Summerhill Pyramid Winery’s Corporate Vision Revealed

New Vision Statement Guides the Winery Team and invites the World In

[Kelowna, BC] The team at Summerhill Pyramid Winery announces its new brand vision.

READ THE NEW BRAND VISION ONLINE

To arrive at this new vision, the winery management team and the family members took a deep look at their purpose, and along the journey the winery achieved certified B Corp status earlier in 2019, the first Canadian winery to do so.

The team arrived at seven guiding principles to inform the way they make wine, their business practices, and the way they interact with the world. The winery is rolling out a new logo and later a new package, but the way forward is also about how they present themselves as a whole.

Ezra Cipes took over as CEO of Summerhill Pyramid Winery in 2012, and over the past seven years he has worked hard with his family to corral and determine the way forward for the pioneering BC winery. His father, and Summerhill founder Stephen Cipes, revolutionized organic wine production in BC, as one of the first BC wineries, and is being recognized for his leadership at the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame in October.

Today, the team shares their newly written vison document, inviting their team, customers, and community to embrace it, and live out the practices and values that has always made Summerhill special and loved.

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Ezra Cipes, CEO shares the following public statement:

“Summerhill has always been a purpose-based organization founded on and driven by spiritual precepts. The purpose has always been to live as one with nature, to bring forth beautiful products of nature, and to foster community, connection, meaning, and a worldview of oneness and wholeness.

This vision has been held by my dad, Summerhill’s founder and proprietor Stephen Cipes, since he moved my family to beautiful British Columbia in 1986. It has made Summerhill a singular winery and has been responsible for the incredible success we have enjoyed.

This vision has always been implicit, but never quite stated so boldly. Now we are introducing a newly written Vision of Gratitude and Abundance for People and Planet so that we can fully invest ourselves in what has always made Summerhill so unique and special.

The intent of this vision statement is not only to guide us as a company, but also to share our values publicly, so that we are transparent about our values, can be held accountable to them, and can invite everyone to see the world as we see it and to join us in this vision of gratitude and abundance for people and planet.

Along with the new vision is a new logo, which communicates reverence for the soil and for the sacred order of creation as symbolized by the pyramid.

There will be more changes coming soon that stem from this newly articulated vision. Stay tuned!”

---- Ezra Cipes, CEO, Summerhill Pyramid Winery

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Summerhill Pyramid Winery's seven guiding principles: Gratitude, People, Planet, Pioneership,

Abundance, Passion and Love

About Summerhill Pyramid Winery

Kelowna’s Summerhill Pyramid Winery welcomes thousands of visitors onto its farm from all over the world. The founding vision to bottle among the very finest wines in the world has been achieved, with trophies from the highest levels of competition in France, England, and around the world to show for it. But the greatest legacy is the change that the team strives to nourish daily. The winery’s greatest goal is an ongoing one of service to humanity, engendering a culture of gratitude for people and planet with every heavenly sip of its organic wine. Learn more at summerhill.bc.ca

It's Sparkling Wine Week!

Although we’re just coming off the long weekend, don’t cap those bubbles yet – It’s Sparkling Wine Week!

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Sparkling Wine Week is HERE! Don’t worry if you didn’t get the heads-up, we’ve got you covered! Here are six bubbly ideas to help you celebrate with BC wine all summer long:

Summerhill Pyramid Winery – Cipes Brut

Straight from the Okanagan Valley, the Cipes Brut is organic! With aromas of apple, lime, pear, almond and grapefruit, it has just enough zest to compliment any outdoor summer meal. Buy online here for $26.50.

Singletree Winery – 2018 Merryfield

Named after one of the original families to homestead Singletree Winery’s Abbotsford location, this wine is made in the champagne style with 50-50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It has strong notes of citrus and a creamy mousse. For those that want to indulge during Sparkling Wine Week, try the Merryfield for $34.70, buy online here.

Singletree - Merryfield

Narrative Okanagan Crush Pad – XC Method 2018

with grapes from vineyards in Oliver and Summerland, the Narrative XC Method is for those that want to make their Sparkling Wine Week eXCiting! Bubbly, exuberant and filled with creamy toasty notes. The XC Method can make a festive start to a night out or slowly sipped by the campfire. Buy online here for $24.90.

Evolve Cellars – Pink Effervescence 2017

Back by popular demand for Sparkling Wine Week, the recently sold-out (and now re-stocked) Pink Effervescence is flirty, fancy and fun! Made almost entirely from Pinot Blanc, the Pink Effervescence gets it light rose colour from a hint of Merlot Blend. If you like ripe peach and rich berry flavours, the this is the bubbly for you! Contact the winery at info@evolvecellars.com or call 778-516-7728 to purchase this wine.

Haywire –The Bub 2016

The Bub is a must-have for Sparkling Wine Week. Made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, it has toasty notes that complement its vibrant citrus taste. This bubbly has no sugar added and pairs perfectly with oysters or soft cheese. If you’re planning on crafting up an Instagram-worthy charcuterie board, add the Haywire Bub to your meal and turn your photo into #GOALS (make sure you tag @townhallbrands in your post!) Buy online here for $29.90.

How the BUB got its name…
This sparkling wine is a true labour of love and is a tribute to the lovely Alison Scholefield, known as the Bub, Bubba, Bubster, or Alibubba in her early days.⁠

⁠Alison is the sales ambassador for Summerland winery, Okanagan Crush Pad, representing her family’s wines Haywire, Narrative, and Free Form. Perhaps her future was fated at an early age. Visitors to the Canadian booth at Vinexpo in 1992 might have seen Alison happily colouring under the table while Mom, Christine Coletta, poured Icewine.⁠.⁠Very few mothers get the pleasure of naming a wine after their child. But when your kid happens to have a childhood nickname “Bub” that just seems to fit with “bubble," Coletta looked no further when exploring name ideas for the Haywire sparkling wine.⁠

Haywire - The Bub

Blue Grouse Estate Winery – 2016 Paula Sparkling

Last but definitely not least, this Brut style traditional method sparkling wine from Vancouver Island has aromas of green apple, toast, and a dash of earthy mushroom. A nicely balanced bubbly that can transform any summer meal. Pair it with a light seafood dinner, citrus dessert, or have it compliment a delicious cheese snack. This wine is a go-to no matter what the occasion is! Buy online here for $32.00.

Blue Grouse Estate Winery owners (Paul and Cristina Brunner) hold the Paula very near and dear to their hearts It was named after none other than...their daughter Paula Brunner!⁠

Farm Friends Event Raised $6,000 For BC Hospitality Foundation

Farm Friends, an event that was organized in response to the recent boycott on the importation of BC Wine to Alberta, raised $6,000 for the BC Hospitality Foundation on Thursday, February 22, 2018. The boycott has now been rescinded, fortunately and coincidentally so, on the day of the event.

Mastermind behind Farm Friends and BCHF chair, Christine Coletta (also owner of Okanagan Crush Pad Winery & Haywire Winery), noted that the BC Hospitality Foundation was a natural fit to donate proceeds to, "As one of the founders of the BCHF, I am passionate about the work we do. I urge other industry businesses to think of ways they can help. In this case funds will be used to support the next generation about to enter the hospitality sector through scholarships".

This event was proof that businesses working side by side to find solutions over political grand standing is the way forward. With attendees which included the public, trade, and media, guests enjoyed Alberta foods such as beef and bison made by chefs at Granville Island’s Edible Canada, paired with wines from some of BC’s top wineries listed below.

Participating wines at Farm Friends event.

50th Parallel Estate Winery

Culmina Family Estate Winery

Dames Wine

Liquidity Wines

Okanagan Crush Pad Winery

Painted Rock Estate Winery

Poplar Grove Winery

Summerhill Pyramid Winery

Each winery generously donated $500 to the BC Hospitality Foundation, in addition to attending the event and pouring for guests. Owner of Edible Canada, Eric Pateman, proudly hosted this event to support the industry.

Congratulations to the brave hearts of our industry for reminding everyone that BC loves Alberta, and that we should always react with warmth rather than hate and opposition.  

Christine Coletta, organizer of Farm Friends and owner of Okanagan Crush Pad winery, with Lauren Skinner from Painted Rock Winery and Harriet Whitecross from Edible Canada, enjoying local BC wine while discussing details of Farm Friends event.