Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
When you buy wine in a BC Liquor store, you don’t think about how the wine was selected for the shelves. Behind the scenes are many wine agencies that search for wines from around the world, to build their portfolio, and have some of their portfolio sold through BC Liquor stores with the remaining wines, usually specialty wines, sold in…
I and other Trade individuals were invited to Discover Extraordinary Italian Wines. Some of the wineries at the event were searching for local representation, while other wineries already have an agent and their wines are in BC Liquor stores or private wine shops and restaurants. I’ve put a “*” beside those wineries that have local representation, so you should be…
New Australian wine has arrived on our shores after a hiatus, in part due to COVID. I attended a tasting of these new arrivals. Some are new to BC while other wines are new vintages of wines that we already enjoy. I missed out on a seminar, so have no additional pearls of wisdom for you, but here are my…
My first winery dinner for VanWineFest 2024 was the Tuscan winery, Marchesi Frescobaldi. This winery has extensive vineyard holdings across Tuscany and into Montalcino. The Frescobaldi family has been making wine dating back 700 years and spanning over 30 generations. Today the Frescobaldi family owns 11 estates in Italy including 10 in Tuscany and distribute their wines in over 65…
This year I had many terrific wines to taste and review. Wines that I rate as 5 star I deem as needing nothing to add or subtract. They are perfect as-is. I had one wine that reached that status this year so instead of making a separate article for that wine, I am including it in this article. My 4.5-5…
Here are two Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses wines for you to try. The Grenache-Vermentino-Viognier 2020 and the Grenache-Syrah-Cinsault 2021 Rosé. The Rosé has been around for a while and has been a favourite of many people. Both wines come in a very distinctive and beautiful bottle with a rose petal-shaped base. Instead of cork, Gérard Bertrand is using a glass stopper to…
The Grandi Marchi, is a collaboration of eighteen winemaking families across Italy to promote the culture and commercialization of Italian high-quality wine on world markets. All the wineries are family-owned, have been in operation for at least 25 years (some for centuries), own their estate vineyards, are innovators, and much more. We had nine of the eighteen families visiting in Vancouver to…
It is not every day that you get invited to a portfolio tasting of wines from Italy’s Antinori Estates. Many of you have probably heard of their most famous wine, Marchesi Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT, a Super Tuscan, that helped lead the way to blend in International grape varieties, e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with Italy’s Sangiovese grape in Tuscany….
Did you know that Gérard Bertrand has a Côte des Roses Collection? I only knew of his Rose wine, but there are 4 from that Collection that are coming or already are in BC. Today I am tasting the Grenache-Vermentino-Viognier 2019 and Chardonnay 2020. Both wines come in a very distinctive and beautiful bottle with a rose petal-shaped base. In…
My first Masterclass at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2020 was about the wines from the Languedoc region produced by Gérard Bertrand and moderated by Anthony Gismondi. Gérard Bertrand is the ambassador of the fine wines of Languedoc-Roussillon around the world and owns 16 estates with their unique terroirs in the region. The Languedoc has, in general, had a poor…
