Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
Canadian Thanksgiving is on Monday, October 10, 2022. You may be making a list of ingredients to buy for your Thanksgiving dinner. A traditional / historical dinner with turkey or ham, brussel sprouts, yam, and mashed potatoes with gravy. Or you may go other ways with roast beef, salmon, Beyond Meat, or other meat substitutes. I like to think of…
Can you name the native grapes of the Rhone Valley? There are the north and south ends of the valley and different varieties. The main varieties of the north end are Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne. The northern Rhone is cooler and the valley has steep hillsides while in the southern Rhone, the climate is more Mediterranean and the terrain…
I wrote about Chile’s 8 Rios 2019 vintage wines 2 years ago, being tasty wines at an exceptional price. I am re-tasting these wines from the 2021 vintage. In particular, the 8 Rios Sauvignon Blanc 2021 and the 8 Rios Rosé 2021 which is made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Vina Undurraga is the maker of this entry-level 8 Rios label. …
What do you know about certified organic wines? Do you only have to not spray the grapes with synthetic pesticides and herbicides or is there more to it? How do you know if a wine is made with organically grown grapes? Your best method to figure out if a wine is certified organic is if there is a certification symbol…
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. This seminar at the Vancouver International Wine Festival took us on a global journey to some of the wine world’s greatest vineyards to discover what makes their terroir and wines…
My first and only dinner during the Vancouver Wine Festival 2022 was the “Icons of South America” held at Alouette Bistro. Classic French cuisine with a West Coast twist meets powerhouse wines from Chile. Wines from Viñedo Chadwick, Seña, and Arboleda wines, from the vineyards in the Aconcagua Valley and Maipo Valley, were paired with the following dishes prepared by…
Have you ever heard of Top Drop Vancouver? It is a festival where 40 hand-selected wineries from around the world come to Vancouver and pour their wines for you. These wineries have to have a certain level of quality and status in order for them to be invited so that you know you are going to enjoy premium wines. Yes,…
The Vancouver International Wine Festival is almost here. The last time we had the Festival was two years ago and closed during our COVID crisis, but now it is back and runs from May 16-22. One of the big attractions for us all is the International Festival Tasting room where wineries from around the world will have tables set up…
Winemaking has been around for hundreds of years. We are very familiar with wines coming from Europe, in particular France, where we talk about Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne. We typically call Europe the “Old World” wine region, while wines made from the southern hemisphere, are known as the “New World“, plus North America. But where did the grapes come from…
Chile is a coastal country, long a thin, with a hot desert in the north and a cooler climate similar to around San Francisco as you go further south. I received a bottle of Cono Sur Pinot Noir Rosé Brut sparkling wine where the grapes come from the more southern Bio Bio region of Chile. This wine is made in…
