, low intervention wines.  Drea’s wines are certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario.  I really enjoyed tasting Drea’s Cabernet Franc wines when I undertook my Ontario Cabernet Franc Review last year.  Let me tell you about the latest…

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I received four bottles of different Chardonnay produced by Ontario’s Henry of Pelham winery.  I previously tasted their more entry level wines: Henry of Pelham Family Estate Classic Chardonnay 2025 and Speck Brothers Family Tree “The Goat Lady” Chardonnay 2023.  These wines were under screwcap.  The next two wines that I just tasted…