Once prized in the courts of Europe and poured for royalty, Riesling was long considered one of the continent’s most noble wines, especially in regions along the Rhine River. In the 19th century, top bottles from Germany often commanded prices rivalling the great growths of Bordeaux. Today, Riesling is revered by knowledgeable wine drinkers for its remarkable range, from bone-dry to lusciously sweet, and for its ability to express terroir with precision and age gracefully for decades. Yet despite its regal history and extraordinary versatility at the table, it remains underappreciated by the wider public, an oversight that more wine lovers would happily correct if they gave this noble grape a chance.
Today, I hope to bring Riesling to your attention with these two wines from Lillooet’s Fort Berens Estate Winery Here & There Riesling 2024 and their Wild Ferment Reserve Riesling 2022. The 2022 grapes come from their estate, while the 2024 grapes come from WA state, due to the terrible winter cold snap we had in 2024 that decimated vineyards across the interior of BC. The “Here and There” refers to the grapes are made Here in BC, using grapes from There, Washington. I received these two wines from the winery. Here are my notes. Enjoy!
My Wine Tasting Notes
Fort Berens Estate Winery Here & There Riesling 2024 (BC $23.99)
The grapes for this wine came from the White Bluffs region in WA state. The White Bluffs appellation lies on a plateau, which extends the growing season. The appellation has a unique subsoil, of windblown silt over ancient lakebed sediment. Winemaker’s notes, “The grapes were hand picked and given 12 hours skin contact after crushing and were then lightly pressed to collect the free run juice, followed by a long and cold fermentation. After daily tasting, the ferment in stainless steel was stopped naturally by dramatically lowering the core temperature of the wine until it was no longer active. This left just enough residual sugar to balance the higher acid levels traditional in this noble grape variety. The wine was kept on the lees for 4 months before fining and filtering, to gave it an elegant and aromatic palate.”
Appearance: Clear, pale mix of lemon and straw colours.
Nose: Medium-minus aromas of fresh stone fruits, touches of green fruits, stoniness, and grape stem. The aromas bump up to medium intensity after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry, medium-plus body with a thicker mouthfeel. High acidity leave a strong acidic prickle in your mouth. Pronounced citrus, light touch of lime and peach, and other stone fruits flavours. Tart flavours overall. Orange comes out with swirling. Slightly lower acidity and prickle on your tongue after decanting. Flavours stay the same.
Finish: Medium-plus to long length finishing with citrus and a hint of lime and stoniness, plus grape stem. No change to the finish after decanting.
Rating: 
Fort Berens Estate Winery Here & There Riesling 2024 has a clear, pale lemon-straw hue with fresh aromas of stone fruits, green fruit, stoniness and a touch of grape stem. Dry and medium-plus in body, it has a thicker mouthfeel and bright, high acidity, delivering pronounced citrus, lime, peach and other tart stone fruit flavours, with a hint of orange emerging on the palate. The finish is medium-plus to long, lingering with citrus, lime, minerality and grape stem notes.
Fort Berens Estate Winery Wild Ferment Reserve Riesling 2022 (BC $32.99)
The grapes come from a select block in their Red Rock Vineyard. Winemaker’s notes, “The grapes were hand harvested, then 60% was whole cluster pressed and 40% was crushed and left on the skins for 12 hours. After racking, the wine underwent a long slow natural fermentation in oak barrels. It was then aged for 9 months in mostly neutral (12% new) barrels before bottling.” Here is a shout out also for the cork for this wine. It is one long, solid piece. Quality!
Appearance: A clear, medium-plus lemon colour in the glass.
Nose: Lighter, mellow aromas of mellow citrus and dried stone fruit, along with touches of honey and butterscotch. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: Dry, medium-plus body with a smooth, soft, thicker mouthfeel. Medium acidity leaves a light acidic prickle in your mouth. Tart, yet sweet, stone fruit flavours, plus mandarin orange, white flowers, and butterscotch. A hint of pepperiness toward the finish. The wine is less tart after decanting. Less orange and pepperiness as well.
Finish: Medium-plus to long length, finishing with orange, butterscotch, citrus and stone fruit flavours and light pepperiness. Less orange, pepperiness and tartness on the finish after decanting.
An elegant Riesling with a nice, smooth mouthfeel. Tasty stone fruit flavours, plus a touch of butterscotch. I prefer the undecanted version as the flavours are more vibrant.
Rating: 
– The Fort Berens Estate Winery Wild Ferment Reserve Riesling 2022 shows a clear, medium-plus lemon colour with gentle aromas of mellow citrus and dried stone fruit, layered with touches of honey and butterscotch. Dry and medium-plus in body, it offers a smooth, softly textured mouthfeel with medium acidity, revealing tart yet lightly sweet stone fruits, mandarin orange, white flowers and a hint of pepperiness. The finish is medium-plus to long, carrying citrus, orange, butterscotch and stone fruit flavours, becoming softer and less peppery with decanting.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
When I checked online at the winery website, I see that these vintages are sold out. There are now newer vintages for these two wines.
BC Liquor stores carry the Fort Berens Estate Winery Here & There Riesling 2024 and the Fort Berens Estate Winery Wild Ferment Reserve Riesling 2022. Everything Wine carries the Fort Berens Estate Winery Here & There Riesling 2024. Select Save on Foods stores carry the Fort Berens Estate Winery Wild Ferment Reserve Riesling but I cannot tell if it is the 2022 or 2023 vintage.
