This week, we started harvest in our estate vineyard in Lillooet. This harvest, however, is quite different. Like most BC wineries, our vineyards suffered significant winter damage earlier this year, and as a result, we have a very small crop, maybe 25-30% of our normal crop. To deal with this smaller harvest, we looked to learnings from those that came before us. For thousands of years, local First Nations people would travel long distances along trading routes in search of new harvests during lean times. Following their traditions, we ventured to Washington. In this renowned grape growing area, we partnered with Sagemoor Vineyards. Our assistant winemaker Seth ventured to this region to explore the vineyards, and we carefully selected vineyards with grapes that closely reflect the way we grow our own grapes. Our winemaker Alex is in Lillooet, working on the harvest of our estate grown grapes. Our assistant winemaker Seth is in Washington, now and for a number of weeks, working on the harvest of our Washington grown grapes. From here and there, Alex will be directing the grape picking, the pressing, and the fermentation of all grapes at both locations. In a few weeks, Seth will travel back with the wines we started producing in Washington, and we will finish these wines here in Lillooet. We will be producing and bottling distinct Lillooet VQA wines, and Washington AVA wines. We will be crafting the Fort Berens wines you have come to love, both from here and there. To follow along with the harvest and winemaking process for both our Lillooet and Washington wines, we invite you to follow along with our Here & There updates on Facebook and Insta @fortberens.
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