Author: mywinepal

Last September I was first introduced to the wines of Flat Roof Manor, a winery located in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa.  At that time I wrote about their Flat Roof Manor Malbec.  Their wines are priced very aggressively and provide you with a decent, fruit driven wine.  I was happy to be asked to review their Pinot Grigio, which…

Chile is blessed with perfect conditions to grow grapes; a varied climate, warmer and drier in the north, and wetter and cooler in the south.  A dry climate and soil types not conducive to the phyloxera louse allow Chilean vineyards to be grown on their own rootstock, not grafted.  Some say that this allows you to taste the “true” flavour…

Two Oceans is a wine label from South Africa, but as well it describes where the Indian and Atlantic oceans fuse off the southern coast of Africa.  The Cape’s coastal region is a temperate climate with maritime breezes from both oceans moderating the heat in the day and lowering the temperature at night, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly and…

This is the second year of the Wine Campus at Okanagan Crush Pad.  The wine campus is a program to foster the education of professionals in the wine industry. Okanagan Crush Pad makes an annual donation of $5,000 to the BC Hospitality Foundation (BCHF) which goes toward a scholarship for students enrolled in a recognized and accredited wine program with…

People are more concerned about where their food is coming from than ever before.  The big push in the past was to get food trucked or flown in from around the world at the lowest price, but now people are looking for as local as possible, and from smaller producers who they can connect with either at a farmer’s market,…

Definition: Tapas – Small Spanish savory dishes, typically served with drinks at a bar.  The variety of tapas though is uncountable.  Every bar or restaurant may have their own take on a Spanish classic, so you need to try them all.  Recently on my quest to experience Spanish tapas, I was invited to Patria Restaurant in downtown Toronto. Walking into Patria,…

Walking down the hallway, of The Shore Club in Toronto,  with plush carpeting underfoot,  past the wall of wines behind glass case I knew this was going to be an exceptional experience.  The interior of the restaurant in dark colours, with solid wood tables and subdued lighting tells everyone to relax and enjoy a quality time at the restaurant. My…

Villa Maria Estate is a well-known producer of quality wines from New Zealand.  I look forward to trying their new vintages each year.  Recently I received a bottle of their Villa Maria Private Bin East Coast Pinot Gris 2012 to sample.  This wine has won the “Pure Gold” award at Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2012.  While many of us…

Wine is more than just wine.  It is an experience and each wine should hopefully tell you a story about it’s journey from a blossom to a grape to a bottle of wine.  As it is an experience, I think the best ways to enjoy wines are through experiences.  Here are 4 experiences that I recommend: Visit a wine region…

Chile is a fascinating country, with climate and terrain that vary from the Atacama desert in the north to glaciers in Patagonia to the south, and everything in between!  From Wikipedia I learned that by surface 80% of South America’s glaciers lie in Chile.  Then there are the Andes Mountains, which controls/modifies the weather coming in from the Pacific Ocean.  With…