MyWinePal

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,…

If you read my blog regularly you will know my affection for the Taste of Tulalip event held the start of November every year at the Tulalip Resort Casino in Washington State.  This year is their 5th anniversary of the event.  Besides their wonderful dinner on Friday night, the big draw is “The Grand Taste” on Saturday afternoon, which is…

Burgundy and Bordeaux; two famous wine regions in France with different grapes, red and white.  Back here in BC, you can grow the grapes from both regions and produce wine.  Burgundy is famous for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, while Bordeaux for their blends, which may contain Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carmenere.  SpierHead Winery recently sent…

Perseus Winery in the Southern Okanagan produces a range of red and white wines, growing both Bordeaux and Rhone varieties.  Sometimes Bordeaux meets the Rhone Valley such as in their Syrah Malbec blend.  As a follow on to my article on their latest white wine releases, I also received some of their reds to review, which included a Merlot, a…

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…

Having dinner with the Wine Maker of the Year for 2012 is quite an event.  The odds of having a chance to meet and talk with the wine maker of the year, is slim, with so many great wine makers from around the world.  For me there is also a dash of synchronicity happening as I one week before reviewed…

What is Yin and Yang? According to About.com “In Chinese culture, Yin and Yang represent the two opposite principles in nature. Yin characterizes the feminine or negative nature of things and yang stands for the masculine or positive side. Yin and yang are in pairs, such as the moon and the sun, female and male, dark and bright, cold and…

About Bodega Norton Bodega Norton started in 1895 when Edmund James Norton arrived in Mendoza, Argentina. He founded Bodega Norton, south of the Mendoza River, planting vines he imported from France.  It wasn’t until 1989, almost 100 years, before Gernot Langes-Swarovski from Austria bought Bodega Norton. Through his efforts, in 2006, Wine Spectator nominated Bodega Norton as one of the…

Where is Valdepeñas? Valdepeñas is a Spanish Denominación de Origen (DO) for wines located in the province of Ciudad Real in the south of Castile-La Mancha (Wikipedia). Valdepeñas means Valley of Rocks, referring to the special soil, strewn with pebbles and larger stones over limestone and clay. It is a region with a long history of vine growing with records…

Portfolio tastings with a wine agency is always very fun and interesting as you get to taste the range of their wines and spirits at one time.  This was my first Charton Hobbs Portfolio tasting, so I was not aware of all the wines and spirits that they handled.  I was quite impressed.  They arranged the wines by table, with…