Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
This is the first week that I am tasting BC wines for you for 2021. I am honoured to be tasting Roche Wines from Penticton, BC. Roche Wines organically farms their vineyards. I opened their Texture Pinot Gris 2019 and their Tradition Chardonnay 2018. The Chardonnay is very limited production with only 118 cases produced and is only available to…
I thought I’d write this article about BC Rosé wines as rosé wines have been on a growth tear for several years. Plus checking my website stats for the last 4 weeks, the top query was “Mateus Rosé Wine“. Mateus, from Portugal, has been around for many years, enjoyed by my parents, and is now updated and reaching out to…
As 2020 has been a disaster, we really should be toasting with a bottle of sparkling wine on New Year’s Eve to welcome 2021. Well, 2021 was not much better. Still had to keep to your bubble. I only attended 2 Trade tastings and no sparkling wines were on the list. Here are a few sparkling wines that I tried…
This was a crazy year due to COVID, which limited my usual number of wine tastings, but when I checked through the wines, I realized that of the wines I did taste, many almost made my 5-star category. These wines I rated as 4.5-5 stars. They are fantastic to drink now and would be OK to cellar for a short…
The 2020 harvest and the days and months leading up to it will surely be marked in our minds. Starting in March we had the shutdown of our economy and quarantining to keep us safe from COVID. In the summer there were major fires in California and Oregon, with the smoke travelling up to British Columbia. Then in October the…
Welcome to Round 2 of my Evolve Cellars and Cheese Pairing experience. In the first round I compared Evolve Cellars’ Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc 2018 paired with aged cheddar and brie cheese. You can see the results here. This time I’m comparing Evolve Cellars Pinot Gris 2018 with Evolve Cellars Shiraz 2016. I’ve added a cheese to the comparison, so…
Have you ever heard of the Ortega grape? Did you know that Ortega is a cross between Siegerrebe and Müller-Thurgau? And did you know that you can try Ortega wine from Blue Grouse Estate Winery from Duncan, BC? Vancouver Island is a very cool climate region and as such many of the wineries produce wines from aromatic white grapes such…
Canadian Thanksgiving is going to be very different this year for many of us who are accustomed to getting together with our parents, brothers and sister, and maybe aunts and uncles for dinner. It will be smaller, and may be just you, but you can still enjoy your turkey, ham, or vegan Thanksgiving meal with a glass or two of…
What do you know about Chardonnay Clone 95? It is originally from Burgundy, and is grown by Spearhead Winery in Kelowna, BC. Clone 95 makes full-bodied, intensely flavoured, medium yield Chardonnay clusters. Spearhead Winery barrel ferments this wine in 100% French oak, 40% new, and ages it on it’s lees for 10 months and undergoes a partial malolactic fermentation. You…
Today I’m tasting two white grape varieties from Alsace and from the Rhone Valley, but grown in BC! Church & State Wines grows both Pinot Gris (Alsace) and Marsanne (Rhone) grapes. And have done them very well. Church & State Wines originated on Vancouver Island near Victoria, and later added a second winery in Oliver in the south Okanagan. The…
