MyWinePal

2022 was an epic year for making wine, according to BC’s Hester Creek Estate Winery.  The year started out challenging with a late cold start, summer temperatures were not too high, low rainfall during the summer, but then lead to a long, warm end to extend the growing season, allowing the grapes to fully mature.  Many wineries noted that their…

Some people watch their calories in the food they eat and the beverages they drink.  Some low-calorie wines are in the Canadian market.  I received three low-cal wines from Svelte Wines, a label from Arterra Wines Canada, coming from Niagara Falls, ON and Oliver, BC.  On the labels, it notes that these non-vintage wines come from a blend of foreign…

Cabernet Franc has found a remarkable home in the diverse terroirs of Ontario, producing wines that are both vibrant and distinctive. Over the past several months I’ve tasted through 28 different bottles of Cabernet Franc, primarily from the Niagara peninsula, but also two bottles from Prince Edward County.  I wanted to examine how the unique climate and soil composition of the Niagara Peninsula,…

As we all know, the winter of 2024 was devastating for BC Okanagan vineyards, wiping many out completely. Some wineries, like Hester Creek Estate Winery, ventured south to Washington state to provide them with grapes so that they could produce wine for 2024 for us all to enjoy. The Hester Creek Riesling and Rosé Noir 2024 grapes were sourced from…

My last stop on my weekend trip to Lillooet and Kamloops was Monte Creek Winery.  I’ve followed along, tasted their wines, and wrote about them since they opened.  And as luck would have it, on this visit, they were celebrating their 10-year anniversary of opening the tasting room.  People have changed over time, and they planted an additional vineyard, Lion’s…

Now that you have some background about the BC winery situation for 2025 from part one of Brent Gushowaty’s article, here is the second part of the article I have for you by Brent when you are at a BC winery’s tasting room. Your Tasting Room Manners – Before You Arrive Group Think For most wineries, large groups arriving unannounced…

Have you started touring BC wine country this summer?  I have a two part article about touring BC wine country in 2025, written by Brent Gushowaty.  In part one, he covers: The impact of the 2023/24 freeze Introduction of 2024 “replacement wines” Evolving winery business models and tasting innovations Part Two will focus on the practical aspects for the casual…

For many years, I’ve known Privato Winery in Kamloops for their premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines.  But times change as original family-owned winery owners bow out, and the winery is either taken over by their children, sold to someone outside the family, or the winery is shut down.  For Privato, the winery has been transitioned over to their children,…

I don’t usually post press releases on MyWinePal.com; most get posted to my Facebook page.  This press release is an exception as it covers Demeter, the biodynamic certification body for the world.  While we may think of it specifically in the management of vineyards and wine production, it also covers agriculture with a broader brush.  Here is the press release…

2017 was the last time I visited Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet, along with other wine writers.  The winery was still young, but the quality of their wines were notable.  Almost every year since 2018, I interviewed their current winemaker to find out about their grape harvest.  And every year, I tell people how they should try Fort Berens’…