Bell To Unveil Winery Project
Friday, October 11, 2013 @ 4:00 AM
Crews clear property that will be home to Northern Lights Estate Winery – photo 250 News
Prince George, B.C. – Later today, former Provincial Cabinet Minister Pat Bell will be unveiling his latest project.
Northern Lights Estate Winery, will be located on P.G. Pulpmill Road, one kilometre east of the Cameron Street round about.
“When I was first involved in the Ministry of Agriculture back in 2005, the wine industry piqued my interest, and even though grape ultimately is what people see as wine, there is another whole segment to the industry called fruit wine that is evolving quickly and is a much more practical opportunity for us here in Prince George.”
Crews have been working on clearing the 4 acre property, to prepare it for the planting of nearly 2200 plants for the orchard for this fruit winery. Two acres will be planted with rhubarb, apple, gooseberry, black current , honey-berry and raspberry the source of the juices for the fruit wines.
In addition to an orchard, the project ( which will be done in phases) will see the development of the winery, a fine restaurant which Bell says will be “the king of restaurant you would expect to see if you were in the Okanagan going to a winery down there, really representing locally produced products.”
The other aspect of the project will see the development of a small terraced amphi-theatre which can accommodate about 150 people “It will be perfect for small concerts, or perhaps weddings and really add something to the ambiance of the winery and add a new and exciting element for tourism in Prince George” says Bell.
Bell says it was former Prince George City Councillor Don Basserman who got him interested in fruit wines, “I sampled some of his wines, five or six years ago.” It was after that, that Bell started planting his own little orchard on his home property on the banks of the Nechako River. “People shouldn’t worry about drinking wine made by Pat Bell, we intend on bringing in a consultant wine maker who will help support our wine making activities for the first three or four years, and gradually transition over to a local wine maker, so it won’t be me, it will be someone else, but certainly I will always be there to dabble a little bit and add my thoughts on what would make a great wine.”
The whole project is expected to be over a million dollars, funding he has arranged on his own “I have never and will never ask for any support from government programs, even though we would likely qualify for a couple of programs through the Investment Agriculture Foundation. I am staying as far away from any government funding sources as I possible can.”
The winery building is expected to be complete in the late fall of next year. Under current legislation, an orchard can purchase fruit for the first three years of operations to allow an orchard to mature. Bell says they have already put in orders for some fruit producers locally and from Quesnel to fill the gap between his orchard’s initial planting and mature harvesting time. He expects they will be making wine by the end of 2014, and that wine will be ready for sale in the summer of 2015.
Comments
A winery that will get flooded almost every year, great idea. At least the land had to be cheap. And the special blend that comes from the stink of husky and the pulp mills as their stacks belch out loads of pollution. Perfect place for nothing..lol
We certainly hope that electric fencing is included in the plan
Funny spot close to all the pollution of industry. I think I seen that land for sale last year for like $80,000. I thought it would make a good place for a sandwich bar along the river and a small campground… it gets lots of sun anyhow.
As for the possibility of growing grapes I know of one person that grew them in PG successfully, so it is possible.
No mention of Bell growing grapes in the article.
Where he is locating it doesn’t usually flood.
No, won’t be accessing government funds, probably just private ones cultivated with taxpayer money.
I predict a massive failure; extremely poor location.
So not only will he own a Wendy’s but. Burger King too! That should take care of the bear problem in PG. I thought having bear attractant in your yard was a fine able offense!
Good to see the usual crowd in fine form once again. :)
Good on Pat Bell for seeing an opportunity and going for it! Although I really wish they’d stop calling this stuff “wine”.
Have to agree with Axman! Pat Bell knows what he is doing and will make sure that his fruit wines will be certified as organic! The usual naysayers are at it again, of course! If it was up to them we would al still be living in mud huts.
Lets hope it better then that other local crap the call beer
Finally someone is putting a restaurant near the rivers. Let’s hope there is a patio that is not on a major road with the view of traffic.
Good luck to him in this venture. I hope it turns out to be the success it’s projected to be. While I personally think anyone who’d start a business in BC these days has already got a hole in their head, in Pat’s case he’ll probably need one anyways to fix that aneurism.
Good for you Pat! I have always thought it would be nice to have a restaurant overlooking the river. Hopefully other businesses will locate on the rivers in town. Pat for Mayor!!!
It’s guys like Pat Bell that make this town a better place to live. Tell me PVal, Sine Nomine, and NoWay, what are you doing to make Prince George just a little better? Sitting at your computers at 4 in the morning complaining?
I drive by there everyday and have never seen water on that piece of property. IF he was building it on the river side of the road where that abandoned ball field is, flooding would be a problem. Do you think for a second that Pat Bell would spend a dime on a piece of property that flooded every year?
Pat Bell is a class act and a good guy. He was the hardest working minister in this or any other government in a province where politics sometimes gets absurd. Will this be a huge success? Who knows. What I do know that if he’s as passionate about this project as he was about representing the people of the area (ask McKenzie about what Pat Bell means to them), I for one will look forward to supporting his venture by purchasing these products when they hit the market. I know that he won’t be sitting on his a$$ at a computer at 4 in the morning pi$$ing and moaning.
I do think that the comments on bear awareness have some merit. This year we had a huge black bear rip our garbage apart. Our garbage is now stored in the garage. I imagine there will be fencing not just for the bears but the other animals that like to eat too.
Good for Pat Bell. He’s certainly not going to let all the Debbie Downers who frequent this site stop him.
And I would jump at the chance to vote for Pat Bell for Mayor of Prince George.
Way to go Pat.
Best of luck It will be good for pg
This town does have a real problem with too many Bears, something very few towns have to deal with.
Well said, PGguy12334! Honestly, I don’t understand all the negative nellies complaining about someone doing something productive, with their own funds that will have a positive impact on the community.
Sounds great but I can’t get past the bear issue. The paper had an article about someone who received a warning about apples on their trees even tho they had put an electric fence around their fruit trees. My neighbour had his garbage in his garage and the bears just ripped into his garage. I don’t think an electric fence is going to stop a determined bear. Kind of hard to make wine without the fruit.
The ears are extra active this year. We had an issue with a bear about 12 years ago then nothing. This year even after moving the can inside, he still showed up for 2 more days. Fired a bear banger in his general direction and that’s the last we’ve seen of him.
This idea of ticketing people who have bear attractants in their yards is nuts. How many times do you see garbage cans out on the road a whole day before the truck comes. Are those folks all going to get a visit from the CO and a ticket? With the long weekend and the garbage days changing because of the Monday holiday, you look and see how many people will be confused this week and put their cans out a day early.
PGguy – well said. I was dismayed to see all of the negative comments. Sometimes people are so stuck in their own misery they can’t stand the prospect of someone else’s success. I really hope this projecto works out. I will definitely be a customer!
He says that the wine will be ready for sale by 2015. Does he mean for sale at the restaurant/winery, or on the open market??
Hopefully he can get a liquor license.
I hope this works out for him. Good for him and whomever partners with him.
One question though: are they going to sell ice wine?
Oh yeah, and Pat for Mayor!
Good luck to Pat Bell…wonderful to see new development…but something doesn’t add up. This is a 4 acre property if I read the story correctly. A restaurant , an ampi-theatre…parking , equipment facility ,winery…this alone would take up about 1 acre…that leaves 3 acres for an orchard…what on earth could you grow on 3 acres in Prince George that would support a winery? Mr. Bell says he will not count on the gov’t for help..I believe him. But does he have information that the liqour laws will be changed allowing full import of grapes and othe fruits? That is the only way this thing will work.
He could import grapes from Kelowna.
As I stated before. The story specifically states that this winery will not be using GRAPES. It states, they will plant 2200 plants for the FRUIT winery.
Ie: Rhubarb, Apple, Gooseberry, Black Current, Honey, Berry, Raspberry. These plants can be grown easily in Prince George, and in fact this could create a market for local growers. In that sense it is a good idea.
This is good news! Good on Pat Bell. Having a regional winery is a fantastic idea and will complement our local brewery.
Palopu, I believe having the wine available for sale in 2015 would include sales at the proposed restaurant as well. Pat Bell understands marketing so I’m confident he will achieve both simultaneously.
Obtaining a liquor license is merely a formality for a project of this size. It shouldn’t be a problem.
I dont know how anyone, including Pat Bell, has ever come up with a business plan without asking all of the 250 News experts first.
Um…”import” doesn’t apply to local markets…
LOL…Interceptor. Yesterday everyone was a psychologist, today they are business experts. The sulphur flavoured fruit wine idea sounds interesting though….
bornandbred – Ice wine is made from grapes. The fruit mentioned in the article will either be added to grapes or made from the fruit itself.
It is not a true ice wine if made from the fruit in the article. although. the flavour can be added to the grapes used for ice wine.
Many people have been using these fruits mentioned for homemade wine for years with huge success!
Kudos to someone starting a business on their own.
3 acres would be more than ample for the type of fruit to make this venture worthwhile.
Ready for sale by the time we have the Winter Games 2015 would be a very good move…from a marketing prospective.
P Val. Nice “negative” opening line to start the opinions about this venture. I also drive by that piece of property daily and have not seen it flood. Why so negative about someone trying to start up an interesting business with their own funds?
Pat for Mayor!
I would not eat anything that was being grown under the fallout of the pulp mills. These Industries play a key role in the illness’ that surrounds this city. Great concept, but not in this neck of the woods.
Bell states; “I am staying as far away from any government funding sources as I possible can.â
Seems practical given he will be appearing in court case regarding the WIDC debacle… now that’s government money greasing someone’s hands, right Mr. Bell?
“Why so negative about someone trying to start up an interesting business with their own funds?”
Easy, they are politically motivated. It is a cross any ex politician has to bear no matter on what side of the spectrum they were on. The more they were in the public’s eye, the worse it is. Fact of life and I am sure Pat understands that.
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As far as the kind of business he is setting up goes, Pat and his family are not exactly neophytes when it comes to the hospitality industry. With his background there, his knowledge of the wine industry, albeit fruit wine, and his reputation for getting things done, he is the person most likely to succeed in such a new venture for this region.
A perfect piece of property with southern exposure, protection from north winds, sloped land and river frontage on the other side of the road.
It will be interesting to see whether the restaurant will take advantage of the hill to provide a more panoramic view.
Now we just have to work on cleaning up the industrial yards on the south side of the river. I am sure that in time that too will happen.
It is these types of developments which will move PG up to the next tier of urbanism.
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Amphitheatre ….. easy to do on a hill. Can be done easily and relatively inexpensively with natural materials
Yes Pat of Mayor Green needs to go…. Cant wait….. we need a countdown for her leaving office like the winter games
Nevermind bears, there are a lot of human thieves in this town. If Exploration Place’s gardens got robbed, Bell’s orchard doesn’t stand a chance. All the more reason for electric fences!
A nice addition to the PG economy. Hope it is succesful.
I suppose the Bear Awareness people would have us cease all kinds of Agricultural activity since everything that is grown or produced can be considered an attractant.
Tell that to the hobby farmer that loses his sheep or calves to a bear, or the fruit and vegetable growers that frequent our farmers market! Fruit left to rot on ornamental fruit trees is one thing, but to start harassing people growing fruit either for personal consumption or for commercial purposes is getting a bit extreme!
NyteHawwk for your information I was at the opening announcement event and had a very good chat with Mr. Bell and there were no signs and forms of protesting.Growth and development is important to any community,that is realized, but because of were we live there are many circumstances which should be considered. We are not and never will be a society that judges or promotes human conflict. For the past thirteen years we have been providing information for educational purposes with the hopes that thru this changes will be made to reduce the human/bear conflict within the city and make our neighborhoods safer. I would like to ask of you if you have evidence of any member from NBAS acting in a harassing manor that you pass this information to our email nbasociety@gmail.com Thank you
A good news story – bear issue aside. However no government funding comment needs some clarifying. When does that MLA pension kick in? Who has some info on that. Deserving of the salaries and then some – its a big commitment. But the trough at the end of it all is way to deep. How would you like to be the mailman on Bruce Strachan route…. all of those cheques every month..
I would hope that Bruce uses direct deposit.
What people with pensions do with them is still for them to decide no matter how they got those pension payments.
If they choose to invest in A, rather than B, it is none of our business.
One thing is for sure, this is an investment in PG and BC, not to an investment in Mexico or Ecuador or Quebec.
We need more people like that.
Yawn PGuy1234! Complaining about complainers at 8am! The article said one king of a restaurant so I assumed Burger King!
I wasn’t complaining just stating the facts PGuy1234. Bears like berries, not sure about rhubarb. One thing for sure, rhubarb grows like dandelions in this country.
Kudos to the Bell family.
Yes Pat, please run for mayor. This city needs someone who actually knows what they’re doing in politics.
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