2018 Stag’s Hollow Renaissance Syrah

Stag’s Hollow Syrah

Allison Markin - Mar 28, 2021 / 4:00 am | Story: 329317

Photo: Contributed

Wine: Renaissance Syrah, 2018

Winery: Stag’s Hollow, Okanagan Falls

Why drink it? The first thing you’ll notice as you pour a glass is the deep, inky dark purple of this Syrah, in certain light it’s almost mysteriously black. Then, the aromas of worn in leather, freshly milled pepper, and stewed dark cherries rise to vividly greet your olfactory senses. While this bottle could use a few years to rest and relax its tannins and grip, if you drink it soon you’ll experience black fruits and berries, hints of sage and bay leaf, and a lengthy finish that shows off those tannins, the thoughtful French oak treatment, and just a touch of creaminess from malolactic fermentation.

Pair with: Find a good and flavourful sausage from your local butcher or mix up a mesquite burger with some smokiness for the grill, topped with an aged cheddar. The winery suggests grilled eggplant for an adventure; give a cheesy baked eggplant recipe a shot too.

Price: $38

Music pairing: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles

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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.