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Wine-Reviews

2017 Red Blend Screaming Frenzy Meritage

Screaming Frenzy Meritage

Wine: Screaming Frenzy Meritage (red blend), 2017

Winery: Black Swift Vineyards, West Kelowna

Why drink it? If there ever was a perfect red wine to define a year, such as the one we continue to endure, this is it – at least in the name. A red blend dominated by Merlot with support from Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, the winery has had serious fun with it, from the label to the “Dinojuice” description. Rich on the nose with blackberries and star anise, with intense flavours of currants and cassis on the taste buds, plus hints of nutmeg. Deep, dark fruit leads to a lengthy finish, with a definite “go big or go home” attitude.

Pair with: Bring out a bottle simply so you can say, “Let’s have as screaming frenzy!” the next time you have a virtual happy hour. Bake a meaty lasagna or try your hand at lamb Bolognese over pasta. A pepperoni pizza will do the trick too.

Price: $26

Music pairing: Scream, Usher



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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. 

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