Category: chardonnay

Australia is the theme country for the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2015.  But what do you know about the wineries that you will meet in the Tasting Room, at seminars, or dinners?  This, and upcoming articles written by the Australian wineries, and posted here in mywinepal.com, will help you discover these Australian wineries, so you can go to their tables…

Kevin O’Brien is a man that is compelled to know about the terroir in the McLaren Vale of Australia, and to put that knowledge to the best use in planting vines and growing expressive fruit.  The types of rocks, which wear down to form soil, can guide the vineyard owner to plant certain types of grapes.  Certain grapes do better…

I first posted this article 2 years ago, and the styles of wines that I described then, still hold for your turkey or ham Thanksgiving dinner this year.  The wine vintages from the wineries below will have changed, but these are all quality wines from quality wineries here in BC, and you should feel comfortable purchasing them at your local…

Haywire Canyonview Chardonnay 2012 is quite different from any other Okanagan Chardonnay that I can remember tasting.  I had to nose it and taste it several times.  What was it that this wine in the glass was telling me?  The aromas straight from the bottle were quite wild and different.  But before I go on to provide you with my…

At a certain quality level of wine, which typically comes from wineries that have decided to spend the extra effort on selecting grapes from the best vineyard plots, hand picking and sorting the grapes, and letting the grapes express themselves in the wine without an over agressive human hand, you get shades of perfection (note that I am not talking…

One of the definitions in The Free Dictionary of “portfolio” is “A group of investments held by an investor, investment company, or financial institution.” I thought that for a wine & spirits agency those bottles of wines and spirits are an investment to them.  They search out and try to find value, and then share these gems with the public. …

Haywire wines are made at Okanagan Crush Pad (OCP) in Summerland, BC, and are co-owned by Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie.  I have followed Haywire wines since their inception.  I like them as they try to be as organic and un-interventionist as possible, letting their wines tell their stories.  They make a range of wines; red, white, and bubble for…

California and Argentina.  What does this US State and South American country have in common?  Answer: Paul Hobbs.  Through my interview with Paul, I learned about his love of wine and interest in making interesting wines from interesting regions around the world.  Having a northern hemisphere and a southern hemisphere harvest each year gives Paul the chance to refine his…

Do you switch the types of wines you drink throughout the year?  Lighter, brighter White, Sparkling, and Rosé wines for the longer spring and summer, and fuller bodied reds for the cold, rainy (or snowy) winter days?  Of course the fuller bodied reds also go with BBQ in the summer, but in general I think most of us like a…

Easter is a big holiday for many of us, where we get together with family and enjoy a big dinner. Easter is also leading us into Spring. Flowers are already blooming here in Vancouver, and I’m sure it will come soon in the rest of Canada.  Below are a few suggestions that I posted a few years ago.  As I…