Enjoy some BC Pinot Gris this summer

I thought to help summer along, I'd point out some white wines that you may be interested in trying on your patio. Today I'd like to focus on BC Pinot Gris. I think BC Pinot Gris are very nicely made. They typically have a lot of nice ripe stone fruit, e.g. peach, flavours, apples, and good acidity to make them refreshing in your mouth. Try with some seafood this summer too.

A quick search on the EverythingWine.ca website, came up with 28 BC Pinot Gris in the $15-$25 range.

Arrowleaf Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$18.99
Black Widow Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$24.99
Cassini Cellars Pinot Gris 750mL	Pinot Gris	$15.99
Chase & Warren Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$18.99
Church & State Wines Pinot Gris 750mL	Pinot Gris	$23.99
Desert Hills Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$24.99
Gray Monk Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$16.99
Herder Vineyards Pinot Gris 750ml	Pinot Gris	$21.99
Hester Creek Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$16.99
Hillside Estate Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$22.99
Hillside Estate Unoaked Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$23.99
Kalala Organic Estate Winery Pinot Gris 2008 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$21.99
Kettle Valley Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$24.99
Lake Breeze Vineyards Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$21.99
Lang Vineyards Pinot Gris 750ml	Pinot Gris	$19.99
Mission Hill Family Estate Reserve Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$18.99
Nichol Pinot Gris 750ml	Pinot Gris	$23.99
Pentage Pinot Gris Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$24.99
Poplar Grove 2008 Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$24.99
Red Rooster Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$17.99

Saltspring Vineyards Pinot Gris 750 ml	Pinot Gris	$19.99
Sperling Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$23.99
Thornhaven Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$21.99
Tinhorn Creek Vineyards Pinot Gris 750ml	Pinot Gris	$16.99
Tinhorn Creek Vineyards Pinot Gris 750ml	Pinot Gris	$18.99
Township 7 Pinot Gris 750ml	Pinot Gris	$23.99
Van Westen Vino Grigio Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$23.99
Wild Goose Vineards Pinot Gris 750 mL	Pinot Gris	$21.99

I've talked about some of these wines and/or wineries in the past on www.mywinepal.com or on my blog. The Van Westen Vino Grigio Pinot Gris, Thornhaven Pinot Gris, and Black Widow Pinot Gris are a few I'd like to select out as ones that I have enjoyed in the past.
Thornhaven Pinot Gris 2008: Very aromatic. Apple, peach and spice on the nose. Apple and other fruits. Spicy. Quite full bodied.

Van Westen Vino Grigio Pinot Gris 2007: Medium straw colour. Aromas of apple and spice. Citrus and spice on the palate. Full mouthfeel and good acidity.

Black Widow Pinot Gris 2008: Light lemon colour. Nice tropical fruit aroma with light oak. Good acidity. Apple, plum and spice on the palate.

So raise a toast to the start of summer and enjoy some BC Pinot Gris! Cheers.

A Tale of Two Rieslings

This is actually a tale of one Riesling, but tasted two different times, and the differences in my tasting notes. In 2007 or 2008 I purchased two bottles of Pierre Sparr's Altenbourg Riesling 2003 vintage (Alsace, France), and cellared these bottles till I opened one on April 26, 2009 (good thing I have a tasting note book I keep). At that time the wine would have had 6 years of aging. I noted that it was medium lemon/straw in colour. The bouquet and flavours were of oak, apple and honey. I noted that it felt low in acid and quite round in the mouth.

Now forward to June 10, 2010, a little over a year from the last tasting. Has the wine changed much since my April 26, 2009 tasting? There was some change in bouquet and flavour. On the bouquet, I had the honey and oak, but did not detect apple. Instead I wrote aromas of lemon, flowers, honey, and light petrol. On the palate I did not detect the apple flavour, but did get honey, oak, lemon and petrol. I also had the acidity higher and remarked that it was refreshing. So things can change in a bottle quite quickly.

FYI, petrol is an aroma and flavour that comes with the aging of the riesling varietal in the bottle. Sometimes you get it within 2-3 years (I've had that with some Australian rieslings), but usually it takes a bit longer. In Australia, I have been told, the preference is not to call the aroma/flavour "petrol" as to them it has a negative connotation. Instead, the preferred term is "hot buttered toast". Either way it makes the riesling wine more interesting and complex.

I hope you have a note book and write down your wine observations, then check back occasionally as I do to see if you find something interesting to you, and maybe to tell others.

Enjoy!

Okanagan Road Trip

This past week was a road trip with my family in the Okanagan. I did get a chance to visit a few wineries I already knew, and to visit some new wineries. With Kelowna as our home base, we drove as far north as Vernon, and as far south as Osoyoos. In Kelowna, I had to show my family the beautiful views from Mission Hill Family Estate winery's grounds. It is always so nice to look over the lake and Kelowna from the patio restaurant. On the wine tasting side, I was privileged to taste a 2003-2006 vertical of Mission Hill's top wine, Oculus. Although I didn't have any notes written, I can tell you that the 2006 was "feminine" in style with a beautiful flowery bouquet. The 2004 and 2003 Oculus was my favorite by a slim margin over the 2006 Oculus. 2003 was a very hot year in the Okanagan, and had the horrible forest fires we all remember. The heat made the fruit very ripe that year, so you get lots of fruit to balance the tannins. The 2003 still has good tannic structure with fruit and I'd give it a few more years to soften. It is a wonderful wine. You might want to see if they are selling any through the Library releases. I think you have to go to the winery though to buy their Library releases.

On another day trip, we went to Nk'Mip desert cultural centre and the Nk'Mip winery right beside it. The cultural centre was very interesting, and has a nest with an Osprey parents and chicks. The nest is on the top of a tall pole, so bring your binoculars. My favorite wine on this tasting of the Nk'Mip winery was their NK'Mip Qwam Qwmt Pinot Noir 2007. Again no hand written notes, but I remember strawberries with smoke aromas and flavours. Buy some if you can.

On another trip, we spent some time tasting wines at Sumac Ridge Estate winery in Summerland. While there I tried my first ever sparkling Gewurztraminer. It was quite refreshing. I bought a bottle so that I can try it back home with some seafood this summer. I also enjoyed their Chardonnay and their Cabernet Franc from the Black Sage vineyards. Quite elegant.

Another day was spent at Volcanic Hills winery, Beaumont Estate Family winery, and Kalala Organic Estate winery. I found out that the owners of Volcanic Hills winery were co-owners of the Mount Boucherie winery. They just opened their tasting room 3 weeks ago. Most of the grapes were purchased from what I could tell. The Volcanic Hills Pinot Gris was quite nice. Round mouthfeel with juicy ripe fruit flavours. This is their first vintage of their reds and whites. I am looking forward to trying their next vintages and see how they define their style.

If you like wines made from organically grown grapes, there is Beaumont Estate Family winery, which is right next door to Volcanic Hills winery, and there is Kalala Organic Estate winery (who BTW let Volcanic Hills use their equipment for vinifying their first vintage). Beaumont is a family run business with the daughter of the family making the wines. They have a wide range of wines from Pinot Gris, to Pinot Noir, to Gamay Noir, and more. They noted that Pinot Noir seems to like their soil the most, so expect to see them concentrate on this wine. I was really looking forward to Kalala Organic Estate winery, since I saw them last June. They have won several medals this year for their red and white wines. I really liked their Riesling 2008 vintage. It had crisp acidity, pineapple and apple aromas with a hint of petrol. It won a Gold at the 2010 New World Int'l Wine Competition in California, a Silver in the 2010 Concours mondial de Bruxelles, and a Bronze at the 2010 Northwest Wine Summit. Buy this wine before it sells out. On the red side, if you have not tried, give their Zweigelt 2008 a try. This red grape provided sour red cherry aroma and flavour, and a bit of maraschino cherry too. Soft tannins also with Zweigelt. This wine won 4 different Bronze medals this year. Check out Kalala's website http://www.kalalawines.ca/wine/index.php for all their medals.

That is all for now. I wish I had more time to try more wines while I was in the Okanagan, but being with family is also nice!

LaStella winery food, dinner and music @ YEW Restaurant, June 9

LaStella is the sister winery to Le Vieux Pin in the Okanagan. They produce some very nice wines, and are having a special wine, food, and music paired dinner at YEW Restaurant, next week, Wednesday, June 9. I'm passing this info along to you, as there are still tickets left. The music pairing with the food is also a unique experience!

LaStella is situated at Osoyoos Lake in the sunny South Okanagan valley of beautiful British Columbia. Just like music, LaStella likes to names their wine after Italian music notes, such as Allegreto, Vivace and Maestoso.

Join LaStella on Wednesday June 9th at 7pm at YEW Restaurant in the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver for a celebration of La Dolce Vita. They collaborated with the culinary team at YEW as well as Mrs. Robin Braun of Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) to pair each of our wines with a dish and a solo violin piece that captures the essence of the name given to each of their wines.

Think of their Leggiero Un-Oaked Chardonnay (meaning elegant and minimal) paired with raw fresh fish preparation, farm fresh salad while listening to "Come Primavera"{"Like Spring"} by Il Divo

Or

Maestoso Merlot (meaning majestic or a musical note that sits at the very top of the crescendo) paired with a rich, massively flavorful braised short ribs while listening to "Nessun dorma" by Puccini

How interesting! Very limited seating available. Please call Yew Restaurant directly to secure your spot for a night to remember... 604-692-4939

Naramata Bench Spring Wine Release 2010

Just a week before the huge Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival opens, I attended a much more low-key, but very enjoyable, event: the Naramata Bench Spring Wine Release 2010.

This is the second time I've attended this event. Last year I came upon a new winery to me called, Van Westen Vineyards, where their wines beguiled me. So this year, the first winery I went to see was Van Westen, as I was not disappointed. Their 2008 Vino Grigio and their 2008 Vivacious whites and their 2006 Voluptuous are highly recommended. The Vino Grigio 2008, is of course Pinot Gris. It had a light peach and melon nose. Good acidity with more peach and melon on the palate. The Vivacious 2008 is Pinot Blanc with a hint of Pinot Gris, again has peachy fruit as well as some apricot aromas. Good acidity. Peach and apricot flavours with a touch of greenness. Their Voluptuous 2006 is a barrel aged blend of 67% Merlot and 33% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet in colour. Very ripe plums and black fruit aromas. Medium body, black ripe fruit, plums, black cherry flavours with drying tannins.

Other notable wines are the La Frenz Merlot 2007, La Frenz Andrew Vineyard Riesling 2009, La Frenz Sonoran Vineyard Chardonnay 2009, Lake Breeze Seven Poplars Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Lake Breeze Gewurztraminer 2009, Therapy Merlot 2008, and Howling Bluff Estate Pinot Noir 2008. I'm sure there are more wines, but I only had 1.5 hours at the tasting room.

The La Frenz Merlot 2007 was deep garnet in the glass. A very nice nose, with sweet black cherry aroma. Sweet, black cherry flavour with a hint of vanilla. Very smooth on the palate. Outstanding.

The La Frenz Andrew Vineyard Riesling 2009, is light lemon in colour. Flowery and apple aromas. Good acidity with a bit of residual sugar. Red apple and citrus flavours. Elegant.

Hmm, 3 La Frenz in a row. I must also like La Frenz's wines alot too! The La Frenz Sonoran Vineyard Chardonnay 2009 was light lemon colour in the glass. Vanilla and nutmeg aromas. Lots of flavour on the palate of apple, oak and pineapple. Very creamy with medium acidity.

Lake Breeze is also a consistent producer in the Okanagan. The Lake Breeze Seven Poplars Sauvignon Blanc 2009 has citrus and slight herbal aromas. High acidity, with citrus and gooseberry flavours. Eat with fresh seafood.

The Lake Breeze Gewurztraminer 2009 is very pale coloure. But has a wonderful lychee and rose petals aromas. Off dry, with medium acidity. Lychee and red delicous apple flavours.

The Therapy Merlot 2008 has a lot of leather, coffee, cherry and plum aromas. On the palate there is more of the coffee and cherry flavour, accompanied by some chocolate. Medium tannins. Quite different from the La Frenz Merlot. Maybe buy one of each and do a side-by-side comparison?

Last, one of my favourite Pinot Noirs in the Okanagan is the Howling Bluff Estate Pinot Noir 2008. New world style, with ripe strawberry and cherry aromas with a bit of sweet spice and vanilla. Silky on the palate with vanilla, cherry, and raspberry flavours.

I hope you have a chance to try some of these wines, either here, or even better over in the Naramata Bench at the wineries' cellar doors. Enjoy!

Vancouver Island Wineries

When most people think of wineries and wine in BC, they think Okanagan. But, there are many wineries located on Vancouver Island as well as some of the Gulf Islands. The wines from these wineries tend to be "cool climate", which means that you will primarily get white wines and reds, e.g. Pinot Noir, as the temperatures do not get as warm as they do in the interior of BC. You would not find a Shiraz for example on Saltspring Island, at least until global warming heats things up a bit more.

Below are some links to wineries on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, along with web links to them. Just click on the name of the winery to get more information on it (a few of the wineries do not have links).

Alderlea Vineyards

Averill Creek Vineyard

Beaufort Vineyard & Estate Winery

Blue Grouse Vineyards

Carbrea Vineyard, Winery & Cottage

Chase & Warren Estate Winery

Cherry Point Vineyards

Church & State Wines Ltd.

Deol Estate Winery

Divino Estate Winery

Dragonfly Hill Vineyard

Echo Valley Vineyards

Gabriola Island Winery

Garry Oaks Winery

Glenterra Vineyards

Godfrey Brownell Vineyards

Honeymoon Bay Blackberry Winery

Malahat Winery

Marley Farm Winery

Merridale Ciderworks, Bistro and Distillery

Middle Mountain Mead

Morning Bay Vineyards

Mountain Creek Winery

Muse Winery

Rocky Creek Winery

Salt Spring Vineyards

Saturna Island Winery

Sea Cider Vintage Cidery

Silverside Farm & Winery

Starling Lane Winery

Tugwell Creek Honey Farm & Meadery

Twenty Two Oaks Winery

Venturi-Schulze Vineyards

Zanatta Winery

Chile Day 3 - Cerro San Cristobol

Today was touring of the trendy Bellavista neighbourhood and then take the funicular train up the Cerro San Cristobal to get panoramic view of the city, a peek at the Andes mountains and the large Virgin Mary statue overlooking the city. If you are looking for handicrafts and/or lapis lazuli jewelry, then Bellavista is a good place to look. Lunch time is good for fixed price menus for a reasonable price. This lunch it was a carrot fritatta type appetizer, followed by salmon topped with asparagus and cream sauce with mashed potatoes mixed with avocado and sausage, followed by a mango/chocolate mousse, and a Cristal beer. It should have been a nap after that big lunch, but I had to get up the funicular as it was a beautiful sunny day today. Dinner of course had wine. For dinner today it was pizza. I had the “portofino” pizza which had ground beef, chopped mushrooms, chopped heart of palm, and kernels of corn. Quite tasty. Maybe a new flavour for Panagopolus? What was the wine? I tried the Botalcura El Delirio Reserva. This is a Syrah / Malbec blend. I chose this specifically because Malbec is typically grown in Argentina, not Chile. This was a big wine, opaque purple in the glass. Ripe black fruit and tar nose but then opened up to show some oak, and further in the meal, chocolate, vanilla and black cherry. I attribute this wide range of aromas to be from the Malbec grape as i've tried many other malbecs and the wines continually evolve in your glass. Very nice. On the palate, it was ripe black fruit, ripe plums with medium spice and soft tannins. Tomorrow is my first official visit at a winery. Which one? Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog entry.

Back from Oregon

My blog has been quiet over the last week. That's because I was out in Oregon trying pinot noir and pinot gris primarily. The coast where i was staying was really wet and cold. Not good grape growing area, but as soon as you move inland a bit, say around McMinnville, the weather warms up nicely. I was able to try wines from the $11 - $85 range, and both ends of the range were excellent. On the main page of www.mywinepal.com i will be providing reviews for the wines that I really enjoyed, but for the moment, to whet your appetite, here are a few recommendations:

- Rex Hill Reserve Pinot Noir, 2006. This wine is produced by the winemaker barrel sampling and picking the best barrels to blend. This wine was medium garnet. Violet and plum aromas. Violets, ginger, cloves, and vanilla flavour. US$42

- Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, 2006. 2006 was a hot year in Oregon so all wineries have very ripe fruit and a larger volume of wine produced. This wine was light garnet in colour. Spicy, strawberry, smoky, vanilla and cherry aromas. Spicy, light oak, with a cherry finish. US$38

- Redhawk Vineyard and Winery Redhawk Red. This is a popular table wine for this winery. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This wine was dark garnet in colour. Plum, currant and dark fruit aromas. Sweet black fruits, soft tannins and long length on the palate. US$11 (an unbelievable price)

Enjoy!

New Zealand Wine x2
April 29, 2009 09:44:57

There are two New Zealand wine events coming up in May in Vancouver that I thought you might be interested in attending. The first is with the South World Wine Society, titled "Planning a New Zealand Vacation". This event is on May 21. It combines tasting a range of red and white wines from across New Zealand along with getting travel tips from a travel agent that has travelled extensively in New Zealand. It should be a lot of fun, plus the travel agent is offering discount coupons on travel to New Zealand. Go to www.southworldwine.com to sign up. $44 for members and $55 for non-members. Comes with food too. And I am the speaker for the wines at this event.

The other event is the New Zealand Wine Fair on May 28 at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. This is a yearly event and is a walk-about, with agents and/or winemakers at tables pouring their prized New Zealand wines. There are many tables where you try wines that have never been in Canada before, so be the first to try something new! Besides their trade mark Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, there are also lots of other varietals to try, like riesling, merlot, and pinot grigio. To sign up for this event go to http://www.nzwine-events.ca/nzwines_content.htm

2009 French Wines Expo Tour

2009 French Wines Expo Tour
April 16, 2009 07:52:29

The French have been coming to Vancouver quite regularly recently. Last week I had the pleasure of trying wines from across France at a Trade Only event. There was red and white from Bordeaux, Sauternes, Languedoc, Rhone, organic wines, and more. I also was able to taste a new red grape called Negrette, which I am told is originally from Cyprus, but happy to grow in France. The Negrette grape has lots of sweet bon bon aroma, and bon bon / red crisp apple flavour. I tried the Vin de Pays Comte Tolosan Terreo Negrette 2008. It's always nice to try something different. Many French wine makers are paying attention to the New World wineries that produce wines that are approachable and drinkable now. Several wines were available to try in this category such as the Esprit du Sud AOC Languedoc 2007, made from Syrah and Grenache.

SWWS Big Reds tasting - Signup asap

April 12, 2009 07:41:43
Posted By Wine With Karl

For those of you who haven't been to a wine tasting before, or had much exposure to southern hemisphere red wine, the upcoming "Cellar Select Premium Reds" tasting by the South World Wine Society is going to be a blockbuster. Monday, Noon, April 13 is the deadline to sign up.

Many of these are iconic red wines in the southern hemisphere. Some are from vintages no longer available, so if you want to try them, this may be the only place you can try them. Here are the wines:

1. Pisano Uruguay Coastal Region 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon RPF
2. Saxenburg South Africa Stellenbosch 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Collection
3. Glen Carlou South Africa Paarl 2003 Syrah
4. Peter Lehmann Australia Barossa 2004 Shiraz The Futures
5. Tikal Argentina Mendoza 2006 Malbec Amorio
6. Benmarco Argentina Mendoza 2006 Red Blend Expresivo
7. Valdivieso Chile Central Valley Red Blend Caballo Loco No 7

From the website:

The Glen Carlou Syrah has won the John Platter Wine of the Year in South Africa. The Caballo Loco No 7 from Chile is blended and aged by the Solera method used for Spanish sherry, combining fractions of wine from Caballo Loco No 1 - 6 with 7. The Peter Lehmann Futures Shiraz 2004 is not only a benchmark Australian red, but comes from an outstanding Barossa Valley vintage. The Tikal Malbec was rated 91 points by Wine Spectator. The Benmarco Argentina Mendoza 2006 Expresivo is a beguiling blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Tannat, and is one of Argentina's top new wines. The Saxenberg Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the Cape's most elegant and highly regarded examples of this varietal.

You have till noon on Monday, April 13 to sign up. It's a great deal for these premium wines, plus check out the appetizers:

Plate 1
Stilton cheese with toasted walnut and dried apricot
A Van Lawn beef slider
Seared diver scallop, red wine butter sauce
Reddened salmon, red wine butter sauce

Plate 2
Grilled lamb chop with olive crust, natural pan jus
Sautéed chicken liver “Diablo”
Prime rib “melt”
Torpedo Prawn with sweet chili sauce

BC Reds at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Fest

March 28, 2009 08:19:24
Posted By Wine With Karl

It’s early Saturday morning. I spent almost 6 hrs tasting red wine yesterday at the Festival. There were many nice reds being poured in the BC area of the tasting room. The BC reds I tried:
- Averill Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006 (nice violet nose)
- Black Hills Estate Winery Carmenere 2006 (the signature grape of Chile growing here and doing a nice job)
- Burrowing Owl Estate Winery Merlot. Excellent, sweet black fruit and fine tannins
- Cedar Creek Estate Winery Merlot Cabernet 2006 and Syrah 2006. Both big full bodied wines.
- Garry Oaks Zeta 2006 (Marcel mentioned this is the first planting of Zwiegelt in BC)
- Cabernet Franc 2007 and The Bear 2006. Bordeaux blends
- Hillside Estate Winery Cabernet Franc 2006
- Kettle Valley Winery Reserve Pinot Noir 2005, Malbec 2005, and Old Main Red 2005. All had an barnyard aroma to them.
- La Frenz Merlot 2006 and Shiraz 2006. I put a star beside the Shiraz beside this one in my notes. Good balance, meaty./vanilla/dark fruit.
- Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery Summit Reserve Pinot Noir 2006, S.R. Merlot 2005, and S.R. Summit (a Bordeaux blend). Mt. Boucherie always produces nice wines.
- Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery King’s Ransom 2006. Big red but needs 2-3 years for the tannins to soften
- Osoyoos Larose Les Petales 2005, Le Grand Vin 2004, and Le Grand Vin 2006. The wine maker told me that the vines keep getting better each year and I agree. I loved the Le Grand Vin 2006 (star).

I’ll do a separate blog entry for the international reds I tasted on Friday. Enjoy!

Welcome to my Wine World!

August 20, 2008 07:02:48

Well, it is said that a journey starts with the first step. I hope this first step is the many of steps that I will be taking with you in the future. I have always be interested in wine and it has led me to be the president of the South World Wine Society here in Vancouver, BC. I have also sought out wineries wherever I have travelled around the world. Some places I have visited wineries are:

- BC Okanagan

- Washington, Oregon, and California State

- South Australia (Adelaide, Barossa Valley)

- Nova Scotia

- Argentina

I will of course be visiting more wineries in the future and I will post my travels here in the blog. Over the next year I plan to visit:

- France (Champagne region, Burgundy, Alsace, and Provence)

- Argentina (hopefully make it to Mendoza)

- Chile

Other things you might read in my blog are wine events that I recently attended, what wine I'm currently drinking, and other specials I hear that are wine related. I want to provide you with information that is of interest to you, so please feel free to email me with your ideas!

Starting over again

For those that have followed my blog on www.MyWinePal.com, welcome to my new blog site. The old site had a limitation on storage and I hit the limit. So what I am doing is porting over my existing blogs here, then will add to them with my latest wine adventures.

For those that are new to the MyWinePal.com blog, welcome! I do enjoy travelling to wine regions of the world and telling people about them, as well as local wine happenings in Vancouver, BC, and general wine education. You will see in the upcoming blogs that I transfer about my trip to Burgundy and Alsace in France. Later this year you will read about my trip to Oregon and then about Chile.

I do like answering people's questions about wine, so do not hesitate to contact me.

Enjoy!