Enjoy Wine, Food, and Travel with Karl MyWinePal
The first official Naramata Bench winery I visited on my weekend trip to the Okanagan was Bench 1775 Winery. This winery has gone through a few transformations. I will let the winery tell you their story, in their own words, “Bench 1775 (formerly known as Paradise Ranch Wines Corp.) is one of the only two Okanagan Wineries producing icewine and…
The second winery on the Naramata Bench I visited was Howling Bluff Estate Winery. This is a small family-run winery, starting with the land purchase in 2003, that specializes in Pinot Noir wines, although they also produce other quality wines. I met with co-owner and winemaker, Luke Smith, sitting at the tasting room patio, where we chatted about the latest…
The Fall release of BC VQA wines was in late September. Due to skytrain issues getting to the venue, I did not have as much time to taste the new wine releases, so I concentrated on white wines. There were also red wines, but not enough time to taste. There are a few sparkling wines on this list, which you…
Last night Richard Vanfoodster and I had a wonderful dinner at Collective Goods Bistro enjoying their dishes with a flight of BC’s Solvero Wines. The winemaker, Alison Moyes, was there to talk to us about the wines and the winery. We had her Solvero Wines Pinot Gris 2023, Rosé 2023, Chardonnay 2022, and Pinot Noir 2020. It was fun trying…
We all deserve R&R on a long weekend. On BC Day, my R&R was a bottle of Narrative Rosé 2022 and a bottle of free form Riesling 2022 by Okanagan Crush Pad. These two wines made for this hot sunny weather. Both are vegan-friendly wines and the Riesling is also listed as EcoCert organic certified. Let me tell you about…
If you enjoy Pinot Noir, these two wines should excite you. Meyer Family Vineyards from the Okanagan Falls area of BC concentrate on Burgundian-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I received a bottle of their Meyer Family Vineyards McLean Creek Vineyard Old Block Pinot Noir 2022 and McLean Creek Vineyard Micro Cuvée Pinot Noir 2022 to review for you. I’ve been…
Here are two fruit-forward BC red wines for you to enjoy. you may want to consider Da Silva Vineyards and Winery. Their Vinhedo Merlot 2020 and Pinot Noir 2021. The Da Silva family immigrated from Portugal to Canada, have over 65 years of farming experience in the South Okanagan, and started their winery in 2006. They note that this intrinsic…
Gamay Noir is a grape that gets little respect. Some people may equate it to Beaujolais Nouveau, but it can be much more. BC wineries make quality Gamay Noir. A point in case is this bottle; Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellarss Estate Cuvée Gamay Noir 2022. The grapes were hand harvested, then cold soaked and fermented using indigenous yeasts to…
Ontario’s Stratus Vineyards is a 55-acre farm, set in the Niagara Lakeshore appellation of Niagara-on-the-Lake, and is planted to 16 grape varieties. All the grapes are grown sustainably. Their winery is the first in the world to be fully Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – certified, which embodies their commitment to sustainability. The winery uses geothermal heating and…
Southbrook Vineyards in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region of Ontario undertakes biodynamic and organic vineyard agriculture, plus is LEED Gold Certified for their energy and environmental design in green buildings. Southbrook is Canada’s first certified Organic and Biodynamic Winery. They have everything from native meadows and a Monarch butterfly waystation to using lighter wine bottles to lower their carbon footprint. I looked…
Video Guide Uncorks the Story of British Columbia Wines. Buy Now.
