Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
I started my wine tasting at the International Festival Tasting Room during VanWineFest 2026 with French white and sparkling wines. Below are my favourite white and sparkling wines. I noticed after making my list that almost all the wines are made from the Chardonnay grape. I am not sure how many of these wines are still available for purchase, but…
Many people imagine Champagne as a pale lemon-coloured wine with fine bubbles and some combination of aromas and flavours of citrus, apple, nuts, oak, and brioche. But, Champagne is also available as a Rosé wine, giving it a different flavour profile, typically of red fruits, a little more body, and larger bubbles, from the use of Pinot Noir as the…
A Tour de France in Your Glass Food and wine go together, especially in France. I attended the VanWineFest 2026 seminar, A Tour de France in Your Glass. With Moderator, Arnica Rowan, we took an oenological journey through seven classic French wine regions, each with their own unique characteristics and history. We crossed the country from Champagne to South West…
Chartron et Trebuchet from Burgundy makes a wonderful crémant wine. I’ve enjoyed this sparkling wine over many years. At the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026, I had a chance to interview Camilla De Vere Green from Chartron et Trebuchet in the International Festival Tasting Room to talk about the winery and their crémant. Enjoy the video interview.
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. …
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…
It will soon be New Year’s eve and many of us will open a bottle of sparkling wine. I have two bottles of sparkling wine from BC’s Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars for you to consider. I received their Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Gold Label Brut 2022 and their Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Brut Rosé R.D. 2022. R.D….
With the upcoming holiday season, you, or your guests, may not want a glass of wine, beer, or cocktail. Maybe something lower in alcohol, but still has nice fruit flavours. Orchard + Field is just that. Wine made using fruit from orchard and berries from the fields and crafted at Garnet Valley Ranch in Summerland, BC. I received two bottles…
I saved my last two wines from Domaine Artema Winery to be their Village Sparkling Rosé 2024 and their La Petite Mort (port style), NV, dessert wine. These two wines can cover the start and end of a delicious dinner. I did not decant either wine. In the first case, you don’t want the delicious bubbles in your sparkling wine…
I was privileged to be invited to attend the “Iconic Wineries of British Columbia” Holiday Preview this week, held at the Holt Renfrew, in downtown Vancouver. We sampled selections from Mission Hill Family Estate, Martin’s Lane, CheckMate Artisanal Winery, CedarCreek Estate Winery, Liquidity Wines, and Road 13 Vineyards. There were red, white, rose, and sparkling wines, along with canapes, made by the chefs from…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
