Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
Did you know that Blue Grouse Estate Winery and Unsworth Vineyards in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island are owned by the Sonoma-based Jackson Family from California? The acquisitions, in 2022 and 2020, respectively, allow the family to grow their global portfolio, which includes vineyards in California, Oregon, Washington, Italy, France, Chile, South Africa, and Australia. They see tremendous potential…
I finally had a chance on a recent trip to Victoria to make a side trip to the Cowichan Valley to visit Unsworth Vineyards and Blue Grouse Estate Winery. Unsworth is a bit closer to Victoria, so it was the first stop on my wine tasting day. The winery grounds look beautiful with a modern-designed tasting room with lots of…
Summer is slowly winding down. But we can still enjoy time on our patios with a glass of BC wine. Here are two BC wines from Lillooet’s Fort Berens Estate Winery you may wish to try. I am tasting their Fort Berens Estate Winery Pinot Gris 2025 and Fort Berens Estate Winery Rosé 2025. The grapes come from their estate,…
Have you tried the wines from BC’s Red Rooster Winery lately? This winery has been around for over 25 years, located on the Naramata Bench. Check out the new wine labels for the winery. I quite like the watercolour-like texture of the rooster. I received three bottles of “Pinots” from the winery: a Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and a blend…
Have you ever heard of a sparkling wine called Charme de l’ile, Island Charm in English? It is not a wine from France. It is from Vancouver Island and can only be made on Vancouver Island using Island grapes. Just like Champagne can only be made in the Champagne region of France. Charme is also a nod to the method…
BC wineries are quite accomplished at producing quality, aromatic white wines. I have two aromatic white wines from the Okanagan coming from the Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris grapes. They are the Hester Creek Estate Winery Old Vine Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris wines from the 2025 vintage. 2025 was a fantastic vintage for BC Okanagan wines. The white wines…
With our brilliant blue sky, green leaves on our trees opening, and robins singing, it is time to enjoy BC white wines. Here are two that I received from Township 7 Vineyards & Winery; their Provenance Series, Blue Terrace Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2025 and their Provenance Series Pinot Gris 2025. 2025 was a fantastic year for BC grapes and winemaking…
I’ve been tasting and writing about Chardonnay recently, so I thought I would change things up and write about some other wines. I received several wines from Vancouver Island’s Blue Grouse Estate Winery and decided to start with their Rosé 2024 and their Pinot Gris 2024. These are from estate grown grapes and select partner vineyards. Vancouver Island is really…
We are back to estate grown BC grapes for the 2025 vintage. It was a great year for our wine grapes, producing a bumper crop for all vineyards. I have two white wines from Okanagan’s Hester Creek Estate Winery; their Hester Creek Estate Winery Character White 2025, a white blend containing Gewürztraminer, Viognier, and Pinot Gris, and Hester Creek Estate…
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…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
