Author: mywinepal

There are Dummies books for everything, from using Microsoft Word, to growing roses, and now for pairing food & wine.  I don’t consider myself a dummy in the food & wine pairing realm, having spent many years in the South World Wine Society executive, taking WSET courses, and attending many wine and food pairing seminars over the year.  But I…

Taste Washington is coming up quickly; just a little more than a month away.  Besides the tasting room, where you can try so many wonderful Washington state wines, and food from local restaurants, there are also seminars you can attend. There are 4 seminars on Saturday and 3 seminars on Sunday.  The seminars run at the same time, from 11am…

Wandering through the isles of the International Festival tasting room, with glasses of sparkling, red, and white wine pouring freely, are you looking for a friend to share a new wine find? If you see me, please poke my shoulder and say “Hi, I’ve found an interesting wine I’d like to share with you”. And I will be happy to…

I posted this article for all the star-crossed lovers 2 years ago.  I thought I’d check out the wines, and I’d stand by them all, but in addition, new wines have come to the BC market, so I thought I’d add those ones in too, so enjoy this Valentine’s Day with an even greater range of wine.  And don’t forget…

The early bird gets the worm, or in this case to taste some premium wines from around the world.  The Vancouver International Wine Festival is just around the corner, starting the last week of February.  There are still some tickets left for some of the wine events, as well as for the Festival Tasting Room.  Here is the announcement by…

Are you a lover of Pinots?  Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, I am sure will be front and centre at the Vintage Oregon, all-Oregon wine tasting in Portland on April 28, 2013.  Along with these well known varietal wines, you should also get to taste some Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, and Viognier, and more. A quotation about Portland…

Here in BC we have wonderful wines to enjoy from the Okanagan, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, and more.  But did you know that just across the border, to our Washington State neighbours, there is a wine industry that is 3-4 times bigger than here in BC?  There are approximately 750 wineries in Washington state making fantastic wines.  But even with…

Do Canadians have a distinct wine palate?  Is it something that is the same from coast to coast to coast?  Or, do we have regional and or age differences?  Do people from BC for example, prefer to purchase big red wines from South America, while people from Nova Scotia choose white wines from Italy?  I don’t know, but I want…

Are you coming from out of town to attend the Vancouver International Wine Festival?  Do you need a hotel? I came across this offer from Hotel Le Soleil in Gastown, just a short walk to the Vancouver Convention Centre.  Here is the package.  Enjoy! ~~~ As an upscale, independent boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Vancouver, BC, Executive Hotel…

Year of the Snake February 10, 2013 is a new Chinese New Year.  This new year will be the Year of the Water Snake. It begins on the first day of the first lunar month (usually in late January or early February) and ends on the 15th day of the first lunar month (Lantern Festival). According to Chinese Horoscopes, “Ancient…