MyWinePal

Did you hear last year that Painted Rock’s flagship Red Icon wine was listed in a Beijing restaurant at 5,280 RMB, the equivalent of CAD$900?  Quite a statement for a small, but high quality BC winery.  The latest red wine releases for Painted Rock just came out, and I was invited to sample them.  I wondered how the 2011 vintage…

It’s Spring!  I have at least 5 tulips blooming in my front yard, the sun is out, and I’m looking to find some new and exciting white wines for the patio for me and for you.  Last week was the latest Import Vintners & Spirits Association (IVSA) Trade tasting to introduce the wine & spirits trade to the new libations…

A daunting task, picking my favourite wines from a total of 1750 wines being poured at the Vancouver International Wine Festival.  Thankfully I was able to visit the Acura International Festival Tasting Room 4 times as Media, splitting time between France and the rest of the world.  I have already covered my favourite French wines in a separate article.  In…

Since Bartier Scholefield started producing their wines in 2011, in the Okanagan, BC, I have been fortunate to try them and write about them for you.  They have been keeping to their “Wine As Narrative“, telling us a story about the terroir, from where it was produced.  Their wines are produced as much without wine maker intervention, so that you…

While the big draw for many people to the Vancouver International Wine Festival this year was sparkling wine, and French Champagne, specifically, there were many other wonderful wines to sample.  For this article, since France was the Theme Country, I would like to concentrate on their wines, sans Champagne.  My Champagne article is here. Every region in France is known…

Happy New Year! Happy Birthday! Happy Anniversary!  Happy and sparkling wine seem to go together quite often.  Who can argue with bubbles in a glass?  I was very excited to hear that the Regional Theme for this year at the Vancouver International Wine Festival was “bubbles”.  Of course Champagne first jumped to my mind, but also all the other variations…

Iconic wines from France.  Your mind probably jumped to Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Champagne.  But there are iconic wines across each of the wine regions of France.  During this seminar at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, we were introduced to an iconic wine from each region.  The wines and their regions are: Champagne Taittinger. ($163.99) Champagne. Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de…

This past week has been Spring Break vacation for me, and the Vancouver weather has been a bit rainy and dull.  So what is a Canuck to do, other than pack his bags and fly down to Arizona to get a dose of sunshine and warm weather, which I really enjoyed. I have heard and read that there are wineries…

When you think of Chablis, elegance comes to mind for me.  Floral and citrus fruits, stone fruits, whey and honey are all flavour descriptors for these wines, and one in particular; flint.  The flint (some may say smokiness) comes from the Kimmeridgian soil, a mineral-rich clay, that also contains marine fossils which are responsible for its lime content. With the…

February 24, 2014.  That’s the kick off for the Vancouver International Wine Festival.  On Thursday – Saturday in the Acura International Festival Tasting Room you have the opportunity to try wines from near and far; red, white, and pink; sparkling and still; sweet and dry.  But which ones?  Luckily, I have had a chance over the years to try wines from…