Cipes sees ehrenfelser as an improvement on riesling. The flowery aromas and slightly sweet fruit flavors make this a wine produced by no fewer than a third of the wineries in the valley. Yields are low with ehrenfelser, so many growers don't like it, Cipes says. But it does well in dry, cooler conditions, so he thinks the Okanagan is the perfect place to grow it and produce great wines from it. It is the best story in the Okanagan.
Marks also has a soft spot for ehrenfelser.
He sees it as one of the valley's most consistent grapes, as it seems to do well in hotter and cooler years. Among red wines, Marks favors pinot noir, which he thinks is perfectly suited for the Okanagan. He also enjoys lemberger, a lesser-known red grape that has its origins in Austria and has significant plantings in Washington's Columbia Valley. Summerhill's wines are perennial winners in competitions and for people's choice awards. So it's no wonder that nearly all of Cipes' business comes from visitors entering his spacious tasting room.