About Us

Larry Gerelus

Stag’s Hollow Winery is the culmination of a longtime dream for Larry. Prior to making his dream a reality, Larry worked in the Calgary petroleum industry as a Pension and Benefits specialist. Larry’s interest in the Okanagan started in 1981 with the first sampling of Okanagan wines made by the neophyte wine industry. Combined with his desire to eventually live in the Okanagan and the belief that there was potential for good wine, the initial seeds were sown and filed in the back of his head for future recall. In 1991 Larry left the Industry and spent the summer researching prime grape growing areas in the Okanagan. This research led him to the Okanagan Falls area, which was described by one well-known viticulturist at the time, as the “grape growing centre of the universe” for the valley.  In 1992 the existing 10-acre vineyard was purchased, and then in 1995 construction of Stag’s Hollow Winery began after its first crush.

Over the last 16 years Larry has worn the hats of Winemaker, viticulturalist, marketer, builder and fixer of almost anything that needed to be fixed!   Today Larry concentrates his efforts in the vineyard and marketing. His philosophy has always been if you grow quality in the vineyard, making great wine will follow. He strives for balance, sustainability and a holistic approach to growing grapes. Managing cropping levels for each varietal, using deficit irrigation and properly managing the canopy contribute to creating intensely flavored berries, without green or leafy flavours, while maintaining a healthy vine environment.

 

Linda Pruegger

Linda moved from a role of selling and transporting crude oil to producing and selling wine. Her dream of living in the foothills west of Calgary moved her  further west to the foothills of the Okanagan Valley. Since 1995, Linda has been involved in every aspect of the winery and vineyard from pruning and suckering to crawling into tanks to clean as well as being a mother to her son, Tyler, who was born coincidently with the  start up of Stag’s Hollow in 1995. Today you are more likely to find her in the wine shop or the office.

Dwight Sick

Like Larry and Linda, Dwight left an established career of 18 years to pursue his love and passion for wine. He started working at wineries in the Okanagan and enrolled at UC Davis University. Dwight’s philosophies on winemaking below, mirror very closely those that Larry and Linda have also embraced throughout the growth of Stag’s Hollow. “I will always consider myself to be a “student” of wine, as the wines, the vineyards that bear the fruit, and the art of winemaking are ever evolving. My beliefs on winemaking and life are very similar in that balance is essential and there must be passion in both. In winemaking, I feel that the product of the passion, that which the art of winemaking must preserve, is distinctiveness and authenticity.

Stellar wines begin in the vineyard and, as a winemaker, you must have the knowledge and expertise to recognize needs or problems from fruit to fruition before they become obviously apparent. While I embrace “Old World” philosophies, I recognize that “New World” technologies also have their place in this process.

The Okanagan Valley’s unique microclimate is the ideal location to grow grapes for making award-winning wines. By combining Stag’s Hollow Winery’s superior vineyard sites, along with our sustainable vineyard practices, and by adding careful but minimal winemaking principals, we can, and will, produce world class wines that are true to their terroir and that are unmistakably identifiable as being from no where else in the world but from the Okanagan Valley.”

The Vineyard

Over the years Stag’s Hollow vineyard has consistently produced grapes with excellent ripening and fruit profiles. The area’s micro-climate and ideal soils, have provided superb conditions for Stag’s Hollow’s grapes. The soils in the vineyard are a result of glacial deposits comprised primarily of gravel with bands of clay and sand. This soil profile gives us control over vigour, as the vines have to work hard for nutrients and water. Temperatures in Okanagan Falls tend to be hotter than in Penticton but more moderate than the extreme temperatures in Oliver and south. As a result, this special micro-climate provides more constant ripening conditions for the grapes throughout the whole summer. This can often result in harvest dates on par with or earlier than the Black Sage making the Okanagan Falls area one of the prime viticultural areas in the whole Okanagan.

Vineyard practices are key to quality grapes. Cropping levels are kept low to ensure small intense berries that ripen year after year. This is achieved initially during winter pruning and then adjusted throughout the growing season. The trellis system we use allows for more open canopies and sun exposed fruit than most traditional systems found in the Okanagan. These measures have resulted in wines exhibiting good structure and distinct fruit profiles.