TIM PAWSEY is a well-travelled food and wine writer at various publications, including WHERE Vancouver, Quench, SIP, Vitis, The Alchemist and others. Find him at hiredbelly. com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @hiredbelly and Facebook @TheHiredBelly.
Raising the Bar At Cederberg, Nel won a coveted Best in Show (top 50) ranking at the Decanter World Wine Awards. He has his sights set firmly on another Decanter win. Lillooet has the right conditions: “It’s a completely dry climate that makes for super-healthy grapes. And that diurnal shift, with hot days and cold nights, is exactly what you want to make elegant styles of wines.” Also of note, winds off Seton Lake mitigate any wildfire smoke. Nel really enjoys working with Cabernet Franc and Riesling, both new varieties to him. There’s also a sparkling wine in the works, and he has introduced a more sophisticated barrel program. Nel is truly convinced that Fort Berens belongs in the same league, which means we can look forward to more award-winning wines from this blossoming region. Awards & Accolades Fort Berens unveiled their inaugural estate‑grown releases in 2012. Two years later, the 2012 Estate Riesling won a prestigious BC Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Award (beside only 11 other wines from the entire province). Since then, the winery has expanded production and increased plantings to 37 acres. Their wines continue to win notable accolades and awards from Decanter World Wine Awards, Wine Press Northwest and many more. In 2022, Fort Berens was named #3 in the Top 10 Small Wineries at the National Wine Awards of Canada.
Meet the Winemaker In 2021, Fort Berens appointed highly respected South African Alessandro (Alex) Nel as winemaker. The opportunity to make wine in an undiscovered region appealed to Nel. He and his wife, Tammy (an accomplished winemaker in her own right), had studied in Stellenbosch, and then worked in New Zealand, Sonoma, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley before heading home to the highest- elevation vineyards in South Africa. Cederberg is 250 kilometres north of Cape Town and “pretty isolated,” says Nel, which is why they were also intrigued by the chance to work in Lillooet.
“We wanted to experience a new destination, something new and exciting, which BC is: upcoming and different…. Once we got here, we were delighted to discover the outdoors and open spaces and, as it turns out, a special little spot with some great wines.”
Alessandro (Alex) Nel Winemaker
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