“This series features both the BC Wine new vintages and a few favourites”
“We have embarked on a long term project to learn more about the Lillooet terroir. Every vintage, we will work with a number of experiments that will help us in systematically learning about how certain varietals, rootstocks, clones, vineyard management practices and winemaking practices contribute to our production of premium wines.” Fort Berens
Riesling 2020
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
On the nose, this lively and fresh Riesling has delicate notes of lychee, rose petal, lemon grass, and dried apricot. It is nicely balanced, slightly off-dry with a rich, creamy texture, and lingering acidity.
Winemaker Notes
The grapes had a long hanging time in the vineyard, which ensured optimal ripeness. The fruit was whole cluster pressed under inert conditions (no oxygen) to preserve the delicate aroma that developed during fermentation. A cold sensitive yeast was used, and the wine cooled to 4 degrees to halt further fermentation once the optimal balance between sugar and acid was reached.
Food Pairing Notes
Thanks to the balance of acidity and sweetness, this Riesling pairs beautifully with strong Asian and spicy Indian dishes as well as sushi, kimchi, and spiced duck.
Dry Riesling 2020
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Fresh and mouthwatering, this Dry Riesling has lively notes of green apple, lime zest, and apricot. Fruit-forward and luscious, this food-friendly wine pairs beautifully with lemon and garlic roasted chicken, grilled seafood, or sushi.
Winemaker Notes
Picked late when the grapes show a distinct muscat flavour. It was inoculated with a selected South African yeast strain known to enhance aromatic precursors during fermentation. The wine was allowed to ferment dry producing a fresh and lively style of Riesling.
Food Pairing Notes
Light meat dishes. lemon and garlic roast chicken (or BBQ), Sushi and as an appetizer with smoked beef fillet topped with lemon and black pepper.
Pinot Gris 2020
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Vibrant and fresh, this Pinot Gris is bursting with citrus and tropical fruit notes of kiwi, lime, and grapefruit. This juicy and fruit-forward wine is perfect for any occasion. Pair this refreshing wine with mussels, white fish, or pasta with a cream sauce.
Winemaker Notes
Made from 39% estate grown grapes, 8% from Winches Spur Vineyard in Lytton, and 53% from vineyards in West Kelowna. The grapes were whole cluster pressed to ensure the softest juice extraction method, with only free run juice used. It was cold fermented at 12 degrees, with a South African yeast strain selected to create a fresh and aromatic wine with a crisp finish.
Food Pairing Notes
This refreshing wine can be enjoyed on its own, or pair it with light fish dishes, sushi, mussels and fries, or pasta with a cream sauce.
Grüner Veltliner 2020
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
This wine features an array of tropical fruit aromas, with hints of ripe stone fruit, yellow apple, honeysuckle, and fruit punch. This very food-friendly wine has a rich, creamy and nutty texture, followed by a zesty after taste.
Winemaker Notes
The grapes for our premier vintage of Grüner Veltliner were sourced from Bordertown. We are looking forward to the first vintage with our estate grown Grüner Veltliner grapes in 2021 or 2022. This riper style of wine was made with only free run juice from whole cluster pressing to give a rich and creamy texture on the palate. It was fermented with cold fermenting yeast to produce a complex, aromatic wine.
Food Pairing Notes
With its origins in Austria, Grüner Veltliner is traditionally served with Wiener Schnitzel. It is also a great palate cleanser to enjoy with spicy creamy dishes such as butter chicken.
Rosé 2020
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
This inviting summer wine is refreshing with notes of bright red raspberry, watermelon, and cotton candy. It has a fresh and juicy palate with a lingering fruit finish. This wine is made with grapes exclusively from our estate vineyard, predominantly Pinot Noir, with a small fraction of Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes from our young Red Rock Vineyard.
Winemaker Notes
The grapes were destemmed and crushed to allow for skin contact time of 48 hours. This process allowed for the colour from the skin to integrate into the juice. After the perfect colour was achieved, the grapes were lightly pressed, settled, and the clean juice racked from the solids. Inoculated with a select strain of yeast accompanied by cold fermentation produced an exotic fruit aroma with a fruit-forward palate.
Food Pairing Notes
Enjoy this great summer refresher on its own or with chicken salad, spinach and feta quiche, salmon, or BBQ chicken skewers.
Our Winery
We are passionate about making wines that express the unique Lillooet terroir. We aim to provide premium quality wines at a fair price ensuring our customers get great value for their money.
At Fort Berens, we have set out to produce consistent, high-quality, award-winning, terroir-driven wines. We do this with minimal intervention so that the terroir and the fruit can shine through in the glass. Our main focus is on producing single varietals from single vineyards. While most of our wines are produced from our grapes grown in our Estate Vineyard, we do seek out a few other vineyards to supplement our production. In the future, we hope to be able to source grapes from other vineyards in Lillooet.
Our winemaking style:
We aim to produce wines that are clean and fresh. Wines that have old world elegance blended with the fruit forward styles consistent with new world wines.
Generally, our red wines are cellared one year in French and American oak barrels and then aged 12 months in bottle prior to release. We like to release our wines so they are ready to drink or further cellared for an additional 4-8 years.
We like our white wines fresh while reflecting good acidity that is retained through our relatively cool nights. Generally, our whites are dry and fruit forward.
Our Riesling is really expressing the Lillooet terroir. It is off-dry with tropical notes. It has evolved very consistently over the last three years, which provides us with a good basis for aging for those that seek a more mature Riesling.
Notes and “our” courtesy of the winery. Images: MyVanCity I received complimentary bottles of wine to both facilitate this feature and for future review, mostly likely paired with food for #ThisWineThatDish (to come)
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