Stir Q&A: Laughing Stock assistant winemaker Stefanie Dylla on Syrah and the cellar
The Brock University grad was drawn to winemaking’s endless challenges
Laughing Stock Vineyards assistant winemaker Stefanie Dylla has been with the team since 2016.
After Stefanie Dylla finished her Bachelor of Science Honours in viticulture and oenology at Brock University, she worked on harvests in Ontario and New Zealand before returning to her home base of B.C. Since 2016, she’s been on the team at Penticton’s Laughing Stock Vineyards, having found her happy place.
Stir caught up with Dylla to hear about what winemaking is really like behind the scenes.
What drew you to winemaking in the first place?
During the summer before entering the final year of my Bachelor of Tourism Management, my family visited and we did a wine tour in Kelowna, and standing overseeing the vineyards I thought this may be something I would like to do. After graduating I moved to Vancouver, worked at a wine store and got my WSET 3 certificate. Through that experience I decided I wanted to get into production so I enrolled in school again.
What do you love about it to this day?
There are always new challenges and I am always learning. Wine varies from varietal to varietal and year to year, so there are always new challenges that come up and we have to figure out the best course of action for that wine, luckily, I have a good team to bounce ideas off and as an industry most winemakers are happy to help one another.
What has your experience been like as a woman in this field?
I have been really lucky to work with men that have been supportive and noticed the skills I bring to the cellar, but I have also had experience with men who think they are better and you just have to put your head down and work hard, don’t give them the opportunity to be right. I constantly feel as though I have to prove myself. I have been really lucky to work with people that have been supportive and noticed the skills I bring to the cellar. On the flip side, like most industries and jobs the difficult and challenging times have helped me develop a strong sense of myself and my skills making me more resilient and confident.
As one of my good friends would say “you do you”. Don’t let gender hold you back. Play to your strengths, work smarter not harder. I often joke that I may not be the tallest or the strongest in the cellar but being petite, I can squeeze into a lot of tight spaces and that comes in handy around a cellar.
Is there a signature wine at Laughing Stock?
Laughing Stock Syrah 2018, inspired by French Syrah, you will get some dark fruit with some floral undertones, as well as a hint of pepper and warm clove & Viognier 2019, which has notes of peach and honeydew. Having been partially fermented in concrete eggs, you will find great weight to really coat your palate.
How have you been coping with COVID-19?
I have been lucky that my day-to-day life hasn’t been affected very much, I still go to work and have my dog, Winston, to get me outdoors. I am looking forward to being able to visit my family in Ontario and finally meeting my one-year-old niece.
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