Wonders of Wine and Food

The Power of the Pyramid

 

Kelowna is home to the Pyramid which resides on the grounds of Summerhill Pyramid estate winery
One of the oldest and most respect wineries in Canada. Its founder and owner Stephen Cipes first visited the Okangan in 1986 and believed he'd found unique conditions to produce "intensely flavoured small grapes"--the perfect base for sparkling wine. Cipes brought grape clones from France and "personally planted them on my hands and knees

At Summerhill the wines are stored in the Pyramid. The Summerhill Pyramid is second only to the Great Pyramid of Egypt for alignment and precision.  Mr Cipes says

The message is profound. We have a twenty year experiment proving the effect of sacred geometry on liquids with a twenty year track record of international gold medals. My goal from the beginning was and is to make the finest wine in the world, especially sparkling wines. The French tradition of putting sparkling wines in a dark cool place for thirty days for the cuvee and dosage to ‘marry’ was my original inspiration to achieve this goal. The wines are made using only minimal intervention winemaking, and grown 100% organically in this extraordinary pristine semi desert valley, and the clarification in this True Pyramid is the final step in production. These are alive wines full of nature’s grandness, made in the most unique winery in the world.

 Summerhill is a Certified Organic Vineyard using no herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers in the soil. In 2012 they achieved Demeter Biodynamic status. The wines are made under the direction of esteemed winemaker Eric von Krosigk.

In another first for the winery is pleased to share that they added a nitrogen generator to their production cellar just in time for the 2012 harvest, with the goal of reducing and/or eliminating the use of sulphur dioxide as a preservative in winemaking.  

Sulphur dioxide (a sulphite) is known to cause allergy-like reactions to people that are sensitive to this compound, so it is hoped that these reactions can be minimized. Using nitrogen in sulphur dioxide's place will also allow Summerhill to keep wine fresh in tank almost indefinitely, allowing much more flexibility with environmentally-friendly bag-in-box packaging, kegs, and with their acclaimed multi-vintage sparkling wines.   

Additionally, it will add environmental and cost advantages, with the winery not having to purchase and transport nitrogen in tanks.  This new generator provides the extra benefit of reducing the need for climate control in the winery, thereby conserving energy.

You can count on the team at Summerhill to provide outstanding wines, innovative thinking  and hospitality