Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
Today I tasted the battle of the blends. An epic battle royale between two iconic red wines made by Hester Creek Estate Winery. Wines of phenomenal origin and destiny, The Judge and Garland are crafted from the best barrels in their cellar, and are an authentic expression of our South Okanagan terroir. These are heavy bottles with solid corks. Their…
This is my third article reviewing Canadian Wine Trends that happened over 2024. In this article, I will review our interest in Old World (e.g. Europe) vs New World (e.g. North and South America) wines. Did we get more interested in European wines? I used Google Trends to produce graphs for our interest in Old World and New World wine areas, showing…
While I was Grinch-like in awarding 5 stars to only three wines I tasted in 2024, I was more Oprah-like with the 4.5-5 -star wines. Plus, there are many quality wines, so it should not be a surprise. This year there were 13 BC wines, 18 Italian wines, 4 French wines, 2 Californian wines, and 4 wines from New Zealand…
It is Aug-uary in Vancouver. I cannot see the north shore mountains and the clouds are covering the tops of the concrete towers that are spread across the lower mainland. Red wines are on my horizon. So I dipped into my wine cellar and decided to open two red wines from Europe. The first wine is CVNE Viña Real Crianza…
It is not often that I have a chance to taste aged red Bordeaux wines. I purchased 5 wines in the past during the Bordeaux releases. Four wines are from the Right Bank of Bordeaux and one is from the Left Bank. The wines’ vintages are either 2005 or 2008, which makes the wines, 16 and 19 years old. I’ve…
The Robert Mondavi Winery is historic for putting California, and New World wines, on the international stage. I was fortunate to have a chance to interview Kurtis Ogasawara, Winemaker for Robert Mondavi during VanWineFest 2024. I was told, “Growing up in Sunnyvale, California, Kurtis lived just outside of wine country in the Bay Area. When he went off to college,…
The history of the Carmenère grape is a tale of rediscovery and revitalization, with its roots deeply intertwined with the viticultural landscapes of both France and Chile. Carmenère faced near-extinction in France due to the phylloxera epidemic in the 19th century. Unbeknownst to many, some vines were transported to Chile before the devastation, where they thrived in the climate and…
The history of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon is deeply intertwined with the evolution of the wine world. Cabernet Franc, the older of the two, has ancient origins tracing back to the Bordeaux region of France, where it played a crucial role in the development of classic Bordeaux blends. Its contribution to Bordeaux blends eventually led to the emergence of…
Pascal Madevon, a Bordeaux-trained winemaker who now calls BC home, brings his skills to make a magnificent red blend wine for the Okanagan’s French Door Estate Winery. The winery was founded in 2019 and is already producing impressive wines. I received a bottle of French Door Estate Winery’s héritage French Blend 2020, which contains just about every major red Bordeaux…
Sauvignon Blanc‘s home is France, but it has spread around the world, like many other vitis vinifera. It typically is served as a single varietal wine but does show up in blends, most notably in Bordeaux. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words sauvage, “wild”, and blanc, “white”, due to its early origins as an indigenous…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
