MyWinePal

Last year I was tasting through Ontario Cabernet Franc wines, and I adored the wines from Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery Estate Vineyard, so I had great expectations when I received Chardonnay wines to review as part of my Ontario Chardonnay Review study.  I was not disappointed.  These are excellent wines.  In case you wanted to know about the…

How often do you drink white Bordeaux wines? Do you know that they range from bone dry to lusciously sweet? Do you know which grape varieties go into white Bordeaux wines? I recently attended a seminar at L’Abbatoir in Gastown, covering these wines and some ideas for wine pairings that was hosted by Wines of Bordeaux.   Our speaker was Emma…

With our brilliant blue sky, green leaves on our trees opening, and robins singing, it is time to enjoy BC white wines.  Here are two that I received from Township 7 Vineyards & Winery;  their Provenance Series, Blue Terrace Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2025 and their Provenance Series Pinot Gris 2025.  2025 was a fantastic year for BC grapes and winemaking…

I’ve been tasting and writing about Chardonnay recently, so I thought I would change things up and write about some other wines.  I received several wines from Vancouver Island’s Blue Grouse Estate Winery and decided to start with their Rosé 2024 and their Pinot Gris 2024.  These are from estate grown grapes and select partner vineyards.  Vancouver Island is really…

We had another successful year at the Vancouver International Wine Festival for 2026.   The Festival was a little smaller in size, I think, due to the ongoing political developments happening around the world.  Hopefully, these events will resolve themselves before the end of this year so that next year will have more wines and wineries for us to enjoy at VanWineFest…

You may have noticed that I have been reviewing and writing about southern Ontario Chardonnay wines, from the Niagara Peninsula in particular.  I have undertaken my “Ontario Chardonnay Review” where I review a selection of wines from across southern Ontario, then using the tasting notes and soil maps of the region, to investigate how Chardonnay in the region expresses itself…

The next Chardonnay that I am tasting for my Ontario Chardonnay Review comes from Henry of Pelham.  I received four bottles of their Chardonnay wines.  Today I am tasting two of them: Henry of Pelham Family Estate Classic Chardonnay 2025 and the Speck Brothers Family Tree “The Goat Lady” Chardonnay 2023.  The winery follows Sustainable Winemaking Ontario’s world-leading standards in their farming…

I started my wine tasting at the International Festival Tasting Room during VanWineFest 2026 with French white and sparkling wines.  Below are my favourite white and sparkling wines.  I noticed after making my list that almost all the wines are made from the Chardonnay grape.  I am not sure how many of these wines are still available for purchase, but…

When I first read the label, I almost thought that this is an Amarone from Veneto.  But on closer inspection the label says Amorini.  There is no official tasting notes from the winery that I could locate.  I did find a few other websites that reviewed this wine and it appears that this wine is a blend of two or…

This April, Port Moody’s Pizzeria Spacca Napoli marks 10 years of wood-fired Neapolitan craft – a milestone that arrives with a new addition to the kitchen and two firsts for the restaurant. Recently arrived from Naples, pizzaiolo Salvatore Russo brings more than 25 years of experience in Neapolitan pizzerias, including overseeing multiple kitchens. His arrival deepens a program already rooted in traditional…