Stag’s Hollow Winery raises its profile

By John Schreiner

June 6, 2009

This year, I have seen more individual Okanagan wineries host tastings in Vancouver than in previous years.

Perhaps it is the economy. With wine tourism a bit soft, restaurant orders slow and internet wine sales down, wineries have to work harder. If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed, as the old saying has it, then Mohammed has to go to the mountain.

The most recent visitor to the mountain was Stag’s Hollow Winery, a self-described “undiscovered gem” in the south Okanagan. I don’t think the winery’s profile is quite that low. It has developed a solid reputation since opening in 1995. It was probably the Okanagan’s first winery to sell a portion of its Renaissance Merlot on futures each year.

Aside from the economy, Stag’s Hollow has good reason to bid for a higher profile in the Vancouver market. It has a new winemaker and new wines to show off.

The new winemaker is Dwight Sick, 44, a native of Red Deer, who developed an appreciation for wine during 18 years as flight attendant. He switched careers in 2003, joining Township 7 as a cellar hand and then moving on to make wine with Paul Gardner at Pentâge Winery.

Last year, he was recruited by Stag’s Hollow proprietors Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger. Over the years Larry, who is actually trained as an actuary, has made the wines with the help of consultants or with a succession of winemakers. The wines have always been good. However, Dwight – who has polished his skills with University of California courses – should establish predictably consistent styles to the Stag’s Hollow wines.

                                                                                                 Winemaker Dwight Sick

Dwight has already made an impact by persuading his owners to secure some Rhone varieties. Last fall, the winery purchased Viognier and Syrah. Dwight made wines so interesting that the winery now has contracted those varieties. As well, Dwight also made a small volume of a superlative blend, called IV, based on Grenache and Syrah, with small amounts of Viognier and Marsanne.

“My passion for Rhone varietals started about 10 years ago,” Dwight says. “I brought that passion to Stag’s Hollow.”

That will augment the winery’s portfolio, which is already pretty interesting. The winery is one of the Okanagan’s leading Sauvignon Blanc producers. It has a good reputation with its Merlot and its Cabernet Sauvignon and it is refining its Pinot Noir style. The winery also made its first two barrels of Tempranillo last fall from its own vineyard. Unfortunately, the hard winter knocked those vines back and it will be a few years before they are back in full production.

Closer followers of Stag’s Hollow will have noted a perceptive change in style in recent vintages as Larry dialled  back the alcohol levels.

“Most of my wines pre-2004, although the label said under 15%, they were usually over – in the 15.2% range,” he told me in an interview last summer.  “They were nice, extracted and rich when you released them but how much longevity was there? I just felt the wines were just too much like everybody else’s. I started picking earlier. We don’t need to go that high in alcohol.”

That does not mean that he has begun releasing wines with a touch of greenness. The current releases are as ripe and full of flavour as anyone would want; but they also have elegance.

Purchasers of Stag’s Hollow wines should pay close attention to the colour of the corks. A few bottles of the 2008 wines have blue corks. One of those corks is your ticket to come to the winery and spend a day with Dwight.

 
It should be an entertaining experience. During the spring wine festival in May, Dwight had a small group of winery visitors experience the art of blending. The visitors were divided into four-member teams, given components for the 2007 Renaissance Merlot and allowed to match their own blends against Dwight’s blend for that wine. The amateurs came up with amazing solid blends and a new appreciation for how hard blending can be.

They also tasted his blend, a polished wine not yet released. It can be ordered at $306 a case ($25.50 a bottle) before August 31, about a $5 a bottle discount from the retail price when it is released.

 Here are notes on current releases:

Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($19.99). This is a crisp, fresh wine, more in the style of the mineral-driven Graves wines than in the over-the-top grapefruit of New Zealand. The winery released 1,055 cases. 87 points.

Viognier 2008 ($24.99). There are only 135 cases of this terrific wine. It has lovely creamy texture with good acidity to give it a crisp finish. The tropical flavours include apricot, peach and tangerine. 90 points.

 
Heritage Block 1 2006 ($25.99).  This is a Bordeaux blend with 48% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. It spent 20 months on French and American barrels before being bottle. The winery released 1,000 cases last year. The wine begins with a hint of mint on the nose. The fruit flavours are lively, with a touch of plum, cherry and spice. The tannins are long and ripe and the finish lingers. 88-90 points.

Estate Merlot 2006 ($25.00). A medal winner at last fall’s Okanagan Wine Festival, this is a rich, concentrated Merlot with flavours of black currants and plum. The alcohol, by the way, is 14.2%. 90 points.

Renaissance Merlot 2006 ($30). The 225 cases of this wine represent the very best barrels of Merlot in the cellar. This is a concentrated, age-worthy wine. There is a touch of spice and vanilla on the nose, and flavours of blackberry and plum, with some chocolate on the finish. Here, the alcohol is 14.8% but, with all this ripe fruit, that seems appropriate. 91 points.

Renaissance Pinot Noir 2006 ($35.00). Only 120 cases of this wine were released last year. The wine has a dark brooding personality and a full-bodied structure that appeals to those who don’t like wimpy Pinots. It still will develop in the bottle for a few more years. 87 points.

Stag’s Hollow IV 2008. Only a few magnums of this wine were made and it may never be on the market. However, it is a trial run for a future release with these varieties (65% Grenache, 30% Syrah, with a little Viognier and Marsanne). The flavours are vibrant – black and red currants, raspberries, pepper. 91 points.

Syrah 2008 ($NA). The winery will be releasing 330 cases late this year. The wine is rich and full-bodied, with gamy smoked meat flavours along with blackberries and pepper. It has a generous, satisfying finish. 90 points.

goodgrog@shaw.ca

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