Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
The Fall BC VQA wines were released this past week, and as usual there are too many wines to taste and evaluate. I usually like to try wines I have not had before, or sample from BC newest wineries. If you have not come across the term VQA before, it stands for Vintners Quality Alliance, an association that was formed…
After summer holidays are over and you are all relaxed from the sun, food, and wine with family and friends, September comes around. For the wine trade, this is the start of the busy season leading up to Christmas, and with this there are many agency portfolio tastings. I attended two portfolio tastings this past week, and I’m here to…
Do you know where Lake Country is in BC? Most people probably don’t, but it is just a short drive north of Kelowna. One of the first wineries in BC, Gray Monk Estate Winery, was established in Lake Country. Other Lake Country wineries are 50th Parallel Estate, Arrowleaf Cellars, Intrigue Wines, and Ex Nihilo Vineyards. I was recently in the…
Summer is here, it’s hot outside, and you need a cool drink on the patio. More people are opening a botle of rose wine. I received a bottle of SpierHead Pinot Noir Rose 2014 to taste. Spierhead Winery is located in Kelowna on Spiers Road. I have tasted many of their wines in the past and all have been good…
Sometimes you get some free time and can take a quick trip to the Okanagan. That recently happened to me. I wanted to visit at least 2 new wineries to me on this trip. I stayed in Kelowna, and checking the latest winery map, I saw that I have been to all in the area before, so I fixed my…
For the Etsell family, farming is in their blood, with their roots firmly entrenched in the Fraser Valley; first with turkeys, and now into viticulture and wine making. Their farming roots extend to the label, where they are called “Singletree Winery”. What is a singletree? It is a wood and iron harness yoke with three iron rings circling a wood…
It is always a treat to sit down for a meal with a wine maker and have them tell you about their wines they are drinking with you, and enjoying with paired dishes. Such was the case recently when I, and a few other media people, sat down with Grant Edmonds, winemaker of Sileni Estates from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand…
Each year, New Zealand wine makers come to Canada to show us their latest wines. I enjoy tasting the fresh fruit of New Zealand wines, trying the latest vintages from wineries I know about already, and discovering new wineries to our market. New Zealand and BC have been commercially producing wines from vitis vinifera vines for about the same length…
We all can learn. Nothing stays the same. Things change. This is true about ourselves, but also about wine regions. In this case, I attended a seminar to learn about what changes have been going on the last few years in Argentinean wine making. Barb and Ian Phillps, from Barbarian Wine Consulting, were our hosts for this seminar; both having…
Red, white, and rose wines, newly released from Okanagan Crush Pad reached my door for tasting. Just in time for our spring and upcoming sunny summer weather. The wines in question I received: Mike B Riesling Cabinett 2014 ($24.90) Haywire Gamay Noir Rose 2014 ($22.90) Haywire Pinot Noir 2013 ($24.90) Mike B Riesling Cabinett 2014 This wine is the result…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
