You may recall that last year Fort Berens Estate Winery released wines made from Washington grapes due to two devastating, back-to-back winters. This past winter was thankfully relatively mild in Lillooet and the winery team is happy to report that the vineyards are healthy and the 2025 vintage resulted in approximately 90% of a normal harvest.
After a challenging vintage in 2023 and 2024 the team at Fort Berens worked hard to retrain the surviving vines to prepare them for 2025. The estate vineyard was in great shape going into the new season with an early bud break. The season remained relatively cool with some warm days in the low-mid thirties. Light, regular rain kept fires at bay, but a short heat wave at the end of August sped up ripening and harvest was early, starting on August 25th with Pinot Noir for Blanc de Noir sparkling wine.
2025 also marked the designation of Sustainable Winegrowing BC certification for Fort Berens. This designation recognizes that the team has been working to craft wines that honour the land, supports the community and ensures long-term sustainability. Fort Berens is part of a small group of BC wineries that have received this certification for both their vineyard and winery.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of enjoying three wines from the 2025 release and I can confirm that this vintage is delicious!
2025 Chardonnay $24.99
Made from Chardonnay grapes grown in Lillooet (51%), Summerland and Savona. One third of the grapes were whole-cluster pressed, then naturally fermented and aged in French oak barrels for 4 months. The other two thirds were destemmed and crushed, then cold fermented in tanks, where they rested on lees for 4 months. Both batches were blended after 5 months resulting in a beautifully balanced wine.
On the nose this lightly oaked Chardonnay has delicate aromas of butter, digestive biscuits, waxy, ripe golden delicious apples, pineapple and lemon rind. It is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium acidity. The palate offers notes of butter, pineapple, peach and lemon with a medium finish.
As it is under $25, it won’t kill you to add a ½ cup of this harmonious Chardonnay to your next batch of risotto and, because it is so lovely, you will want to pair the rest of the bottle with the meal!
2025 Small Lot Grüner Veltliner $25.99
This small lot wine is made from 100% Grüner Veltliner from Red Rock estate vineyard in Lillooet BC. The grapes were hand-picked, then 70% were destemmed and crushed, allowing 4 hours skin contact before pressing. 30% of the grapes were whole cluster pressed and the wine was fermented cold in stainless steel. During the winemaking, the oxygen contact was kept minimal, in an effort to keep the wine aromatic and fresh. The wine was aged on the lees for 4 months before bottling.
Aromas of yellow grapefruit pith, peach pits, white pepper and lime leaf. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium acidity. The palate offers notes of peach, yellow grapefruit, lemon grass and gooseberry with a medium+ finish.
2025 Pinot Gris $23.99
Made from Pinot Gris grapes grown in Lillooet, Lytton and Oliver. The grapes were hand picked, destemmed, crushed, and left on the skins for 4 hours. Dry ice was used during winemaking to minimize the contact with oxygen during the process, to retain fruit-forward flavours and freshness. The juice was cold settled for 24 hours before racking, to produce structure and more aromatics. The wine was fermented cold at 11 degrees to enhance the aromatic profile and aged for 4 months on the lees.
The nose is mineral with notes of yellow grapefruit pith and peach. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium acidity. The palate offers peach, honeydew melon and salty lemons with a medium finish.