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.
Okanagan literary festival ‘puts Vernon on the map’ with award-winning writers hosting workshops
There’s a novelist who’s written a bestseller about Daniel Boone, a non-fiction writer who voyages to Antarctica, an award-winning playwright whose work is being staged at this moment in Saskatchewan, and a poet whose name is more or less synonymous with creative...
You ate what?!
They’re finally giving astronauts something to make a cheeseburger with—other than flaccid tortillas. Nothing wrong with tortillas, I like them, but cheeseburgers they do not make. Actually, from the NASA handout photos, they look more like the brown rubber gag items...
Green light for Across the Lake Swim
Organizers have given the Across the Lake Swim a green light for this year’s event set for July 15, 2017, well after the projected water level peak.
Lake levels continue to rise to historic highs
500,000 additional sandbags on their way As of Monday (June 5) morning, the level of Okanagan Lake was 343.246 m, exceeds historic highs. Local government crews and BC Forestry crews have been deployed to inspect existing barriers after last night’s high winds, review...
See The Big Picture at the Kelowna Art Gallery
What is it about big things that fascinate us so much? Could this fascination for “going big” hold true for art as well? An exhibition at the Kelowna Art Gallery, entitled The Big Picture, gives visitors a chance to decide for themselves. The Big Picture features...
Completely Creedence comes to Kelowna
The tribute band Completely Creedence performs Thursday, September 21 at the Kelowna Community Theatre. The Woodstock alum Creedence Clearwater Revival ruled the late 60s and early 70s. Their Southern Rock style encompassing roots rock, swamp rock and blues produced...
