About
Château Marmot is a négociant wine project by Keenan Thrussell (Myself). Previously under the name Keenan wines est. 2016
All the wines are made from organic or biodynamically farmed grapes and without the use of any additions in the winemaking process. No added sulphites, fermentation aids, fining agents, or filtration. 100% fermented grapes.
Where
Currently I am making wines out of both Summerland and Oliver in British Columbia. During the 2025 Harvest I came into the opportunity to begin leasing a winery facility in Oliver, through a longtime friend and mentor in organic & biodynamic farming in the Okanagan valley.
Oliver is home to Covert Farms, which is in turn home to my wines for Chateau Marmot thanks to the Covert family. (It’s a magical 600 acres of farmland, and mountains on the unceded territory of the Syilx nation. Cows graze, marmots dash around, and wines ferment.)
In Summerland, I am the winemaker and grape grower for Sage Hills winery. I farm 10 acres of organically farmed grapes planted by my father in 2006 and make the wines with a similar philosophy I have put forward into my wines.
Why
Why do I say conventional fruit is poison? Well in my opinion it is. When you use systemic fungicides & pesticides you’re applying a product that turns the tissue of the plant into a toxic surface for fungal spores and insects to ingest. The idea that these products don’t end up in your wine or food is crazy to me. Not only are these products toxic to the ecosystem but also to the people who tend to these farms day in and day out.
Using organically farmed fruit is the most important part of the cycle of grape to wine process. Too often people make “natural wine” while sourcing conventionally farmed fruit. What’s the point of not adding anything to those wines when the juice you start with is the grossest part of the process.
Natural wine is organically farmed fruit, fermented and seen to bottle without the use of modern winemaking ingredients, additions of sulphites, filtration, or fining agents. Now to rant a little.. I think it’s interesting how in the world of “natural wine” we frown upon filtration or fining when we should really focus on the farming practices. Nothing is being added to skew the natural process or direction of the fermentation, it’s only to remove something from the final product. (does this beat up the wines, damage texture, and strip it of the wines origins? In my opinion yes which is why I don’t do this.) However personally I would rather drink a “commercially fermented, filtered, organic wine over something with zero intervention that originates from conventional fruit.
So for myself, I make wines I like to drink. Which means organic grapes, fermented and seen to bottle with zero additions, filtration or added sulphites. Nothing added & Nothing removed.