In BC we welcomed the bountiful grape harvest of 2025, after we had two terrible years with cold winter weather that devastated our grape vines. White wines are usually the first to be released after a harvest. I received several bottles of the 2025 vintage wines from Lillooet’s Fort Berens Estate Winery, and today I tasted two of those wines: Fort Berens Small Lot Grüner Veltliner 2025 and Fort Berens Riesling 2025. Both wines are certified sustainable by Sustainable Winegrowing BC. Fort Berens received this certification in 2025, so all their wines will carry this designation. The wines are also vegan-friendly.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Fort Berens Estate Winery Small Lot Gruner Veltliner 2025 (BC $25.99)
Winemaker’s notes, “This Small Lot wine was handcrafted from a very small batch of hand-picked estate grown grapes from a select block in our Red Rock Vineyard, picked after a long and slow ripening period. 70% of the grapes were destemmed and crushed allowing 4 hours skin contact before pressing for optimal flavour extraction. 30% whole cluster pressing for mouthfeel, all juice fermented cold in stainless steel tanks.”
Appearance: A clear, bright, medium-intensity pear skin colour.
Nose: Medium-minus intensity aromas of pears, apricots, white flowers, lime, and hints of sweet spice and leafiness. The aromas bump up to medium-plus after decanting. Add tropical fruit and grape stem to the aromas and lessen the pears and apricots.
Palate: Dry, medium-plus body with a smooth, soft mouthfeel. Medium-plus acidity leaves a light, acidic prickle in your mouth. A mix of flavours, covering pears, limes, tropical fruit, floral, and sweet spices. Some steeliness on the palate as well. The wine gets lighter bodied after decanting with the flavours, other than tropical fruit, lessening. I also picked up a hint of peach.
Finish: Medium-plus length, finishing with tart fruit, pears, and floral along with a touch of pepperiness, grape stem, and steeliness. No change to the finish after decanting.
A smooth, soft wine with a mix of tropical, floral and stone fruit flavours. A light acidic backbone.
Rating: 
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The Fort Berens Estate Winery Small Lot Grüner Veltliner 2025 shows a bright pear skin colour with aromas of pear, apricot, white flowers, lime, and subtle sweet spice, becoming stronger, adding tropical fruit and grape stem notes after decanting. The palate is dry and medium-plus in body with a smooth texture and fresh acidity, offering pear, lime, tropical fruit, floral, and sweet spice flavours accented by steely minerality. It finishes medium-plus in length with tart fruit, pear, floral notes, pepperiness, grape stem, and steeliness.
Fort Berens Estate Winery Riesling 2025 (BC $23.99)
Winemaker’s notes, “Composition: 100% Riesling from our Dry Creek (64%) and Red Rock (36%) vineyards…The grapes were hand-picked and given 12 hours skin contact after crushing and were then lightly pressed to collect the free run juice. The fermentation in stainless steel was long and cold, and 2 yeast strains were used to optimize the aromatics. After daily tasting, the ferment 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 give it an elegant and aromatic palate.”
Appearance: Medium intensity, bright, clear lemon colour with a green tint.
Nose: Medium-plus to pronounced aromas of tropical fruits, green fruits, pears, and a touch of nutmeg. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: This wine is dry, medium-bodied, with a round, thicker mouthfeel. High acidity gives this wine vibrant tension. Pears, crisp apples, limes, green fruits, and tropical fruit flavours. The body lightens up a bit with swirling in the glass, and you can taste a touch of sweetness. No change to the body or flavours after decanting.
Finish: Medium-plus to long length, finishing with tart fruit flavours, green fruit, tropical fruit, and crisp apples. No change to the finish after decanting.
A fresh Riesling with bright acidity and crisp fruit flavours. No need to decant. Open and enjoy at your leisure. This wine can easily age 5 years or more.
Rating: The Fort Berens Estate Winery Riesling 2025 shows a bright lemon colour with a green tint and expressive aromas of tropical fruit, green fruit, pear, and a hint of nutmeg. The palate is dry and medium-bodied with a round texture and vibrant, high acidity, offering flavours of pear, crisp apple, lime, green fruit, and tropical fruit, with a subtle sweetness as the wine opens. It finishes medium-plus to long with lively tart fruit, green fruit, tropical fruit, and crisp apple flavours that linger.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
Both wines are available to purchase online from the Fort Beren’s website:
- Fort Berens Estate Winery Riesling 2025 (the 2024 vintage is currently listed on their website)
- Fort Berens Estate Winery Small Lot Gruner Veltliner 2025
The Fort Beren’s Riesling is available at BC Liquor stores. Both wines are available at Everything Wine stores.
