Northern Lights Estate Winery is, so far, only Northern Lights Estate Juicery but with a few flicks of the wrist on Friday, the wine process began.
Four tanks of fruity pulp have been sitting in their own juices - a cold, mushy stew called "must" - but it can hardly be expected to ferment into wine without a dose of yeast. Northern Lights is the first estate winery in Prince George, and the most northerly in Canada (next closest is Sherwood Park, Alberta's Barr Estate Winery), so the yeast on the must was a momentous occasion.
"It has been a fun journey, starting almost two years ago when we announced our intentions to the facility we have here today. We are really proud of it," said Doug Bell, operating partner of the family-run business. It occupies property on the north and south sides of PG Pulpmill Road at the base of the city's prominent cutbanks and the shores of the Nechako River.
Their company got a boost behind the scenes when Bonaparte Bend Winery in Cache Creek, a mom-and-pop operation with established history and reputation making fruit wine, decided to close due to retirement. They made the upstart Northern Lights an offer they couldn't refuse to purchase many key items of equipment and stock.
The occasion was also used to introduce Wendy Stevens, formerly of the management group at Quail's Gate Winery in Kelowna, now moving to Prince George to be the sales and service manager at Northern Lights.
Bell and the winery's operations team showed off the nearly completed building overlooking the river. It will soon be home to a vantage point restaurant, a patio, a tasting room, wine shop, demonstration kitchen, and of course the vintner facilities.
It has 10 vats ranging in size from 1,000 litres to 2,150 litres. All the wine made in them will be fruit-based.
The first four yeasted on Friday were honeyberry, blueberry, and two of strawberry-rhubarb.
"We originally saw it as a cottage winery but it has become something altogether different," said cofounder Pat Bell, Doug's father and former provincial government cabinet member, including the minister of agriculture. "If you subtract the really big wine companies in B.C., we would be considered a mid-sized winery. We will have a capacity to produce about 5,000 cases per year and the average winery in B.C. produces about 3,700 cases."
On hand, sprinkling the ceremonial first yeast, were Prince George mayor Lyn Hall plus MLAs Mike Morris and Shirley Bond.
"One of the things I learned about Pat is, he never dreams small and in many of those instances, he was absolutely right," said Bond, who marveled at the community possibilities for using the facility once it was fully open.
"When you have a dream, and you put in the work for it, you can absolutely do what you dream."
Morris said "it is great to see a winery in Prince George, as we become known more and more for things other than forestry to run our local economy."
"I remember standing across the road, in the mud," on the day of announcement two years ago, said Hall. "You made it seem like a mom-and-pop operation. Then I saw how much grander it grew from that. I look forward to having dinner here upstairs."
The Bells hinted that the opening of the facility might be as soon as June or July.
