Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
As I recently tasted two Okanagan Viognier wines from the 2025 vintage, I thought it may be interesting to compare and contrast between the two wines. Terroir of course can affect the aromas and flavours, but also the winemaker’s methods of vinification. The two wines I tasted were the Hester Creek Estate Winery Viognier 2025 and the other is the…
My last article was on two aromatic wines from Blasted Church Vineyards. I tasted their Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc. Today I tasted two more aromatic BC white wines, but this time from Hester Creek Estate Winery. I tasted their Hester Creek Estate Winery Viognier 2025 and Hester Creek Estate Winery Riesling 2025. It will be interesting to compare the styles…
Today I have two aromatic white wines to tell you about from BC’s Blasted Church Vineyards. I tasted their Blasted Church Vineyards Renaissance Series Sauvignon Blanc 2025 and Blasted Church Vineyards Renaissance Series Viognier 2025. These wines come from our latest, fantastic 2025 harvest. It is nice to see our wineries doing so well this vintage after the problems with…
We are back to estate grown BC grapes for the 2025 vintage. It was a great year for our wine grapes, producing a bumper crop for all vineyards. I have two white wines from Okanagan’s Hester Creek Estate Winery; their Hester Creek Estate Winery Character White 2025, a white blend containing Gewürztraminer, Viognier, and Pinot Gris, and Hester Creek Estate…
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…
Easter is this weekend and you are wondering what wines to pair with your holiday meal. I would like to suggest that a rosé wine pairs well with everything. Rosé wines typically have high acidity and nice red fruit flavours that are very complimentary for many dishes. I also recommend an aromatic white wine. These wines usually have higher acidity…
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…
Here are two more delicious wines that you should buy and enjoy right now while we are drowning in our winter rains, or snow, in BC. The two wines from the Okanagan’s Hester Creek Estate Winery are their Columbia Valley Collection Viognier 2024 (grapes coming from WA state), and their Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (grapes coming from estate fruit). I bought…
In case you haven’t heard, Okanagan’s Blasted Church Vineyards is having a case sale on their Renaissance wines from now till Dec 14. I’m tasting two of their Renaissance series wines I received. Hatfield’s Fuse 2024 and Pinot Gris 2024. Both wines are made in BC, but use grapes that come from Washington state, to cover our cold winter snap in…
I had a wonderful visit at Hester Creek Estate Winery in Oliver, where head winemaker, Mark Hopley, took me behind the scenes to view the working harvest in the winery, to try tank samples, as well as a few finished wines. Here are a few of the things that Mark and I spoke about. The 2025 Harvest: A Year of…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
