MyWinePal

Majella is a frequent visitor to the Vancouver International Wine Festival.  This is our eighth visit to this great event and were are very much looking forward to showing off our wines once again. Majella Wines is a family owned company situated in Coonawarra, in the Limestone Coast region in south east South Australia.  Coonawarra is regarded my most wine…

Sitting down in a private room at Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop Shop, myself and a few other wine media had a chance to try some fantastic Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from Hahn Family Wines, a California-based winery, with vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County.  I pulled wine maker Paul Clifton aside for a few minutes to…

Wednesday, November 19, 2014, was Natonal Zinfandel Day.  On that day, I did enjoy a glass of Zinfandel from the Renwood Winery from Amador County in California, and was making notes so that I could let you know about this wine, and another Zinfandel wine that they produce.  Zinfandel in California is characteristically a big red wine, with lots of…

February 19, 2015 will be the Chinese New Year; the Year of the Sheep.  Haywire Wines from Summerland in the Okanagan have released their second vintage of the Lunar New Year wine.  I was privileged to try their first release for this current year, the Year of the Wooden Horse.  The wine was crafted to complement Asian dishes.  With the…

The Christmas holidays and New Years Eve are fast approaching, and with that, you will probably be invited to parties, or invite people over to your party.  But what wines to serve?  I always like to have at least one sparkling wine at my parties, usually served at the start of the evening.  There are a ton of choices of…

Thorn-Clarke Wines is coming from Australia to pour their wines for you at the Vancouver International Wine Festival.  I’ve known and tasted their wines for many years while I was part of the South World Wine Society here in Vancouver. Read about Thorn-Clarke Wines here (and some bonus material at the end by me!). ~~~ The name Thorn-Clarke derives literally…

Thistledown Wines draws on its Celtic links for their logo. Established in 2010 by Giles Cooke MW, “The Pom”, Fergal Tynan MW “The Irishman” and Peter Leske “The Australian of German Descent”. Giles Cooke passed his MW first time around and has since had wine making experience in Spain, Australia and California. Fergal Tynan has extensively travelled the world and…

Italian wines put a smile on my face and many other wine lovers I know.  Grapes that are native to Italy, and not as widespread around the world like Barbera, Nebbiolo, Rondinella and Corvina produce wines that are very interesting and flavourful.  But Italy still has to work hard to get the general wine drinking public knowledgeable about their wines. …

Thinking of a Christmas gift for a spouse, relative, or how about you?  The Vancouver International Wine Festival tickets for the 2015 event are now on sale.  Details from the Festival are below.  Cheers! ~~~ FREE $89 VANWINEFEST TICKET WITH HOTEL BOOKING Discounts on International Festival Tasting tickets, Gold Pass Tasting Lounge & Gold Pass also available; sale starts Nov….

I had not heard of Domaine Saint Jean du Barroux until recently;  a winery located between the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux in the Southern Rhone, owned by Oenologist, winemaker/grower, Philippe Gimel. A tiny vineyard with 4 of 16 hectares covered with fruit trees and shrubbery.  The remaining 12 hectares of vineyards are planted along an eroded fault line…