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.
Hundreds participate in high school math competition
Hundreds of Grade 8 to 12 students are set to participate in the annual British Columbia Secondary School Mathematics Contest (BCSSMC) for the Okanagan Region. On April 1, junior (Grade 8 to10) and senior (Grade 11 and12) students will put their math skills to the...
Team BC finishes the 2015 Canada Winter Games with 88 medals
The 2015 Canada Winter Games came to a close with a fantastic celebration at the University of Northern British Columbia on March 1. Team BC was proud to be the host province for these Games, the first time the Canada Winter Games have ever been held in British...
UBC welcomes Writer-in-Residence Marie Clements
Okanagan writers have opportunity for one-on-one critiques Marie Clements is UBC’s 2015 Writer in Residence. Playwright, screenwriter, performer, director, and producer Marie Clements is UBC Okanagan’s eighth annual writer-in-residence for 2015. Sponsored by the...
New Wilden Creativity Award will recognize an emerging UBC artist
Funding rewards UBC Okanagan’s talented visual artists for courage and insight Expressing one’s creativity may be its own reward, but one fortunate visual arts student at UBC Okanagan will now receive added encouragement thanks to the support of the Blenk family, the...
Short list announced for Okanagan Short Fiction contest
More than 90 entries for 17th annual story contest It will be a tough call. A total of 93 entries were received for the 17th annual Okanagan Short Fiction contest, sponsored by UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS), the Central Okanagan...
Voting is open for best restaurants
Voting is now open for Best Restaurants 2015. March 2 - 31, 2015 NOTE: Below is a copy of our newsletter. If you're voting please use the vote button above.