Author: mywinepal

Driving down to Seattle from Vancouver, BC for Taste Washington, I always think about the wineries I’ve tried last year; how will their wines taste this year, and what new surprises will I find.  There is always some wine that fits your palate, whether it is a light, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc, a round full bodied Chardonnay, a flowery Pinot Noir,…

It’s no secret that there are many Canadian snowbirds that fly down for the winter months in Southern California; Palms Springs, in particular. With the average maximum “winter” temperatures in Palm Springs in November to March varying between 22-27 degrees Celsius and beautiful sun, who wouldn’t want to be there?  But what can you do there?  Well, there are golf…

Wow, the Vancouver International Wine Festival was sure busy for me. I attended a dinner, a lunch, a seminar, and visited the Festival Tasting room 3 times. I was able to speak with many winery principals from California, which is always interesting. They can tell you background information about the winery or a particular wine they are pouring for you. Some…

Chardonnay, a grape variety that can cause great disparity in wine drinkers.  There are many that fall into the “Anything But Chardonnay” camp, and others that love that it can have many different expressions; depending on the climate, soil, and the hands of the winemaker.  Some people do not even know they are drinking Chardonnay, but really enjoy French Chablis or…

The first time you walk into the International Festival Tasting Room can be intimidating, with 175 wineries pouring 3 or more wines each, you have at least 525 wines to try.  But over time, you become a wine tasting veteran like me, setting up a strategy, checking out the background of some wineries you may not have heard of before,…

California is one of the great wine regions of the world, in part due to the excellent climate and soils, and in part due to the willingness to experiment with different grape varieties and methods to produce the best quality wine.  At this year’s Vancouver International Wine Festival I had an opportunity to speak with many California principals and winemakers,…

The Vancouver International Wine Festival has come and gone, but memories of the event still run through my head.  One event that I think about was the Chateau Olivier dinner at Le Gavroche downtown.  If you have not been to Le Gavroche, it is a small 2 story building located at 1616 Alberni St.  It has that small restaurant charm.  I…

The British Columbia Wine Institute welcomed me and a room full of other revelers to the “BC Paired: Indulge Your Senses!” during the Vancouver International Wine Festival. This event was a celebration of BC wines, red, white, sparkling and fortified, paired together with locally sourced BC ingredients prepared to complement the wines. 23 wineries were present to show off their wonderful range…

Part of the Vancouver International Wine Festival are seminars; Seminars to make you more informed about wine. I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages Vertical tasting seminar. And now, you can share in some of my knowledge. What is Cinq Cepages? Cinq Cepages is a blend of five Bordeaux red varietals and is the…

It’s time to spoil yourself.  This press release came in my mailbox earlier today.  The wine from the Okanagan’s Road 13 and catering by Joy Road Catering will make for a memorable evening at Vancouver Urban Winery.  I have not had Road 13’s Sparkling Chenin Blanc, but would love to try it.  Sign up soon as I’m sure this will…