Category: vegan

Have you tried the Quill series of wines from Blue Grouse Estate Winery on Vancouver Island.  Their Quill series grapes come from vineyards on the Island.  The winery can pick and choose and blend the wines from these grapes to bring out the best of Vancouver Island.  I received two Quill wines from the winery to review, their Blue Grouse…

I have two single-vineyard Pinot Noir wines from Stag’s Hollow Winery in Okanagan Falls. Both are delicious but are quite different in colour, aroma, and flavour. I have wines from their Stag’s Hollow Vineyard and their Shuttleworth Creek Vineyard. Both wines are unfined, unfiltered and vegan friendly. Before telling you about these wines, I would like to point out the…

This is one of the best food and wine pairings that I will remember for a long time. I opened a bottle of Stag’s Hollow Winery Simply Noir 2020 wine and paired it with a grilled filet of steelhead trout from Fisherman’s Market in Burnaby Heights. The trout was recommended to me by Chef Tyrone at the shop. He said…

Are you into the cocktail culture?  How about saving our bees and butterflies?  They are pollinators that we need in order to harvest many fruits and vegetables.  You can enjoy cocktails and help to save the bees, and other pollinators, by purchasing the Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee cocktail kit made by local Wayward Distillery together with Pollinator…

Mother’s Day is this weekend. Have you bought your mom a bottle of BC sparkling wine yet? Here are two bottles that she should enjoy from Okanagan Crush Pad. The Free Form Blanc de Noir 2018 is made from organic Pinot Noir grapes and zero dosage (no added sugar before the bottle is sealed for sale), and the Narrative XC…

Winemaking has been around for hundreds of years.  We are very familiar with wines coming from Europe, in particular France, where we talk about Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne.  We typically call Europe the “Old World” wine region, while wines made from the southern hemisphere, are known as the “New World“, plus North America.  But where did the grapes come from…

Clay and concrete vessels are two more historical materials that have been used to ferment grape must into wine. But both have been having a comeback in the last few years. I have two wines from Okanagan Crush Pad. The Haywire Pinot Noir 2020 is fermented in concrete and stainless steel vessels, and Narrative Syrah Viognier 2018 is fermented in…

Do you enjoy Pinot Gris wines?  From BC?  I’ve read recently online that there is going to be a shortage of Pinot Gris wines to buy this year.  So pick up your bottles soon.  Here are two bottles you may want to consider from Haywire Wine, part of Okanagan Crushpad in Summerland.  The wines are the Haywire Pinot Gris 2020…

Narrative is a collection of wines by Okanagan Crush Pad that tells the story of what is most exciting about the Okanagan Valley: geological & climatic diversity.  The two red wines I received to review are the Narrative Cabernet Franc 2018 and Narrative Non-Fiction 2018, the latter a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.  Both are fermented and…

Here is an appetizer that you may want to consider for Valentine’s Day, made using Hooray “Bacon”, which is a plant-based alternative to bacon.  The entire recipe below that I received from Hooray Foods is plant-based.  And as I am “MyWinePal”, I’ve also given you ideas for two wines, one white and one red, to pair with this appetizer after…