In 1858, during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, the Hudson’s Bay Company made plans to build a post across the Fraser River from the town of Lillooet, British Columbia. This post would act as a supply outlet for the influx of people who were flocking to the area, and the post was to be called Fort Berens. In 1859 materials for the construction of Fort Berens were ordered and delivered to the site, but the post was never built due to the collapse of the gold rush in 1860. The area surrounding the Hudson’s Bay Company property was a fertile riverbed and it was later used to grow melon, tomatoes and alfalfa. There is also a history of grape growing in the region going back over a half a century.
In 1972, Robert Roshard planted a block of grapes composed primarily of Maréchal Foch at his property in Lillooet. In 2004 a group of farmers led by Roshard’s daughter, Christ’l Roshard, set out to further explore grape growing in the region; their work would become known as the Lillooet Grape Project. The climate in Lillooet is similar to that of the Okanagan with long, hot, dry summer days, but the evenings are cooler than those in the Okanagan, helping to preserve the acidity level in the grapes. The Lillooet Grape Project would oversee the planting of 20 different grape varietals at three different properties using vine cuttings from the Okanagan. The project received funding from the Province of British Columbia, which helped to pay for technology that would assist in collecting information about climate and weather patterns. This data would be invaluable for future grape growers like Rolf de Bruin and Heleen Pannekoek.
Rolf and Heleen met at the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands. They married and had two children. Both had successful careers: Heleen working at ING Bank, and Rolf working first as a financial controller with a telecom firm and then later in management consulting. In addition to their love of wine, one of the reasons they decided to start a winery is that they could not see themselves continuing to work in the corporate world while raising two children. In 2005 Rolf and Heleen began looking for land and their search eventually brought them to the Okanagan. The cost of land in the Okanagan was prohibitive though, it was about four times the cost of land in Lillooet, thus Rolf and Heleen gambled on the young, but promising, wine region.
In 2009 Rolf and Heleen founded Fort Berens Estate Winery and planted 20 acres of grapes. The varietals were selected based on advice from industry veterans Harry McWatters, of TIME Estate Winery, and Richard Cleave, one of the most respected grape growers in the Okanagan and previous owner of the infamous Phantom Creek Vineyards. The varietals planted at Fort Berens include Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
As they waited for the newly planted vines to mature, Rolf and Heleen opened Fort Berens by purchasing several finished wines from the Okanagan, which they bottled and sold. They also purchased grapes from the Okanagan so that they could begin making their own wine, operating out of a renovated tractor barn on their new property.
Over the next several years Heleen and Rolf were joined by investors who would help finance the building of a new winery. In 2014 they would complete construction of a 9500 square foot facility with tasting room, restaurant, crush pad, wine cellar and warehouse.
As of 2017, Fort Berens has three vintages produced using Estate grown grapes. Next spring, they will double their estate vineyard, planting another 20 acres of vines, with the goal of becoming self-sufficient. Until then, they continue to buy a small amount of grapes from the Okanagan, Similkameen Valley and Lillooet to facilitate their planned growth in production.
I recently had the opportunity to taste some of the wines released this fall from Fort Berens’ 2015 vintage. 2015 was a hot year and grape yields were low, which generally results in higher concentration of flavour. The 2015 vintage differs from previous vintages at Fort Berens as winemaker, Danny Hattingh from South Africa, focused further on creating red wines that are rich and ready to drink at the time of release. In 2015 Danny adjusted his winemaking methods to eliminate harsh and bitter tannins early in the winemaking process through the use of macro-oxygenation and reduced contact of the grape must (grape juice) with the grape seeds, which are a source of green tannins. The result is a vintage that is particularly silky with low tannin.
2015 Pinot Noir $24.99
The 2015 Fort Berens Pinot Noir is composed of four different clones of estate-grown Pinot Noir and aged in French oak barrels (20% new oak) for 9 months.
After one hour in the decanter this Pinot Noir has aromas of red cherries buried beneath layers of tar, damp leaves, leather and black pepper corns. In the mouth, this nearly medium weight wine, is silky with low tannins and medium plus acidity. On the palate I found layers of red fruit: cherry, raspberry and strawberry, with notes of cinnamon and then dried figs on the medium finish.
2015 Cabernet Franc $24.99
This wine was crafted using a blend of grapes grown in Lillooet and the Okanagan. It was aged in both French and American oak for 10 months before bottling and it had an additional 12 months in bottle before release.
Aromas of blackcurrant, smoke, cured meat and green bell pepper, with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. On the palate there is concentrated black fruit: blackcurrant, blackberry and cherry, with a hint of eucalyptus. This wine has juicy acidity and subtle tannins with a medium finish.
2015 Meritage $23.99
The 2015 Fort Berens Meritage is a blend of 60% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Cabernet Franc made with grapes from both the Okanagan and Lillooet.
Aromas of raspberry jam on toast dominate, then hints of black cherry, dried fig and eucalyptus. This wine has juicy acidity and very subtle tannins. On the palate I found plum, black cherry and dried herbs with dried fruit on the medium finish.
Fort Berens Estate Winery
1881 Highway 99 North
PO Box 758
Lillooet, BC V0K 1V0
www.fortberens.ca
References
www.fortberens.ca
Bell, R.A. (September 2014). Fort Berens Estate Winery. Retrieved from http://www.winesofcanada.com/featured-winery-fortberens.html
Morrison, A. (February 5, 2015). Fort Berens Estate Winery Owners add two Vancouverites to Their Number. Retrieved from http://scoutmagazine.ca/2015/02/05/goods-vancouverites-join-ownership-team-at-award-winning-fort-berens-estate-winery/
Schreiner, J. (November 20, 2017). Fort Berens Releases its 2015 Vintage. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2017/11/fort-berens-releases-its-2015-vintage.html
Schreiner, J. (April 27, 2017). Fort Berens Releases First Dry Riesling. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2017/04/fort-berens-releases-first-dry-riesling.html
Schreiner, J. (November 25, 2016). Fort Berens Adds Red Gold to its Portfolio. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2016/11/fort-berens-adds-red-gold-to-its.html
Schreiner, J. (July 22, 2016). Fort Berens Brings Lillooet to Life. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2016/07/fort-berens-brings-lillooet-to-life.html
Schreiner, J. (November 6, 2015). Fort Berens Becomes a Hot Spot. Retrieved from http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2015/11/fort-berens-becomes-hot-spot.html
Schreiner, J. (September 2, 2010). Lillooet’s Pioneering Wine Growers. Retrieved from https://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2010/09/lillooets-pioneering-wine-growers.html
Wikipedia. (Retrieved on December 13, 2017). Fort Berens. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Berens