Author: mywinepal

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…

Recently I received an invitation to experience the food, wine, and music of Vancouver FanClub in downtown Vancouver.  Loving all three things, I readily accepted.  My guest attending with me was Dianne Chow, who is well known in the tweeting and blogging sphere here in Vancouver.  Walking into Vancouver FanClub, I was transported to New Orleans, with the interior brick…

This past week, the Seacove Group, a wine agency located in Vancouver, brought over 5 winery principals from Europe to show us a range of their wines.  Strolling through the cobbled Gastown streets, between restaurants, one could imagine you were in Europe.  The winery principals and the participating restaurants, hosting the principals are: Champagne de Vonage, Epernay, France,  Mr. Gilles…

Did you know that SpierHead Winery from South East Kelowna won the “Best New Winery” at the 2012 BC Wine Awards and that their Pinot Noir was ranked #1 by the judges at the 2012 Canadian Wine Awards?  Well, now you know.  I’ve been in contact with SpierHead for a year now, tasting their wines and telling people about their…

Living on the west coast, we get spoiled with the mild weather, access to beaches, nearby mountains, sailing, enjoying the beach, and more.  One of our more recent perks has been access to wineries, and on a recent trip to Washington state, I ventured to Whidbey Island, and sampled wines from some of the wineries situated there. Where is Whidbey…