Northern Lights Estate Winery donated close to $4,000 to the Northern Bear Aware Society for the fruits of its labour.
This fall the society helped collect about 9,000 pounds of fruit, which B.C's most northern winery will use to make a Lumiere Blanche.
Throughout the fall, Bear Aware Program volunteers picked fruit from trees across the city from homeowners who offered the bounty. Apple owners, too, dropped off hundreds of pounds. At the end of it, more than 20 varieties showed up in the mix.
It's a win-win for the two, with bear attractants removed from region and a whole host of product for the vintners.
In October 2015 the winery also made a $2,500 cash donation to the society.
"This is a real boost for us," said Society president Dave Bakker at the time. "It frees us up to direct money into better operations. A good reason for doing that is making an even bigger Fruit Exchange Program... I think this is just the beginning of what we can do to collect that unwanted fruit."
The white wine from the latest efforts will be ready for sale in March.
-with files from Frank Peebles
