Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
Do you love Pinot Noir? BC Pinot Noir? I do love Pinot Noir and BC Pinot Noir. We have the right cool climate to help bring out the nuances of Pinot Noir, compared to some warmer climate wines from this grape. Acidity, floral and fruit aromas and flavours all excite me. The yearly BC Pinot Noir Celebration is coming up…
A wine agent’s portfolio tasting typically gives you the chance to try both listed as well as spec wines; wines that may only show up in specialty wine shops or restaurants, in limited quantities. I have been to Mark Anthony Wine and Spirits‘ portfolio tasting now for a few years, and I am always very impressed by the wineries that…
In my previous article on two sub $20 bottles of Cabernet Merlot blends from Mission Hill, I introduced you to the “intro” level of their wines, 5 Vineyards, and an alternate label, Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery. I noted that there are higher level tiers to Mission Hill’s wines. Moving up one level we have the “Reserve” Series. I was…
Founded in 1981 by proprietor Anthony von Mandl, Mission Hill Family Estate has a solid reputation as a leader within the wine community that helped define the Okanagan Valley. His winery won the Avery Trophy in 1994 for ‘Best Chardonnay in the World’ at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in the United Kingdom and made the world take note…
The Wines of British Columbia shone at The Judgment of BC Wine Tasting with Steven Spurrier and DJ Kearney today. Steven Spurrier, the Consultant Editor at Decanter magazine, headed the famous Judgement of Paris in 1976 (which was made into the movie “Bottle Shock”). The Judgement of Paris carried out two blind tasting comparisons: one of Chardonnays and another of…
Dine Out Vancouver starts treating us to fantastic food starting this Friday, January 16 till February 1st. There are so many choices from the $18-$28-$38 fixed price meals. New restaurants are always coming into our food scene, so there are always wonderful surprises each year. This year, one of our new restaurants is Morocco West located at Jervis and Robson….
A portfolio tasting is a great place for a restaurateur, liquor store staff, and wine media, like me, to find out about the latest vintages of wines, and brand new wines, for a wine agent’s portfolio. With a change in season, for example, restaurants may want to change their cooked dishes, and to these dishes they should match up /…
Chardonnay, a grape variety that can cause great disparity in wine drinkers. There are many that fall into the “Anything But Chardonnay” camp, and others that love that it can have many different expressions; depending on the climate, soil, and the hands of the winemaker. Some people do not even know they are drinking Chardonnay, but really enjoy French Chablis or…
By day you would think coffee shop, but by night a wine bar. The new Take Five Cafe on 62 W. Cordoba, in Gastown offers both to their customers. I was invited to attend their grand opening this past week to see what they have to offer, and there is quite a range for you. As I mentioned there is…
This Part 2 of my review of my picks from the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. Part 1 covered the wines of Spain. Part 2 is the rest of the world. Again, there are so many wines at the tasting, and so little time, I’m sure I missed many great wines. If you tasted some that I didn’t list, please…
