The Two Faces of Syrah: The Dog & The Wine

Syrah was named after the Syrah wine grape, and in his memory we have made a Syrah wine as a tribute to him, and also as a fundraiser for the amazing work being done at The AMC. Lieb Cellars, our vineyard, will donate 20% of sales of this wine to The AMC, to support the excellent kidney therapy and research underway under the auspices of Dr. Cathy Langston and Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, The AMC's President and CEO. 

 

Syrah, a Belgian Tervuren, and his littermates were born in my kitchen in Half Moon Bay, California, on a small ranch we had at the time. He came from a line of tremendous working dogs with an uncanny ability to understand and work with their human pack leaders. His mother, Desi, my first dog, was a brilliant herding dog with a wicked sense of humor and playfulness. His father, George, was a therapy dog who eventually sired many performance dogs – herding, agility, confirmation, tracking, therapy, and search and rescue dogs. His “Uncle Topper” became an honored Search & Rescue dog, searching for survivors at the Oklahoma City bombing, the Yosemite Valley landslides, and as the most senior searchdog at Ground Zero after the World Trade Center attack. 

 

Syrah and his six littermates were all named after wine, which was my hobby at the time. Being the “runt” of the litter, I thought it would be fitting to name him after the “Petit Syrah” grape. Little did I realize that eventually I would be managing a vineyard and winery in New York, and producing an actual Syrah wine in his honor. Syrah grew from the runt into a healthy, happy dog, who enjoyed the beach and being surrounded by wildlife – from sheep to bobcats and coyotes. When I relocated to Long Island, NY, we swapped the ranch for the vineyard, but kept the beach. Syrah made the transition from farm dog to vineyard dog easily. One harvest season we had a neighboring family of wild turkeys come visit us almost daily. Syrah's herding experience came in handy, keeping the turkeys from eating all the fruit (okay, I relented and finally decided to let the turkeys have a few rows of cab franc grapes; I enjoyed watching them roost in the small trees by the winery every night). Syrah was also a regular and reliable employee in our tasting room, never taking sick days and very popular with customers, many of who would come just to visit with him. He also took great joy in guarding the front door, our delivery van, and my car by barking to warn me of approaching strangers. He would ride shotgun with me as I did my errands, and was known by everyone including the tellers at the bank drive thru, gas station attendants, and the FedEx and UPS deliverymen. Most of the North Fork seemed to keep dog treats on hand for Syrah.

 

At a little past age 10, a blood test indicated Syrah was developing kidney failure. This was shortly after the tainted food crises broke, and I discovered that his former dog food was among those recalled. A sonogram suggested that he had poorly formed, under-developed kidneys, but I could not help wonder if the food had injured his already compromised kidney function. Despite supplements and a strict diet, Syrah's kidney function declined until there was only one option: dialysis - a three-times-a-week trek to Manhattan from the vineyard with overnight stays in the hospital, a regimen which at best would give him another 6 to 8 months. Instead, I made the painful, dreaded decision to spare my farmdog friend from additional pain and hours of isolation in a hospital, and make his last days with me as memorable and enjoyable as possible. 

 

Amidst my grief over his loss and anger over the possibility of poisoned food, I needed to fight back, to do something to help combat kidney disease. The concept came to me quickly: create a Syrah wine that pays tribute to my lost friend, and that could be sold to raise money to fight kidney disease. But I needed help deciding where to send the proceeds: a pet food watch coalition? a veterinary college? an annual honorary recipient? Syrah's vets who had taken care of him for the last 7 years, Drs. Mercurio and Dunbar, of Mattituck Laurel Veterinary Hospital, offered to help examine the options. After a meeting with Dr. Langston and Dr. Klausner, we realized that the answer was in our own backyard, at The Animal Medical Center, where we discovered the good work being done by Dr. Langston and her colleagues. A highly regarded nephrologist, Dr. Langston was doing something unique: bringing leading veterinary renal experts from around the world to New York for a symposium addressing state-of-the-art kidney therapies and research findings, complete with hands-on lab time. What better way to fight kidney disease than support further dialogue and training among our first line of defense – the veterinary professionals themselves. 

 

The Syrah wine was introduced March 8th, at the 2008 Advanced Renal Therapies Symposium at The AMC. Twenty percent of the proceeds from this first vintage Syrah wine will be donated to The AMC for its continuing renal therapy research. To purchase or learn more about the Syrah wine, visit www.liebcellars.com or call 631.734.1100. Lieb Cellars operates a sustainable vineyard and produces award winning wines just 85 miles east of New York City, where you are invited to visit and taste the wine named after my friend, CH Montage Petit Syrah.