Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
Many people imagine Champagne as a pale lemon-coloured wine with fine bubbles and some combination of aromas and flavours of citrus, apple, nuts, oak, and brioche. But, Champagne is also available as a Rosé wine, giving it a different flavour profile, typically of red fruits, a little more body, and larger bubbles, from the use of Pinot Noir as the…
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. …
Passport to Global Wines flight of wines The 47th Vancouver International Wine Festival seminar, “Passport to Global Wines,” was a strategic exploration of the global viticultural map through the lens of cultural identity. Moderators Christine Campbell, Lisa Giovanella, and James Nevison established a “Passport” metaphor as a vehicle to navigate international “ports of entry,” moving beyond the standard technical data…
Chartron et Trebuchet from Burgundy makes a wonderful crémant wine. I’ve enjoyed this sparkling wine over many years. At the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026, I had a chance to interview Camilla De Vere Green from Chartron et Trebuchet in the International Festival Tasting Room to talk about the winery and their crémant. Enjoy the video interview.
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…
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…
Happy New Year, everyone! In 2025, I wrote 142 wine tasting articles, with most of the articles reviewing two bottles of wine. From a quick calculation, I wrote at least 284 wine reviews on mywinepal. Wines submitted to me through the year ranged from to wines, but I usually only post wines that were at least . Price is not a factor…
We have had some turmoil in Canada and in BC for wines in 2025. Many BC interior wineries suffered from the 2024 cold snap causing them to either not produce any wine in 2024, or importing grapes from across the border, or from Ontario. We also had the removal of USA wines from BC government liquor stores. Overall, we had…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
