Heaven's Gate Winery offers bliss in Summerland
Set pristinely above Lake Okanagan in beautiful Summerland, you will find Heaven’s Gate Winery. Aptly named, the vineyard rolls towards the water offering the perfect Okanagan mountain scape, with only the sounds of birds chirping and perhaps a neighbour’s tractor, it is pure bliss.
Winemaker/owner Tyson Felt was immediately captivated by this special property in 2017 when he first viewed it. While living in Alberta and working in real estate his parents, who reside in Summerland, became aware of the vineyard and winery for sale. Tyson flew out and fell in love with it. He says, “after experiencing this view, there is no way I could walk away from it.”
Tyson grew up on a farm in Alberta but had absolutely no background in winemaking or viticulture. It was pure passion to learn the craft drove him and after a remarkably short period, he became the one-man winery that he is today. Managing the vineyard, cellar, winemaking, he happily operates his boutique winery and creates award-winning handcrafted, small-batch wines.
Located on Summerland’s Bottleneck Drive, Tyson is very involved with his winemaking community. Together they support their unique microregion and are thrilled to welcome back visitors for the 2020 season. Tyson has incorporated new government COVID guidelines with social distancing in place for tastings and a new online tasting reservation system ensuring that guests can guarantee a booking time. He is hoping to be able to continue offering picnic items onsite for visitors to stay onsite and enjoy the view, and his super successful live music program is on hold for now but perhaps can be reorganized to ensure a safe environment later this summer.
Tyson is very proud of his award-winning estate-grown Gamay. Similar to Pinot Noir, this lesser-known light-bodied red is a beauty. Tyson currently has two versions on offer, each offering a unique expression of this grape and says, “I think Gamay is one of Canada’s best grapes.”
Heaven’s Gate offers two wine clubs that have made it easy for fans to enjoy the wines delivered to their doorstep. Members also receive 15% discounts on wine purchases and picnic items on site. Memberships are “user’s choice” allowing club members to customize the wines for the shipment.
Visit the website to learn how to join and to book a tasting with the new reservation system.
Current wine shop hours are 12:00-5:30 Friday-Monday and by appointment only Tuesday-Thursday. And do say hello to winery cat Lucy if you see her patrolling the vineyard,
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