Category: Vancouver

Happy New Year! Happy Birthday! Happy Anniversary!  Happy and sparkling wine seem to go together quite often.  Who can argue with bubbles in a glass?  I was very excited to hear that the Regional Theme for this year at the Vancouver International Wine Festival was “bubbles”.  Of course Champagne first jumped to my mind, but also all the other variations…

You may be a Champagne lover like me, but have you ever considered how the bubble gets in the bottle?  Why some bubbles are small and creamy, while others are much larger and dissapate faster?  It all depends on how Champagne is made. First off, Champagne is a sparkling wine that is made in the Champagne region of France.  The…

Sharing experiences is always more fun than on your own, at least for me.  When I attend various wine events, I like to be with friends, so we can share notes and talk about wines.  So when the Vancouver International Wine Festival opens up this last week of February, if you are attending, please do not hesitate to talk to…

When did you last try a bottle of Australian wine? For some of you, maybe today, but for others maybe quite a while.  People find favorite countries or types of grape and stay with that for a while. Sometimes it is nice to break out of your pattern and retaste wines from other countries.  It has been a while since…

2013 seems like a blur, with so many wine and food events to count.  In addition, we had an outstanding sunny summer here in Vancouver, which lead to enjoyment of more wine and bbq.  Between my main website, mywinepal.com, and my food & wine events site, mywinepal.wordpress.com, I wrote 188 posts.  That is 1 new post every other day, but…

I admit that I am still learning about Scotch Whisky, learning a bit through my WSET training. I was glad to be invited to attend a Johnnie Walker Whisky Master Class at Hopscotch.  Our “teacher” was Mr. Michael “Mike” Nicholson, a Distiller, who has worked at La Cavulin and 4 other distilleries. Mike started off telling us about Johnnie Walker,…

John Clerides and Leah Bickford from Marquis Wine Cellars have been traveling through Italy’s wine producing regions in search of unique, hand sourced wines to offer their customers. After two years of extensive research, they are proud to announce 25 new to British Columbia, exclusive partners from Italy, and the wines will be arriving in their store on December 1,…

Terry Nicholas Threlfall was announced as the 2012 Sommelier of the Year here in Vancouver, and with that a very interesting perk; to work with Okanagan Crush Pad to produce a limited production wine using whichever grape variety they want.  For Terry it was Chardonnay, with a view back to Burgundy.  The resulting wine, “TNT”, is the third wine release…

Have you ever heard of a portfolio tasting?  Most people probably have not, unless you attend wine tastings on a fairly regular basis.  A portfolio tasting is when a wine agency, like Select Wines & Spirits, pours their selection of wine (and spirits) in a casual (usually) walk-about fashion, where you can taste the wines and talk with the rep…

How many wineries do you think there are in the Langley, BC area? Jelly Marketing asked this question to residents and were shocked to find that most people think that there are only 2 wineries.  Did you know that there are actually 7 wineries?  The wineries are: Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Domaine de Chaberton vista d’oro farms and winery…