Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
It’s been two years since we last tasted wines from around the world at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. During COVID grapevines produced grapes and wine was made but may have been a little harder than normal to get workers in the vineyard and in the winery. Below are my Old World wine selections. Most of the vintages are 2020…
Wanderlust. We must all have it after staying in our homes for the past two years due to COVID. Maybe venturing out to a nearby city or town within a day’s driving distance, but not getting on an airplane and going where your heart desires. I love wine, and I enjoy going to wine regions around the world, meeting winemakers…
This is Part 2 of my top rated wines for 2018. I earlier released my list of 40 white and sparkling wines for 2018, which you can read at this link. This red wine list came from Trade tastings with agents and BC VQA wineries, the Vancouver International Wine Festival, visits to wineries, and personal purchases. I categorized the wines below to…
Wine and food pairing dinners are always fun. You get to find out which types of wines you like paired with particular dishes. There are usually surprises as well. I was invited to taste some Italian wines from the Vinum & Cibus Italici consortium in the Veneto region paired with dishes from Wildebeest Restaurant in downtown Vancouver. The Veneto region…
North and east of Verona, Italy is where Valpolicella wines originate and a little to the north of Valpolicella you find Prosecco wines. You may have heard of Prosecco, the sparkling darling of people around the world at the moment. It is not as complex or expensive as Champagne, but many people want an inexpensive, typically off-dry bubble to share…
If you have ever attended the Top Drop tastings in Vancouver, you will have experienced many 4.5 to 5 star wines according to my rating scale. I recently attended a portfolio tasting by Vintage Corks, and this tasting was in that same quality range. Vintage Corks offers premium wines from US, Italy, Canada and more. You can find Vintage Corks’…
What is Amarone wine? Amarone is a style of Valpolicella wine. The Valpolicella region is located north of Verona, bordering Lake Garda to the west and by the Lessini Mountains to the east and north. There are 4 styles of winemaking for Valpolicella: Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG, Valpolicella Ripasso DOC and Valpolicella DOC. Valpolicella DOC is the lightest bodied…
Top Drop is the last major wine tasting in Vancouver before the start of summer. Top Drop is meant to represent the best in terroir and winemaker craft. Nature and Nurture. Wineries from around the world are selected for the best of both, and we were not disappointed. In my 5 star wine rating, most wines were at least 4…
This evening at this dinner we were invited to come taste over 600 years of winemaking history with MASI Serego Alighieri. Six wines from this historic estate were paired with a menu from chef Josh Gonneau of Cibo Trattoria, bringing a taste of Valpolicella to Vancouver. Cibo Trattoria is located downtown on Seymour Street, and is a small cozy restaurant. Mr. Luc Desroches, Sales…
As I mentioned in my previous article on my top rated white, sparkling, and fortified wines for 2017, there were so many excellent wines that I tasted this year. As I review the red wines that I’ve listed below, there are many wines from Italy, in part due to the many visits by Italian wineries to Vancouver this year. From…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
