A mystery is afoot.
Consider the case of the downed sunflowers at The Hatch Winery open.
“Sunday morning, the team came in, and our darn sunflowers broke off. It was a pretty sad day for us,” said Craig Pingle, Jason Parkes Customs Hospitality director.
It turns out there are many suspects in the case, but the security footage captured at the West Kelowna, B.C. winery is no help because whoever, or whatever took down hundreds of sunflowers in front of the winery did it under the cloak of night. However, several clues were left behind.
“Was it a wind storm, was it a deer, was it multiple deer, was it a person? We aren’t sure, the evidence points us in all directions,” said Pingle.
In a quick survey, Pingle found possible antler marks on some of the stalks, a hoof print and deer droppings. As he got further down the row of mauled sunflowers, he found what looked like clean cut marks that separated the heads of flowers from their stalks.
Though the winery isn’t pursuing charges, curiosity is getting the better of the team, who are mourning the loss of the sunflowers that were planted on the now-empty block on the property, which used to be lush with Gamay Noir vines.
In typical The Hatch fashion, the winery turned the loss on its head and is lending the block to the community, planting pumpkins for fall and sunflowers to brighten the space. The sunflowers even inspired a wine called ‘More Good Days Red’ where part of the proceeds goes towards the Canadian Mental Health Association.
The downed sunflowers won’t cloud the launch of the new wine, even though the mystery remains open, because the team has decided to look on the bright side and celebrate the flowers that still stand.