Hester Creek Character

Allison Markin - Mar 10, 2019 / 5:00 am | Story: 251167

Photo: Contributed

Wine: Character (red blend) 2017

Winery: Hester Creek, Oliver

Why drink it? Everyone should have a “go to”, value-priced red blend handy for unexpected company or when you simply feel like a glass. With Syrah, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Merlot in the mix, there are nice elements to this Character; aromas of pepper, licorice, and hints of smoky barbecued meat, followed by integrated flavours of cherries, currants, cedar plank, and subtle spices. Just enough oak to give the wine a bit of structure and weight, with tannins that could use a year or two to soften in the bottle if you choose, or just drink now with a comforting snack or dinner.

Price: $21

Pair with: The winery suggests a warm stew. A tomato-based beef stroganoff or pasta sauce with meatballs or meat sauce, or a veggie lasagna. Works well with that frozen Shepherd’s Pie you put away for a rainy day when no one wants to make too much of an effort.

Music pairing: My House, Flo Rida

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About the Author

As a kid, Shelley Boettcher often found herself in the back seat of a pick-up, exploring the back roads of the Okanagan Valley with her parents. They’d occasionally leave her and her brother in the car while they stopped at mysterious addresses to buy wine. They would emerge, clearly happy, as they stuck a box or a few bottles in the vehicle. Then they would continue on their journey.

But it wasn’t until a trip to Spain in 2000 that Shelley herself fell in love with wine. She came home from the holiday and promptly told her editor she wanted to become a wine writer.

And she did.

An award-winning food and wine writer and editor, Shelley holds her master’s degree in journalism and her advanced WSET certification, as well as her level 2 International Sommelier Guild certification. A wine columnist for the Calgary Herald, she spent a decade as CBC Radio’s national syndicated wine columnist and she has written three books about wine, including two that were Canadian bestsellers. Her byline has appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world, including the New York Times, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail and Postmedia newspapers across Canada.

Shelley has travelled throughout many of the world’s wine regions and countries, including Niagara, Oregon, Washington, California, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Australia, Germany, Argentina and the Republic of Georgia. A few years ago, she even tracked down and visited a winery in Denmark.

Shelley has also served as a professional wine judge regionally and internationally, including the Okanagan Wine Festivals, Vinitaly and the Chianti Classico Consortium. For more than a decade, she has been a restaurant wine list judge for the Vancouver International Wine Festival, too. She still teases her parents for sparking her love for wine, especially BC wine.

And her favourite? Whatever she's drinking at the moment.

You can follow Shelley on Instagram @shelleyboettcher or Twitter at @shelley_wine.

If you have a BC wine you’d like to suggest, email Shelley at [email protected] with the name of the wine and a short note about why you enjoyed it.