Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
When I first read the label, I almost thought that this is an Amarone from Veneto. But on closer inspection the label says Amorini. There is no official tasting notes from the winery that I could locate. I did find a few other websites that reviewed this wine and it appears that this wine is a blend of two or…
I spent Friday afternoon at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026 tasting French red wines. Here are my favourite French wines from the International Festival Tasting Room. There is a fairly even distribution of red wines from different regions of France (and therefore different varietals) in my picks below. Enjoy. My French Red Wine Selections Castel Frères Exclusive Aspirant de…
On a lighter tone, at VanWineFest 2026, I had a chance to attend a walk-about lunch at LaSalle College Vancouver; French bistro fare prepared and served by LaSalle students, while sampling a selection of French wines representing seven French wine regions. Below is a list of the French wines followed by the menu. No wine reviews here, just some general…
I had an interesting conversation with Stephane Dupuch, winery owner, from Chateau Sainte-Marie, in the International Festival Tasting room during the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026. Stephane is the fourth generation in this family-run winery, located in the Entre-Deux-Mers of Bordeaux. They produce red, white, and sparkling wines. They also have a winery located on the left bank in Bordeaux. …
In this video interview, I spoke with Dimitri Matrat from Chateau Monlot about their red and white wines from Bordeaux. Château Monlot is an 8-hectare Saint-Émilion Grand Cru estate in Bordeaux, France, with a 400-year history, specializing in Merlot-driven wines. Listen and watch as Dimitri tells me about their wines, during the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026.
A Tour de France in Your Glass Food and wine go together, especially in France. I attended the VanWineFest 2026 seminar, A Tour de France in Your Glass. With Moderator, Arnica Rowan, we took an oenological journey through seven classic French wine regions, each with their own unique characteristics and history. We crossed the country from Champagne to South West…
Winemaking in the past has been dominated by men around the world, but times are changing. British Columbia is a great example. If you’ve ever cracked open a bottle of BC wine, there is a high probability that it was made by a female winemaker and/or the winery is female owned. Estimates suggest about 20% of lead winemakers in the…
Six months ago, in August 2025, I tasted BC’s Hester Creek Estate Vineyard Garland 2022 and The Judge 2022 Bordeaux-style red blends. These are their top tier Origin wines. Both wines were made in the epic year of 2022 when weather conditions and the harvest was perfect. At that time I first tasted these wines, both tied in my wine…
Here are two more delicious wines that you should buy and enjoy right now while we are drowning in our winter rains, or snow, in BC. The two wines from the Okanagan’s Hester Creek Estate Winery are their Columbia Valley Collection Viognier 2024 (grapes coming from WA state), and their Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (grapes coming from estate fruit). I bought…
In my earlier article, I reviewed some zero percent alcohol wine products from Jackson-Triggs. These wines were released in part due to a study which showed peoples’ preferences toward lower alcohol wine, or zero alcohol wines. In this article, I am reviewing three lower alcohol wines that Jackson-Triggs has produced. The wines are a non-vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, a Rosé, and…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
