About Us
In the Heart of Summerland lies a place so peaceful and alluring, that it can only be described as Heaven on earth. This is how our name was born.
Once a thriving peach orchard, Heaven’s Gate Estate Winery is now home to our handcrafted, small-batch wines made from 100% BC VQA grapes.
With a passion and drive to develop premium wines, we pay close attention to every detail required to make one of kind wines that reflect our truly unique terroir.
The volcanic soils of Giant Head Mountain, our hot summer days and the lake breeze that consistently rolls through our vineyard, help to create a distinct experience trapped in every bottle just waiting to be released.
A Quick Word With Owner and Winemaker Tyson Felt
I get asked this question a lot actually. The truth, although not glamorous, is that I was visiting my parents here in Summerland when we saw that Heaven’s Gate was for sale. My parents and I decided to go to the winery for a tasting, and we loved the wines. What started as kind of a family joke about me moving here to own and run a winery, soon turned into a very real interest. Less than four months later, it became a reality. It’s crazy how fast it all happened!
Well, I had wanted to move out to the Okanagan for years now, but it just never seemed like the right time. When visiting the winery, I saw how beautiful it is here and after tasting the wines, I started to fall in love. After talking with Andy and Diane about their winery, I told myself this was exactly what I wanted to do, and I was determined to make it happen. I looked at a few other wineries and contemplated starting my own from scratch, but in the end, my mind just kept coming back to Heaven’s Gate.
It certainly is an undertaking and I wear many different hats every day. From making wine, working in the tasting room, doing special events, all the behind-the-scenes business stuff, and working in the Vineyard, it can get a little hectic at times. Hard work and long hours is not something I’m unfamiliar with though.
Honestly, I really enjoy all the different aspects of the business—aside from paperwork, of course. Does anyone actually enjoy doing paperwork? I probably have the most fun when I’m in the wine shop doing tastings and when I do offsite events, because I get to meet all kinds of people from all over the world, which is always interesting. I also really like hearing them talk about their life stories. The winemaking has been really interesting too. It is exciting to know that I am creating something so unique and all my own. I hope my wines bring joy and great shared experiences to people’s lives. Right now, I’ve been putting in a lot of hours in the vineyard, pruning the vines and getting ready for my first full growing season here at Heaven’s Gate. It’s really cool getting to know every one of my vines face to face—or face to grape, if you will.