Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
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…
Have you heard about the Fraser Valley‘s latest winery opening? I attended the soft opening of Chapter Estates Winery, located in the Langley area. They have a vineyard at the winery, plus a restaurant so you can enjoy wine and food. A great way to have a weekday or weekend escape. Here is some background information about the winery, my…
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…
It is always a treat at a winemaker’s dinner to be able to talk with the winemaker who gives us some insight into how the wines we are drinking together were made and any challenges they encountered. I recently attended a winemaker dinner at Provence Marinaside, featuring Jessica Otting from the Niagara region’s Tawse Winery, who gave us those insights. …
Every year in the deep, darkness and pouring rain of winter in Vancouver, we have Dine Out Vancouver, to try to get us out and excited about food, wine, and hopefully life. I booked a dine out experience at Provence Marinaside. A top notch restaurant in Vancouver, serving excellent French cuisine. Here are a few pictures of what I enjoyed…
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…
Recently, I received this press release from Jackson-Triggs about Dry January, peoples’ tastes, and how Jackson-Triggs is responding to the trend. Here is the press release followed by two dealcoholized wines I received to review for you. I also received three low alcohol wines from Jackson-Triggs which I will write about in a separate post as I do not like…
2023 was a little challenging for BC wineries with reduced yields (~34 to 56 percent loss) coming from a winter cold snap. Harvest was a little later as the growing season was a bit cooler, with a dry Fall. How did that affect the wines in the Okanagan? I have a small sample size of two wines to review for…
Six years ago we welcomed Gérard Bertrand and the Gérard Bertrand Group to VanWineFest 2020. Now, we can welcome them back to VanWineFest 2026. Read about their history and wines in their own words. Introducing Gérard Bertrand In 1975, Georges Bertrand introduced his son, Gérard, to harvesting on the Domaine de Villemajou in the unique terroir of Corbières. From his…
I saved my last two wines from Domaine Artema Winery to be their Village Sparkling Rosé 2024 and their La Petite Mort (port style), NV, dessert wine. These two wines can cover the start and end of a delicious dinner. I did not decant either wine. In the first case, you don’t want the delicious bubbles in your sparkling wine…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
