MyWinePal

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, one of Washington State’s most influential wineries, has played a leading role in showcasing the region’s world-class wines. With deep roots dating back to the 1930s, the winery has helped put Washington on the global wine map, crafting elegant and expressive wines that highlight the state’s diverse terroir. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is bold and structured, with…

At every Vancouver International Wine Festival, when I attend the International Festival Tasting Room, I have a plan for which wines to taste.  Luckily, as an accredited media person, I can attend the International Festival Tasting Room several times.  But each time, is different.  For this one session, I visited the theme region, west coast USA, and tasted only red…

Hope Family Wines, based in Paso Robles, California, is a renowned family-owned winery known for producing bold, expressive wines that capture the essence of the region’s warm climate and rich soils. Hope Family Wines consists of six individual brands: Liberty School, Treana, Quest, Austin Hope, Troublemaker, and Austin.  Led by winemaker and owner Austin Hope, the winery has built a…

Pinot Noir Abides in Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley by Brent Gushowaty Sitting in the Southeast corner of Vancouver Island, the Cowichan Valley lies not far from the Salish Sea and is centered at one degree of latitude South of the Canada/U.S. border.  The climate is classified as maritime Mediterranean. It sits in the rain shadow of the Vancouver Island Range, one…

Grupo Marqués del Atrio, a respected name in Spanish winemaking, combines tradition and innovation to craft high-quality wines from some of Spain’s most renowned regions. With deep roots in Rioja, the winery produces elegant, terroir-driven Tempranillo-based wines that showcase rich fruit, balanced oak, and refined structure. Expanding beyond Rioja, Marqués del Atrio also works with vineyards in Navarra, Utiel-Requena, and…

Malbec is Argentina’s signature red grape.  It’s different due to the high mountain (Andes) elevation of its vineyards, giving it lots of unfiltered sunshine that affects the grape skins (getting thicker) to produce a wine with deep colour and more fruit flavours. I picked these two bottles of Malbec today as they have screw cap closures.  I think many of…

While the term “Cru” is most often used for the French classification system, the “Cru” concept can apply to any vineyard or group of vineyards recognized for their superior quality.  It was first mentioned in Champagne in 1911 and then spread across France, and now the rest of the world. This seminar, The Global Cru, took participants on a global…

Justin Vineyards & Winery, a benchmark producer in Paso Robles, California is renowned for crafting bold, Bordeaux-style wines that showcase the region’s rich soils and warm climate. Led by winemaker Scott Shirley, Justin focuses on producing structured, expressive wines with depth and elegance. Their flagship Isosceles blend—crafted from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc—delivers layers of dark fruit, spice, and…

Today we were able to taste California wines crafted on the edge – coastal cliffs, mountain tops, and rugged valleys – where adversity breeds greatness.  This seminar at the VanWineFest 2025 showed us bold wines born from unforgiving terrains and regenerative farming.  Our Moderator was Elaine Chukan Brown.  Winery Principals to tell us about their wines: Kori Butler, Andrew Gouveia,…

This week I will start tasting a few Argentinean Malbec wines and giving you my impressions of them, leading up to Malbec World Day.  Watch for my initial post on Instagram, followed by a longer article on mywinepal.com. There will also be other Malbec-related activities that you can participate in, in the Vancouver area.  Here is a press release about…