Culmina Family Estates Winery

Reserve Tasting Experience

Culmina Family Estate Winery, located on the Golden Mile Bench, is the result of a lifetime of experience in the wine industry for Don, Elaine & Sara Triggs.

Through their hard work, scientific study, commitment to craft, unwavering pursuit of excellence & a longstanding faith in the potential for icon quality wines from Canadian soil, Culmina was born.

Our winemaking philosophy revolves around two principles: gentle handling of fruit and minimal intervention of wine. We employ a combination of traditional practices and leading-edge technologies to preserve the beautiful, natural character of our wines.

All grapes from our estate are picked by hand vs. machine harvesting that can often damage grapes in the process. Fruit is hand sorted and gently deposited into our Bucher Oscillys destemmer, the first of its kind in Canada, that facilitates gentle handling during crushing and destemming. Though more  labour intensive and less efficient in terms of yield, we choose to use this gentle press to ensure that stems and seeds are never squished so hard that they crack, preventing unwanted tannin and flavours from being imparted into the finished wine. Built into the side of the mountain, the grapes arrive at the most elevated point of our facility, and are transferred through the winemaking process by gravity instead of by a mechanical pump. The gentlest type of pump is used for pumping over – the same type of pump used to transfer live fish at aquariums from one tank to another. Our French-made red fermentation tanks are stainless steel, temperature-controlled, and cone-shaped to create better flow between the fermenting juices and fermentation caps, allowing for gentler and more efficient extraction of colour and tannin.

As a member of the BC Wine Institute, we’re held to a high standard. The BC VQA is your assurance that the wine you’re purchasing is 100% from BC & has met rigorous quality regulations.

A love and appreciation for the craft of making fine wine underscores every detail at Culmina Family Estate Winery and is embedded in all that we do, from the vineyard to the cellar.

Because all Tasting Experiences take place at set times throughout the day, reservations are recommended, but drop-ins are nonetheless very welcome at the appointed times.

We welcome visitors to explore Culmina’s carefully crafted wines and learn about our unique approach to viticulture and winemaking.