Retirement is not an option for Donald Triggs, a key player in the blossoming of Canada’s modern wine industry and co-owner of soon-to-be launched Culmina Family Estate Winery.
A native of rural Manitoba, representing the sixth generation on the family farm, Don left the nest to complete a degree in agriculture from the University of Manitoba and an MBA at Western. He started his career in Ontario doing sales and marketing with Colgate Palmolive. In 1972 he moved to John Labatt’s wine division where his experience ranged from fixing troubled sectors of winery operations to running large wine producers in Canada and abroad.
In the hope of staying in Canada with his family, Don joined Fisions PLC based in Vancouver, taking their troubled North American horticultural division from money loser to industry leader. With the 1989 North American Free Trade Agreement around the corner, Don risked everything. He joined forces with Alan Jackson and former Labatt colleagues who pooled their life savings to buy the brewer’s wine division.
Renamed Vincor International with Don as CEO, it grew to become the biggest wine enterprise in Canada and seventh largest in the world. When Constellation Brands US acquired Vincor in 2006, Don resigned and set out to build Culmina with wife Elaine as partner and daughter Sara as sales and marketing manager.
Don has lured Bordeaux-trained Pascal Madevon (formerly winemaker at Osoyoos Larose) to the promising scenario at Culmina.
Read more of the original stories celebrated in our 30th-anniversary issue.
UBC Management students honoured in business competition
Teams win awards in entrepreneurship, taxation, and accounting Faculty of Management students from UBC Okanagan’s campus won three top-three finishes at JDC West, one of Canada’s largest business competitions. The teams won awards in three key categories:...
B.C. is the 2nd happiest province in Canada, according to new survey
A new Angus Reid survey suggests B.C. is one of the happiest places in the country. In the new poll out Monday, B.C. ranks as the second happiest province behind Quebec. Survey participants were given three options to rate their satisfaction: "very happy," "pretty...
City of Kelowna acquires golf course for YLW
The City of Kelowna has acquired Shadow Ridge Golf Club, a significant property at 3770 Bulman Road, in support of the long-term land use strategy for the Kelowna International Airport (YLW). The property currently operates as Shadow Ridge Golf Club, an 18-hole golf...
Early registration open for Okanagan College Half Marathon
It’s time to hit the ground running and Okanagan runners can get a head start on the race: early-bird registration for the 2016 Okanagan College Half Marathon, 10 K and Relay Race is now open. This is the 14th year for the race, which will be held on Sunday, April 3...
Ballet Kelowna presents electrifying new programme Boundless
Ballet Kelowna celebrates the New Year with the mixed repertory programme Boundless, at the Kelowna Community Theatre, February 5 and 6, 2016, at the Merritt Civic Centre, February 9, 2016 and at the Summerland Centre Stage Theatre, March 6, 2016. Showcasing the...
UBC library project opens portal to digital resources
The UBC Innovation Library, located on the second floor of the Kelowna Branch of the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL), is a space that provides public access to UBC’s academic databases, including more than two million journals and ebooks. “The Innovation Library is...
