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New owners for Skimmerhorn Winery

New owners Ryan Burgis and Janek Guminski couldn’t be happier with their new venture.
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BY LORNE ECKERSLEY

Advance staff

Since Skimmerhorn Winery opened for business a dozen years ago a lot of wine has flowed from the Erickson site. A lot of good wine.

And new owners Ryan Burgis and Janek Guminski couldn’t be happier with their new venture.

“We have fallen in love with the Creston Valley,” Guminski said earlier this month. He and his business partner, Burgis, were in from Calgary for the weekend.

The long-time friends, both of whom work in the banking business, are wine lovers and began looking for a way to get into the wine industry last year. After an extensive search for a BC winery, the focus narrowed to an unexpected area of the province.

“We learned that this property was for sale and we asked Will (Coleman, another friend, who founded Township 7 Vineyards and Winery in Langley, which later expanded to include a Naramata facility) to check it out for us.”

“I fully expected to go back to Ryan and Janek with a no,” Coleman laughed. “But this is a great property with a great future.”

Burgis and Guminski entered into negotiations with Skimmerhorn founders Al and Marleen Hoag and took ownership in June. The Hoags will continue as consultants for a year, and Coleman has been brought in to manage the winery on a five-year contract.

Don’t expect a lot of changes in the short term, the new owners and manager say.

“We want to take a year to learn about what we have here, listen to customers and build the Bistro business,” Burgis said.

While they might be new to the industry, they share a common philosophy.

“It doesn’t matter what we like, it’s about what the customers and market want,” Guminski said.

“While we both love wine, our background is in finance. A big part of what drew us to Skimmerhorn was that it was already on such a great path. We’re looking forward to watching, listening and learning over the coming months and are certainly open to new ideas, but for the most part the winery experience and the wines that people have come to know and love here are not going to change,” Burgis said.

Marketing will be a key emphasis. Both Burgis and Guminski echo a belief that more wineries will open locally and that the Kootenays will become known as an area that produces fine wines.

“We want to grow the Kootenay brand, and we have already been talking to Baillie-Grohman (Estate Winery) about working with them to do that. They’ve been carrying that weight and doing a great job, and we can benefit by working together,” Guminski said.

As typical wine enthusiasts, the partners are partial to dry red wines, so they got a surprise when they manned the tasting room on the Canada Day long weekend and heard customers rave about Autumn Tryst and Ortega, two slightly sweet white wines that have become favourites of Skimmerhorn customers.

“They aren’t the type of wine we would usually be drawn to, but as we were working on creating pairing recommendations for the Bistro’s menu it became obvious about how good those wines are with food,” Burgis said.

Happy with the response from wine customers, he said that he and Guminski were thrilled with the Bistro, which is now in the capable and creative hands of Maria Aryan, best known to Crestonites for her food truck, The Fork, which she sold earlier this year.

As executive chef, Aryan has created a tapas menu that focuses on fresh local produce, with an emphasis on recipes that go well with Skimmerhorn wines. From a deck that offers one of the Creston Valley’s most spectacular views, the result has been magical.

“We have been overwhelmed with the enthusiasm customers have shown since we have been there,” Burgis said.

While the partners will continue to reside and work in Calgary (“We have to pay the bills!”), they will be spending as much time at the winery as their schedule allows.

About Skimmerhorn Winery and Vineyard

Skimmerhorn Winery and Vineyard is a terroir-driven, small-batch winery and vineyard in Creston, BC that is part of the emerging Kootenays wine region. The Skimmerhorn mountain range to the east of the winery creates a unique microclimate for the winery’s cool climate wines, which include Pinot Gris, Ortega, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir and Marechal Foch. Easily accessible from the International Selkirk Loop driving route, the winery’s breathtaking vineyard and mountain views, informative tours, comfortable tasting room, casual three-tiered patio and delicious farm-to-table tapas menu have made it a popular destination for both tourists and locals alike.

About Skimmerhorn Wines

Skimmerhorn Winery produces an award-winning portfolio of wines and was incredibly honoured to bring home eight medals from the 2017 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition and All Canadian Wine Championships, including:

• Double Gold Medal, 2016 Pinot Gris, 2017 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition

• Gold Medal, 2016 Kootenay Crush White, 2017 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition

• Gold Medal, 2016 Gewürztraminer, 2017 All Canadian Wine Championships

• Silver Medal, 2015 Marechal Foch, 2017 All Canadian Wine Championships

In addition to being for sale at the winery, Skimmerhorn wines are available at over 85 locations throughout the Kootenays and central British Columbia. The winery also offers direct-to-home shipments of wine by the case. Orders can be placed by emailing wine@skimmerhorn.ca or calling 250-428-4911. Look for an upgraded and redesigned website that will offer easy online ordering of wines.

Skimmerhorn Winery’s wine shop, tasting bar, patio and bistro are open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.