MyWinePal

Chaberton Estate Winery is the pioneer winery of the Fraser Valley. It grows 44 acres of estate-grown fruit with other parcels from across the Okanagan Valley. Claude and Inge Violet sold their winery and vineyard in France and moved to the Fraser Valley in the 1970’s.  They experimented with different grape varieties to see which grew well here, selected the…

Have you tried the wines from BC’s Red Rooster Winery lately?  This winery has been around for over 25 years, located on the Naramata Bench.  Check out the new wine labels for the winery.  I quite like the watercolour-like texture of the rooster.  I received three bottles of “Pinots” from the winery: a Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and a blend…

I recently attended a lunch at Social Corner in downtown Vancouver paired with a selection of Côté Mas wines from Domaines Paul Mas in the Languedoc in southern France.  Two years ago I had a wine pairing dinner in Vancouver with Jean-Claude Mas, introducing me to several of their range of wines.  In this lunch, I met with Jean-Claude Mas’…

Red wines come in a spectrum of colours, from light and translucent to deep and opaque. The opacity of red wine is influenced by several factors, including grape variety, winemaking techniques, and the wine’s age. Young red wines typically display deep purple, ruby, or magenta hues that show their youthful character. They are usually quite opaque, with dense colour that…

More 2025 vintage BC white and rosé wines are being released, just in time for summer.  I received a Viognier and a rosé wine from Township 7 Vineyards & Winery.  Viognier and rosé wines seem to be quite popular with BC wineries this year, as I’ve received and tasted many of them recently.  But now, let me tell you about…

Have you ever heard of a sparkling wine called Charme de l’ile, Island Charm in English?  It is not a wine from France.  It is from Vancouver Island and can only be made on Vancouver Island using Island grapes.  Just like Champagne can only be made in the Champagne region of France.  Charme is also a nod to the method…

For the past few articles, I’ve been writing about white, aromatic wines and sparkling wines for the summer.  But there is more than bright, white, and sparkling wines for the summer.  Think red wines for the BBQ.  Today I have two red wines coming from the Okanagan’s Gold Hill Winery.  They have an excellent reputation for big red wines.  The…

BC wineries are quite accomplished at producing quality, aromatic white wines.  I have two aromatic white wines from the Okanagan coming from the Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris grapes.  They are the Hester Creek Estate Winery Old Vine Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris wines from the 2025 vintage.  2025 was a fantastic vintage for BC Okanagan wines.  The white wines…

What BC wine would you have with a sechetti (parachute) pasta stuffed with ground chicken and bacon, served in a creamy rosé sauce?  One option is a Rose wine, but another valid option would be a Chardonnay.  Today I had this pasta dish with a glass of Lillooet’s Fort Berens Estate Winery Chardonnay 2025.  Fort Beren’s wines are now certified…

As I recently tasted two Okanagan Viognier wines from the 2025 vintage, I thought it may be interesting to compare and contrast between the two wines.  Terroir of course can affect the aromas and flavours, but also the winemaker’s methods of vinification.  The two wines I tasted were the Hester Creek Estate Winery Viognier 2025 and the other is the…