When you have done
everything in the Canadian wine business, how do you start over again?
Donald and Elaine
Triggs of Jackson-Triggs fame have just re-entered the wine business with an
elegant icon wine called Hypothesis.
It is such an
unusual name for a wine that I pulled my Oxford Universal English Dictionary
from the shelf to look up the word.
Here is the
definition that seems to fit what the Triggs family has in mind: “A proposition
or principle put forth merely as a basis for reasoning or argument, or as a
premise from which to draw a conclusion.”
With Culmina
Family Estate Winery, they intend to advance the argument that, as fine as
Okanagan wines have become already, there is plenty of room to raise the bar.
They refer to Hypothesis as “a provisional idea whose merit requires
evaluation.”
The initial
release of Hypothesis, which sells for $48, is so limited that it is available
only at the winery in the Okanagan. The winery will be able to give its wines
wider distribution when the 2012 vintage is ready to be released.
An extensive
blog on Culmina was posted on this site in February. Rather than repeat myself,
I have reproduced the winery’s own press release.
The one
elaboration I would make to that release is to note that the inestimable Pascal
Madevon should not get the entire credit for the wine. The wine is from the
2011 vintage but Pascal only joined Culmina in January 2013. The winemaker of
record for the 2011 Culmina vintage was Matt Dumayne. Matt moved on to Okanagan
Crush Pad after Pascal came aboard.
Here is my
note on Hypothesis 2011.
Culmina Hypothesis 2011 ($48). This is
blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 36% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon. The medium
body and the 13.5% reflect the vintage. It begins with appealing aromas of
blackberry, mulberry, vanilla, spice and cedar. The classic brambly flavours of
Cabernet Franc light up the mid-palate. There are flavours of blackberry, black
cherry, coffee and black olives, with spice on the finish. The tannins are polished
but firm enough to promise four to five years of aging to take it to an elegant
peak. 92.
CULMINA FAMILY ESTATE
WINERY OPENS ITS DOORS TODAY
The Triggs blend Artistry and Science into every wine on their Family
Estate
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: Vancouver , BC
Culmina Family
Estate Winery is the culmination of a lifetime of work and study in the wine
industry for Don and Elaine Triggs. A champion of the Canadian wine industry,
Don Triggs set out to build a family operated winery, a vision that both he and
his wife shared. Their daughter Sara, who is tremendously experienced in the
wine industry and carries an esteemed Masters in Wine Business, naturally joined
in this family adventure in 2012 and manages the sales and marketing of the
business.
After two years of
meticulously researching sites, collecting detailed temperature data and
conducting water retention and soil analysis studies with Alain Sutre, a Bordeaux based expert in site selection and winemaking,
the ideal terrain was found and acquired on the Golden Mile Bench in the South Okanagan
Valley
Separated into
three distinct sites, the property is composed of Arise Bench, Stan’s Bench in
honour of Elaine’s father, and Margaret’s Bench, one of the highest in the
Okanagan, a tribute to Don’s mother. Their legacy covers over 100 acres, of
which 56 are cultivated with 2,044 quality vines planted per acre, nearly
double the region’s average. For two more years, grapes were grown, tested, and
ripened using sustainable methods until the vines produced highest possible
quality grapes.
The winery uses
leading technology in every step of the wine making process. During the
planting stage, special narrow width equipment was imported from Europe to accommodate the narrow row spacing, which helps
to increase competition amongst the vines, forcing the roots deeper into the
sub-soils for water and nutrients. The state of the art Ranch System was also
installed, which utilizes solar powered, real time, wireless technology that
allows the vineyard manager to control the irrigation on each micro-block and
to monitor soil moisture and evaporation levels remotely with a mobile app. The
Triggs also employ the first Oscillys destemmer in Canada
Because space is
limited, visits to Culmina Family Estate Winery must be made by appointment.
This ensures that every guest has a highly personal and one-of-a-kind
experience with an opportunity to truly discover the newly developed estate,
its wines, and their stories. The elegant tasting room is well appointed and
intimate. Guests are able to sit and relax while being led through an in-depth
tasting of very limited and carefully crafted wines. A south facing glass wall
illuminates the space with natural light and leads onto a patio that stretches
over the highest point of the estate, overlooking Arise Bench.
The winery offers
guests the choice of an extensive one and one-half hour long vineyard and
winery tour that finishes with a structured sit down tasting or a shorter
forty-five minute seated structured tasting. Culmina Family Estate Winery is
the first winery in BC to use VinoVisit guest management software, which allows
guests to book their visits in advance. To book a personal visit, guests can
click on the “Book Your Visit” link at www.culmina.ca. Bookings can also be made via
the winery’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/CulminaWinery
Culmina Family Estate Winery, located on the Golden Mile Bench in the South Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, is the result of a lifetime of experience in the wine industry for Don, Elaine and Sara Triggs. Through their hard work, scientific study, commitment to craft, unwavering pursuit of excellence and a longstanding faith in the potential for Icon quality wines from Canadian soil, Culmina Family Estate Winery was born. For more information visit www.culmina.ca
Culmina: Creating
Wines of Excellence Through the Blending of Art and Science
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