What’s New at Stag’s Hollow Winery
Good Wine Gal visited Stag’s Hollow Winery this fall and came back with all sorts of notes and some very good wine! More on Good Wine Gal here. Meet Winemaker Keira LeFranc Good Wine Gal on Zoom November 17th at 5:30 pm. REGISTER!
It was 11 am. Blue sky and full sun found me with my windows down enjoying the sounds of summer in the Okanagan Valley. I pulled through the gates and followed the drive up to the winery/tasting room building. I had arrived at Stag’s Hollow Winery. With Covid19 protocols in place I found my “every other parking stall” and made my way to the steps leading up to the large outdoor area. Erin Kopistro was the first welcoming voice and smile that started the day out. My tasting looked inviting – small carafes in front of sparkling clean glasses were waiting on the stand-up bar top for me. This was my most favorite tasting of the summer.
Stag’s Hollow Winery
Stag’s Hollow winery started 25 years ago when Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger bought a 10-acre vineyard and established Stag’s Hollow Winery in 1995. In the last year, Bench 1775 took possession of the winery and it’s twenty-two acres of vineyards that stretch over 4 sub regions of the Okanagan Valley. Here we are in the heart of Okanagan Falls wine country where you’ll find a variety of soil types, exposures, elevations, and terrain. In this area, alluvial flood plain and gravel are dominant. Roots must go deep to find water. You may know about the ancient glaciers and their slow movement then giant release to the south. You may have heard of McIntyre Bluff. This same bedrock emerges in Enderby cliffs and sweeps though the valley just as the great slow-moving floods did twelve million years ago.
The Winemaker
The winemaker for many years was Dwight Sick who led the charge and the accolades of Stag’s Hollow. A forward thinker, he took Keira LeFranc the current winemaker, under his wine wing where she finds her stride producing top quality whites, reds, and rosés.
Harvest 2020
The news about the 2020 harvest is good! No fires. In fact, the wet two weeks of July kissed the season with kindness and now greener than I have seen the Okanagan, in early August, maybe ever.
The Tasting
The tasting was flavorful and fresh reminding me of how “cool climate” conditions (despite what you may think when you hear the weather reports) and that great diurnal shift between day time and night time temperatures, continue to bring good acidity to these the wines. Of course, picking grapes at the right time is another key factor.
2019 Muscat Frizzante – This was light and fresh, off dry, with good acidity and soft bubbles making for a great brunch wine. Flavours were orange blossom, lime zest and ripe nectarine with white floral and peach notes to the finish. This was perhaps my favorite sip.
2019 Albariño – Again, this style is fresh and bright, with citrus overtones, hints of stone fruit with grassy undertones. On the palate yellow grapefruit carries this balanced wine to the finish.
2019 Pinot Gris – Hello Alsace! This was rich and off dry with ripe Skaha Bench grapes that were picked over three “tries” fermented separately in large stainless-steel tanks and then blended. I’m a big fan of these styles and often have “foie gras” parfait popping into my head. No not sugar plums. But they would be a good contender for a dessert pairing with its ripe tree fruit, white blossom, honey, and citrus character.
2019 Rosé – The color of this rose is so elegantly delicate with its light pink hue. It’s got a bit more power for its color made from 65% Syrah and 35% Zweigelt from the Ladyhawk vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. Aromas reminded me of strawberry ice cream with flavour of red crunchy berries and hints of spice. This wine has great balance with a finish that lingers. I love Zweigelt!
2018 Stag’s Hollow Pinot Noir – Here we move into the world of Pinot that can draw us in with beautiful ripe black fruit aromas, here also with some roasted earthy bark, herbs that finishes on a dried herb, anise note. The silky texture and flavours linger leaving you wanting more. For wine geeks, it’s clone 115 (one of my favs) and 667 from a hot site with only 15% new oak in contact with the wine.
2017 Dolcetto – In Italian it means the little sweet one but in fact this grape has deceptively more power and flavour. Bright purple in the glass with black and red cherry aromas followed by licorice spice on the nose followed up with tart ripe cherry flavours on the palate balancing the high acidity and medium chalky tannins and alcohol. Youthful and sassy this one is!
2017 Syrah – Cool climate Syrah with its elegance and power is finding acceptance and even celebration in the Okanagan. This is no exception. Black cherry, red currants, vanilla, white pepper and cinnamon spice followed with fine, drying texture and good acidity.
2016 Renaissance Merlot – The finale was this lovely Merlot offering aromas of roasted blackberry, plum currant, coffee bean and toasted oak with good acidity to support this full-bodied wine. The finish echoes the balance between mouth-watering acidity and lingering flavours. Complex and wonderful!
If you are interested in the wines of Stag’s Hollow, hop over to their website. They offer a full selection of wines in a couple of bottles sizes. Free shipping is available in BC and AB.
If you would like to meet Keira LeFranc in person, she’ll be sharing her love of wine with Good Wine Gal (me) on Zoom November 17th at 5:30 pm. This is event is free to attend by registering on Zoom. Don’t miss the exclusive wine offer that goes with the session. Keira will be sharing her thoughts and food pairings with these wines during the event. Come one come all!
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlduugqj8vGdBqzoNZEgnM2S7J3XDSkjsJ
Six pack link: https://www.stagshollowwinery.com/product/Good-Wine-Gal-Happy-Hour-6-pack
12 pack link: https://www.stagshollowwinery.com/product/Good-Wine-Gal-Happy-Hour-12-pack
