2020 Uppercase Cabernet Franc

Uppercase Cabernet Franc

Allison Markin - Jan 15, 2023 / 4:00 am | Story: 406355

Photo: Contributed

Wine: Cabernet Franc, 2020

Winery: Uppercase, Oliver

Why drink it? Of the Cabernets, Franc deserves more attention than it generally receives, and it’s an excellent varietal for the Okanagan. Find this one at the District Wine Village, and you’ll find a brambly and ripe red wine that beautifully reflects the terroir of the southern valley. Aromas of dark cherries, freshly harvested black currants, dried herbs, and a hint of wild violets. On the palate, ripe raspberries and plums blend into the cherry notes, along with some minerality. The French oak treatment gives just enough toast and spice to make this wine elegant and complex.

Pair with: Break out the air fryer for a roasted pork or lamb creation, or roast some mild or sweet sausages that aren’t too spicy. A good winter stew with or without meat. A nicely spiced lentil and mushroom version should do nicely.

Price: $35

Music pairing: Paperback Writer, The Beatles

Back to Homepage

Typos News Tips Forums

More Wine Reviews articles

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.