Category: riesling

Bloom VQA Spring Release 2017

Spring 2017 is Blooming with BC Wine

 mywinepal  June 2, 2017

Finally, the sunny, warm weather is with us here in BC. Winter was dreadful, but now we can get out on the patio and enjoy some freshly vinified BC white wine. The 2016 harvest was very good in BC and produced wines with good flavour character and acidity. Recently I attended the Bloom BC VQA Spring Release Tasting and tasted…

Top Drop Vancouver

Top Drop Vancouver 2017 – An Authentic Experience

 mywinepal  May 28, 2017

This is my second year attending Top Drop Vancouver, where small-scale producers from around the world show us their hand crafted wines. According to Top Drop, “Our focus is terroir-influenced, handcrafted wines, and the people behind them. W e believe in the importance in farming one’s own fruit and/or being constantly engaged with grape-growers to ensure sustainability and a high…

Is the BC 2016 Vintage Any Good?

 mywinepal  April 24, 2017

Should you stock up on the red and white wines from BC’s 2016 vintage?  BC wines are known for their fruit flavours and their accompanying natural acidity.  But the 2016 started very early and hot in the Spring, with bud break being the earliest on record.  In the Okanagan bud break was as much as six weeks early. Would this…

Monte Creek Ranch Winery vineyard

Check Out 6 New Wine Releases from Monte Creek Ranch

 mywinepal  April 16, 2017

Monte Creek Ranch Winery, located just east of Kamloops, is one of our emerging regions wineries.  They have put out a few vintages already. The 2016 vintage started with their earliest bud-break yet and a warm spring.  A rainy June and July slowed the growth of the grapes, but still harvest began early. Two weeks early, on August 22.  The…

Three Rieslings and a Pinot Gris from Germany

The Good and Not Quite So of German Wines in BC

 mywinepal  April 1, 2017

Germany is well-known for their Riesling wines, but they also produce Pinot Noir, which they call Spätburgunder, and other varieties, such as Pinot Gris, Müller Thurgau, and more.  I decided to check into how many, and what types of German wines are available in BC through our BC Liquor Stores, and was quite surprised. Did you know that there are only…

Pairing 5 Wines from Upper Bench Winery with Blue Cheese

 mywinepal  March 21, 2017

Did you know that Upper Bench Estate Winery in Penticton, BC also makes their own cheese?  A match made for any wine lover.  I knew, but hadn’t had the chance to try their cheese together with their wines. I was fortunate to have them send me some of their King Cole Blue cheese, which I dutifully tried with each one…

Karl MyWinePal with Christa-Lee McWatters-Bond at the Vancouver International Wine Festival

Interviewing Winery Owner Christa-Lee McWatters-Bond from Evolve Cellars at VanWineFest 2017

 mywinepal  March 19, 2017

Who is Christa-Lee McWatters-Bond from Evolve Cellars? From the Evolve Cellars website, “Christa-Lee has been part of the BC wine industry since birth. Growing up as the daughter of BC wine ambassador Harry McWatters instilled in her a true appreciation for and love of wine – which included her making wine when she was 9 years old (not for public consumption, of course). She…

Pedro Parra at Okanagan Crush Pad in a soil pit

Interviewing Terroir Hunter Pedro Parra from Chile at VanWineFest 2017

 mywinepal  March 18, 2017

Who is Pedro Parra? A French-educated Chilean, who looks at the definition of terroir through the use of modern scientific techniques.  The Old World has many hundreds of years to experiment, but in the New World, we do not have luxury.  From my interview at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, find out how Pedro determines terroir and the best grapes to…

Inniskillin logo

Interviewing Wine Maker Bruce Nicholson from Inniskillin at VanWineFest 2017

 mywinepal  March 13, 2017

Who is Bruce Nicholson? Bruce Nicholson joined Inniskillin Wines, Niagara-on-the-Lake as Wine maker on January 1, 2007, after working for 20 years in the Okanagan where he was the first wine maker, and then became the Senior Winemaker for Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate in British Columbia. Half of Bruce’s awards in 2012 were for ice wine.  Does he want to be…

Discover the Wines of Canada

VanWineFest 2017 – My Canadian Wine Picks Eh

 mywinepal  March 9, 2017

Canada is a big country, with our wine grape growing areas on the limit of possibility, but at the edges of possibility is where you can make exciting wines, I’ve been told.  In the Festival Tasting Room I spent many hours tasting wines from BC, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, and speaking with the winery principals in attendance.  Below are the…