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86 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } APRIL/MAY 2016 Culmina Family Estate is, by contrast, a grandly conceived, no-stone-unturned culmina- tion of Don Triggs's 35 years in the North American wine industry, highlighted by Triggs's fabled association with Alan Jackson at Vincor International (which evolved from Canada's acclaimed Jackson-Triggs Winery), now owned by Constellation Brands. Culmina's 56 acres of planted grapes are located in Okanagan Valley's new official sub-appellation, called Golden Mile Bench (established 2015): west-facing, largely allu - vial upper slopes topping off at 2,000 feet (close to 600 meters) near the town of Oliver. Golden Mile Bench soaks up generous amounts of morning to mid-afternoon sunlight, while experiencing steep enough diurnal swings to remain (at average 1,500 degree days) well within the Winkler Scale for Region I. "Elaine [Triggs's wife] and I could have easily retired after relinquishing Jackson- Triggs," says Triggs, "but our roots have always been anchored in dir t. So we star ted planting, on virgin land, in 2007, finishing the last of our 44 micro-blocks just last year. We asked Alain Sutre [a Bordeaux-based viticulture and winemaking consultant, also associated with a handful of other prestige British Columbia estates] to advise on everything. "Alain suggested clone and rootstock selections for Merlot in cooler sites, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec in fuller sun, Cabernet Franc in sections of calcium carbonate, a tiny bit of Syrah and Grüner Veltliner, and Riesling and Chardonnay at the highest peak [595 meters], which we call Margaret's Bench." In the winery, stainless steel tanks of multiple sizes are customized for the micro-farming and multiple passes through the 44 separate blocks. The results are profound, highlighted by a silken fine, grapefruit and lemon drop slaking 2014 Culmina Unicus Grüner Veltliner ; a transparently pink, whispering rose petal-ish 2014 Culmina Saignée (Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon); and a deep, compact, raspberry purée-ish 2011 Culmina Hypothesis (40% Cabernet Franc with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon). "I was 62 years old when we started this project," says Triggs, with his Buddha-like smile. "But the passion never goes away—walking the vineyard each morning, seeing each and every vine go through its changes. Our youngest daughter Sara is now involved. She has inherited that passion, which, as you know in this business, has to border on crazy." Canyonview Pinot Noir, the 2014 Haywire "Raised In Concrete" Gamay Noir was actu - ally started in an open-top fermenter and aged briefly in neutral French oak before moved to concrete; achieving a perfumed purity of strawberry/cherry fruit, underlined by mildly earthy, mineral/granitic notes; tart, light and silky in the mouth. Out of the other contemporary-style wines bottled by Okanagan Crush Pad under their labels, the 2014 Free Form stood out as a "Natural & Unfiltered" Sauvignon Blanc, tank-fermented and left on skins for eight months, producing more of a burnished gold than "orange"- tinged wine—plush and round with meaty rather than tannin-teemed melon flavors, brightened by zesty, natural tasting acid - ity. In a positively lighter fashion, the 2013 Narrative "Ancient Method" is a lazily beaded méthode ancestrale sparkler, vini- fied from Chardonnay, pungent and prickly with green apple skin qualities, bobbing atop a feathery light (10.4% alcohol) body. "Wines like Free Form and Narrative are meant to tell our story," explained Mr. West. "If you can taste the edginess typifying our cool climate grapes, or the floral qualities we get from the arid, high desert landscape where we grow our vines, then I would say we are achieving what we want." PHOTO: RANDY CAPAROSO Crazy Passion: Culmina Family Estate Winery PHOTO: RANDY CAPAROSO Don Triggs in his state-of-the-art facility at Culmina Family Estate Winery. 2,000-liter concrete eggs help capture terroir at Okanagan Crush Pad.