Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
The wines of BC and the rest of the world, excluding the USA, were the last of the wines I tasted at the International Festival Tasting Room during VanWineFest 2025. Read through my wine tasting notes below and if you find some wines that spark your interest, check out your local BC Liquor store, some private wine shops,…
Hillside Winery on the Naramata Bench was the last winery on my wine-tasting tour. The founders of the winery were Vera and Bohumir Klokcka who had emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1979, buying the property but did not plant the first grape vines till 1984. Although no longer owners, I’m told that winemaker, Kathy Malone, still talks with Vera, who is…
When you visit Da Silva Vineyards & Winery on the Naramata Bench, it feels like you are transported to Portugal. The tasting room is beautiful, with bone-white walls and chandeliers, giving off a European feel. The wines are equally special. Richard and Twylla da Silva own the winery, with Richard coming from a Portuguese background. The names of some of…
Today’s visit on my Naramata Bench trip gave me a bonus. Besides tasting wine, I also enjoyed some cheese pairings. Upper Bench Estate Winery & Creamery is the place to go as they make their own cheeses, which you can also buy. Yes, I bought cheese to take home. I spoke with Josh Edwards, their winemaker, before tasting the wines. …
My last winery visit in Okanagan Falls, before getting back to my visit to the Naramata Bench, is Blasted Church Vineyards. They have very colourful and expressive labels, with a religious bent or Renaissance theme to them, as the winery is located on Parson’s Road. All their wines are unfined and unfiltered, so some wines may have a dull appearance…
What do you know about BC Pinot Noir? Do you have a favourite winery or wine region in BC for Pinot Noir? In today’s seminar, the Possibilities of Pinot, we were brought up to date on the state of Pinot Noir in BC. Our Moderator for this seminar was Barb Philip MW. Our panellists were either owners or winemakers from…
Coolshanagh is a BC winery located on the Naramata Bench is owned by husband and wife team, Skip and Judy Stothert. They are passionate about Chardonnay and Pinot Noir so they only grow these varieties for wine production. I received two bottles of their Chardonnay to review. One is their Coolshanagh Chardonnay 2019 while the other is the first release…
Here are my last two white aromatic BC wines for a while. The clouds and rain have convinced me that the upcoming wines that I will taste should be red. The two white wines I have for you are the Township 7 Provenance Series 7 Blanc 2022 and Provenance Series Pinot Gris 2022. Both wines have grapes coming from the…
Beautiful and elegant are two words that I would use to describe the two Chardonnay wines that I received from Spearhead Winery in the Okanagan. Winemaker, Grant Stanley, has outdone himself with such excellent wines. One wine is from grapes from their Saddle Block estate vineyard, with a mix of Chardonnay clones 76, 95, and 548, and the other is…
In BC we relatively quickly learned that cooler climate grapes, like Riesling, did better in the north Okanagan, and warmer climate grapes, like Syrah, did better in the south Okanagan. Similarly cooler climate grape varieties in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island. And more. But we have had a few decades now to further refine these generalized grape growing regions…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
