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JUNE NEWS borne fruit, and the first wines are hit- ting store shelves. Fort Berens Estate Winery, based in the BC Wine Region Matures V ancouver, British Columbia—A five-year adventure of cultivat- ing a new wine-producing re- gion on Canada's West Coast has Fraser Canyon three hours north of Vancou- ver, hosted an official launch party for the first wines made from locally grown grapes. Fort Berens owners Ralf de Bruin and Heleen Pan- nekoek immigrated to Canada in 2008, leav- ing corporate careers in the Netherlands for a slower pace of life as vintners. They sold their home just outside Amster- NORTHWEST Lillooet BRITISH COLUMBIA Vancouver Victoria Seattle dam and, after consulting with John Vielvoye (a former provincial government grape specialist) and viticulturist Richard Cleave, they opted to settle in Lillooet, where growing trials had been under way since the mid-2000s. In 2009 De Bruin and Pannekoek planted 36,000 vines at a 20- WA Spokane ID Yakima OR acre site on the east side of the Fraser River, where the breadth of the river valley and a gap in mountains to the west ensured adequate sun exposure. Young West Coast wineries close to producing wine from 100% estate fruit While their vines matured, the couple initially made wine with grapes from the Okanagan to help establish awareness of the fledgling operation. With the 2011 vin- tage, however, their own estate vineyards in Lillooet yielded 40% of the grapes needed for production, enough for three wines using estate-grown fruit—Riesling, Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir rosé. Steps to develop commercial winegrape vineyards in the area began in 2005. Grapes had been grown there since 1965, but the 2005 trials were the first to inves- tigate large-scale commercial potential. Then-mayor Christ'l Roshard was one of two landowners who made property available, with nine white and nine red varieties planted at the two sites. Three additional plantings were established in 2006. The BC government granted $40,000 to the British Columbia Grape Growers Association in 2007 to sup- port further exploration of the region's com- mercial grapegrowing potential. —Peter Mitham winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "BC wine matures." Artisan W Prospero Equipment Corp. has the solut ions you need for this years bottling and harvest seasons. Call today to speak to a sales representative. BOTTLING & PACKAGING CRUSHERS PRESSES TANKS PUMPS REFRIGERATIONS FILTERS AWS/Prospero 7787 Bell Road Windsor, CA 95492 Phone: (707) 838-2812 Fax: (707) 838-3164 westcoast@prosperocorp.biz West Coast The Winery Solution Finger Lakes P.E.C. Geneva 1902 Route 14N Geneva, NY 14456 Phone: (315) 719-0480 Fax: (315) 719-0481 geneva@prosperocorp.biz Main Office Prospero Equipment Corp. 123 Castleton Street Pleasantville, NY10570 Phone: (914) 769-6252 Fax: (914) 769-6786 info@prosperocorp.biz Wines & Vines JUne 2012 17