Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
Today I tasted the battle of the blends. An epic battle royale between two iconic red wines made by Hester Creek Estate Winery. Wines of phenomenal origin and destiny, The Judge and Garland are crafted from the best barrels in their cellar, and are an authentic expression of our South Okanagan terroir. These are heavy bottles with solid corks. Their…
TIME Family of Wines has evolved since 2020 when Ron and Shelley Mayert became the owners. Evolve Sparkling House is one of the labels under the TIME Family of Wines umbrella. Their aim is to ensure growth of the established business and reputation which has been carried by the McWatters family for decades. I received three sparkling and one still…
Today, I paired my third dish from Sous Chef by Cardinal™ with a red and a white wine. The dish was the Marsala Braised Chicken with seasoned long grained rice. The white wine was the Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Chardonnay 2024, and the red wine was the Dobbin Estate Cabernet Blend 2020 (85% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot)…
Today I paired my second dish from Sous Chef by Cardinal™ with a red and a white wine. The dish was Szechuan Braised Beef with seasoned long grained rice. The white wine was the Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Pinot Gris 2024, which I tasted with the Chicken Tikka Masala. I thought that this wine with its fruit flavour…
Benjamin Mitarakis, Director of Trade Development for Viña Concha y Toro discussing Viña Don Melchor I was recently honoured with the opportunity to sample iconic Cabernet wines by Chile’s Viña Don Melchor with food pairings at Riley’s Fish & Steak in downtown Vancouver. It was a fantastic evening with Benjamin Mitarakis, Director of Trade Development for Viña Concha y Toro,…
Gambero Rosso is Italy’s leading authority on food, wine, and culinary culture, renowned for its annual Vini d’Italia guide, which evaluates over 45,000 wines to identify the country’s finest. The prestigious Tre Bicchieri (Three Glasses) award is reserved for fewer than 1% of these wines, marking them as exceptional examples of Italian winemaking. To celebrate and promote these top-tier wines,…
Top Drop Canada is a premier wine festival held annually in Vancouver, showcasing a curated selection of terroir-driven wines from around the globe. The event brings together over 40 international producers, including renowned estates from regions such as Piedmont, Champagne, and the Okanagan Valley. 50+ wineries in total. None from the USA this year. Attendees have the unique opportunity to…
Domaine Drouhin Oregon is the New World outpost of the famed Maison Joseph Drouhin of Burgundy, France. Drawn by the parallels between Burgundy and Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Véronique Drouhin and her family purchased land atop the Dundee Hills in 1987, recognizing the potential for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This pioneering move brought Old World expertise to a young wine region,…
Along with the Bourgogne seminar I attended, there was also a Trade tasting featuring 19 Domaines, Maisons and Caves Coopératives. Like the seminar, this Trade tasting featured village wines that too often go unnoticed. They reflect the terroirs that shaped them and offer an unbeatable quality-price ratio, not to mention wonderful tasting pleasure. Here are my favourite wines from this…
At every Vancouver International Wine Festival, when I attend the International Festival Tasting Room, I have a plan for which wines to taste. Luckily, as an accredited media person, I can attend the International Festival Tasting Room several times. But each time, is different. For this one session, I visited the theme region, west coast USA, and tasted only red…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
