Fort Berens partners with Washington winery

Photo: Fort Berens winery in Lillooet

It is not surprising to learn that the Lillooet viticultural sub-appellation did not escape the damage from the January 2024 freeze that devastated vineyards in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. “Earlier this year, we were anticipating a near 100% loss in our vineyard,” writes Rolf de Bruin, the co-founder of Fort Berens Estate Winery, the major wine producer at Lillooet. “With the arrival of sunshine and warmer weather, [we have found that] most of our vines are alive. As we see it now, the vineyard is doing slightly better than expected in some of our blocks.”

In a letter dated late June, Rolf says that Cabernet Franc and Riesling are doing better than expected. “While we are anticipating a much small than normal harvest in both of these varietals, the harvest is certainly better than we were first expecting. We do expect some Pinot Noir, maybe 10% of a normal crop, which will likely go into our rosé. We also anticipate a small amount of Chardonnay grapes.” He continues: “Conversely, in our Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon blocks, it looks like there will be nearly no fruit at all this year. In the blocks that are not doing well, we are working on re-training the vines this year to prepare them for 2025. We will have some vines to replant. Based on what we have seen thus far, we are hoping for an overall harvest amount of between 20%-30% of a normal harvest in 2024. In 2023, our crop was 33% of normal. To ensure our continued availability of wine, while lacking BC grape availability, we have been working on various plans and options for the upcoming vintage.”

For the 2024 vintage, Fort Berens has teamed up with a Washington State winery and plans to produce 4,000 cases of wine, mostly white wine. The winery sent its assistant winemaker, Seth Jex, to Washington for find a winery that, as Rolf writes, “fits well with our winemaking needs and style.” Fort Berens settled on working with what is called a “small craft winery, and one of the high-end red wine producers in the state.” The winery is not named in the Fort Berens letter.

Rolf continues: “This winery will bring Seth in as a visiting winemaker. This means he will make our wines, using all the tools and techniques we would use in Lillooet. … Seth will be in Washington for the duration of harvest and crush. He will be monitoring the entire process of selecting the vineyards, hand picking the grapes, and pressing and fermenting the wines at that winery. Just after fermentation, we will bring the wine back to Fort Berens to be finished, aged and bottled at our winery in Lillooet. With this collaborative process, our team will continue to make wine; they will just work in a different cellar.” The finished wines will be a bottled under a label making it clear that they have been made with Washington fruit.

In Lillooet, Alex Nel (pictured here) will produce a modest volume of wine from whatever the estate vineyards yield this fall. Here are notes on current releases.

Fort Berens Riesling 2023 ($22.99 for 1,186 cases). The fruit for this wine was 57% from a Naramata vineyard and 43% from a Lillooet vineyard. The grapes were given 12 hours of skin contact and the free run juice had a long, cool fermentation in stainless steel. Ferment was stopped with 9.4 grams of residual sugar to balance the bright 7.7 grams of acidity. The wine begins with aromas of grapefruit. The palate shows notes of lemon, grapefruit and green apple. 91.

Fort Berens Chardonnay Reserve White Gold 2022 ($31.99 for 375 cases). The fruit for this wine is from the winery’s Dry Creek Vineyard in Lillooet. Half the grapes were whole cluster pressed while the other half were crushed, destemmed and left on the skins for four hours. The wine was fermented cool with natural yeast and aged nine months in French oak barrels (30% new). This is an elegant wine, with aromas and flavours of orchard fruits including peach and apple. The buttery notes on the palate give the wine richness and a long finish. 92.

Fort Berens Pinot Gris 2023 ($23.49 for 1,194 cases). The fruit for this wine is 74% from Osoyoos and 26% from two Lillooet vineyards. The grapes were crushed and left on the skins for four hours, with dry ice used to reduce oxygen contact. The wine was fermented at 11◦C to preserve the aromatics. It was aged four months on the lees. The wine has aromas and flavours of orchard fruits including peach and apple. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 90.

Fort Berens Blanc de Blanc 2021 ($34.99 for 1,974 bottles). This is the winery’s inaugural Blanc de Blanc Brut, made with Chardonnay from the estate’s Dry Creek vineyard. South African-born Alec Nel, who joined Fort Berens in January, 2021, was eager to make a traditional sparkling wine, believing that the hot days but cold nights at Lillooet would produce bright and fresh acidity. This wine has 7.7 grams of acidity, nicely balanced with seven grams of residual sugar. The wine was aged 20 months on the lees before being disgorged. The wine presents with a display of fine bubbles. The aroma is delicate, with notes of citrus and brioche. There is a touch of green apple on the crisply dry palate. 90.

Fort Berens Merlot Reserve 2021 ($41.99 for 187 cases). The fruit for this wine is from the winery’s two estate vineyards. To extract the aroma, colour and flavour, the crushed grapes spent two days on the skins before fermentation began. During ferment, there were pump-overs every four hours followed by three days of maceration after ferment. The wine was aged 15 months in French oak barrels (primarily second and third-fill). This is a dark wine with intense aromas and flavours of dark cherry, plum and blueberry with a touch of spice on the finish. 92.

Fort Berens Cabernet Franc Reserve 2021 ($44.99 for 266 cases). The fruit for this wine is from the winery’s two Lillooet vineyards. The grapes were given a two-day cold soak, followed by punch-downs and pump-overs every four hours during a warm ferment. The wine macerated on the skins a further eight days and was then aged for 15 months in French oak (55% new). This is a tightly structured wine that benefits from being decanted. There are aromas and flavours of blackberry, black currant and spice. 93.