Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
On a lighter tone, at VanWineFest 2026, I had a chance to attend a walk-about lunch at LaSalle College Vancouver; French bistro fare prepared and served by LaSalle students, while sampling a selection of French wines representing seven French wine regions. Below is a list of the French wines followed by the menu. No wine reviews here, just some general…
A Tour de France in Your Glass Food and wine go together, especially in France. I attended the VanWineFest 2026 seminar, A Tour de France in Your Glass. With Moderator, Arnica Rowan, we took an oenological journey through seven classic French wine regions, each with their own unique characteristics and history. We crossed the country from Champagne to South West…
I received two bottles of Pinot Noir from the Maison Joseph Drouhin family. The first wine, Joseph Drouhin Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2021 comes from Burgundy, while the second wine, Domaine Drouhin Oregon Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2022, comes from Oregon state. Some Background The Pinot Noir grape variety has a deep history in Burgundy, with the first plantings possibly dating…
Did you know that Canada is a very important market for French, Bourgogne, wines? We are the third largest market in volume and sixth largest market in term of value. The Canadian Bourgogne market is weighted toward white wines, particularly from Chablis. Our seminar today introduced us to some Bourgogne wine regions that we may not have much familiarity, but…
This past week Business France, the national agency to develop the French economy through export growth, brought in several French wineries to Vancouver. These wineries do not yet have representation in British Columbia. You currently cannot purchase these wines. This article is meant for wine agents in BC that are interested in adding more French wines to their portfolio. Below…
Do you love Chablis but not like Chardonnay? Did you know that Chablis is made from Chardonnay? Chardonnay is a very versatile grape, with both unoaked and oaked versions. One reason that some people adore Chablis is the acidity and minerality from these wines, which in part comes from the climate and the other coming from the special limestone soils…
There is such a range of wines in France as you travel North to South and East to West, with so many different climates and soils. The vintages can be different for major regions across France. Luckily I was contacted by the Vignobles & Signatures Club whose members span France’s major appellations to tell me about the 2020 harvest, which…
At a certain quality level of wine, which typically comes from wineries that have decided to spend the extra effort on selecting grapes from the best vineyard plots, hand picking and sorting the grapes, and letting the grapes express themselves in the wine without an over agressive human hand, you get shades of perfection (note that I am not talking…
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…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
