Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
It is always a treat at a winemaker’s dinner to be able to talk with the winemaker who gives us some insight into how the wines we are drinking together were made and any challenges they encountered. I recently attended a winemaker dinner at Provence Marinaside, featuring Jessica Otting from the Niagara region’s Tawse Winery, who gave us those insights. …
Chinese (Lunar) New Year 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, starting on February 17, 2026 until February 5, 2027. The Horse embodies enthusiasm, speed and fieriness, bringing a year focused on bold moves and exploration. The Year of the Horse brings themes of freedom, action, and momentum, encouraging bold moves, new projects, travel, and social connection, fuelled by…
We have had some turmoil in Canada and in BC for wines in 2025. Many BC interior wineries suffered from the 2024 cold snap causing them to either not produce any wine in 2024, or importing grapes from across the border, or from Ontario. We also had the removal of USA wines from BC government liquor stores. Overall, we had…
We do not get many wines from Ontario in BC, but here is a new entry. Henry of Pelham, located in the Niagara peninsula has been producing wine since 1984. I have two wines for you today: Henry of Pelham Classic Pinot Grigio 2024 and Henry of Pelham Classic Baco Noir 2023. Baco Noir may be unfamiliar to some of…
This is my eighth year interviewing winemakers or winery principals in Ontario about their latest grape harvest and wine production. Now that it is late November and the wines are all in tanks or barrels, how did the Ontario grape growing season and harvest fare? I interviewed three winemakers/winery principals this year: Ryan Oldridge, Winemaker at Colchester Ridge Estate Winery in…
Trius Winery, located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, traces its roots to the Hillebrand estate, where the Trius label was first introduced in 1989. Over time, the label gained prominence, most notably when Trius Red, a Bordeaux-style blend, became the first Canadian vintage to be named “Best Red Wine in the World” in 1991, putting Canadian wines on the global map. In 2012,…
Some people watch their calories in the food they eat and the beverages they drink. Some low-calorie wines are in the Canadian market. I received three low-cal wines from Svelte Wines, a label from Arterra Wines Canada, coming from Niagara Falls, ON and Oliver, BC. On the labels, it notes that these non-vintage wines come from a blend of foreign…
Cabernet Franc has found a remarkable home in the diverse terroirs of Ontario, producing wines that are both vibrant and distinctive. Over the past several months I’ve tasted through 28 different bottles of Cabernet Franc, primarily from the Niagara peninsula, but also two bottles from Prince Edward County. I wanted to examine how the unique climate and soil composition of the Niagara Peninsula,…
Today I have a mini-vertical of Cabernet Franc wines from the Niagara region’s Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, in particular their The Chestnut Tree Cabernet Franc wines from 2015, 2017, and 2018. It is exciting to taste a vertical of wines from a single winery and vineyard, so that you can get a glimpse into how the wine ages and the…
Here are my latest two Niagara region Cabernet Franc wines to tell you about from One-Eighty Estate Winery. The story of One-Eighty Estate Winery, “…all started when Bob and Marzia decided they wanted to pursue a new path in life…Bob and Marzia and their two daughters, Taylor and Sara, have always been risk takers in life…Opportunity arose to own and…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
