Category: bc

This evening was a night out with guy friends. One of my friends, of British origin, was interested to try out Bitter Tasting Room to see what interesting beers we could sample. The location is located on the western outskirts of Chinatown.  Hip industrial looking inside with ceiling to floor windows on the two outer walls. Their beer menu is…

I was very excited when I received two bottles of the latest releases from Painted Rock recently to review.  The two bottles being Painted Rock’s Syrah 2009 and their Merlot 2009.  Every year, I hear great things about Painted Rock’s wines and read about awards they have won.  Did you know that Painted Rock Estate Winery was ranked as the…

Even with the busy holiday season taking up our time, I was able to make a quick trip to Vancouver Island, and one of the things I did was visit the Chase & Warren Winery located in Port Alberni, BC.  I bet you didn’t know there were any wineries in Port Alberni, a place better known as a forestry town. …

David Scholefield and Michael Bartier are not new to wine in BC.  Michael Bartier was born and raised in the Okanagan and worked in the past for Hawthorne Mountain (See Ya Later Ranch), Township 7, Stag’s Hollow and most recently Road 13 Vineyards. He joins the team at Okanagan Crush Pad Winery as winemaker, where he and David produce their…

Meyer Family Vineyards goal is”crafting single vineyard wines of excellence“. This is my fourth review of their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines and each year their wines get better.  More complexity, more balance. For this review I received a bottle of the following wines: Meyer Family Vineyards Chardonnay, McLean Creek Road Vineyard, Okanagan Falls, 2010 Meyer Family Vineyards Tribute Series…

When people hear Napa Valley, they think big Cabernets.  Which is true, you can get some huge Cabernet Sauvignons there, but they also produce other wines, such as Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Noir.  Did you know that the Napa Valley is one-eighth the size of Bordeaux and produces just 4% of California’s wine grape harvest, and 95% of its wineries…

I’ve been told that over the past two decades, the Wines of British Columbia have truly come of age.  Wines are produced in the Okanagan, the Similkameen, the Fraser Valley, the Gulf Islands and on Vancouver Island.  Cool climate to desert conditions let us produce a wide range of wines and wine styles.  At the BC VQA Wines Fall Release,…

This week I was invited to some major announcements from Okanagan Crush Pad. OCP was established in 2010 by Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie. The Crush Pad is located on Switchback Road in Summerland, BC. Their head wine maker is Mr. Michael Bartier. Mr. Alberto Antonini is their consulting viticulturist and wine maker from Italy, and David Scholefield is their…

This Part 2 of my review of my picks from the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival.  Part 1 covered the wines of Spain.  Part 2 is the rest of the world. Again, there are so many wines at the tasting, and so little time, I’m sure I missed many great wines.  If you tasted some that I didn’t list, please…

On the MyWinePal blog I posted my Spanish wine picks, sans reviews, but promised the reviews would come out here on the main MyWinePal website. As promised, I’ve had a chance to sit down in front of the computer going through my wine notes and entering them for you. I hope you find a wine or two of interest to…