Northern Lights Estate Winery Taking Shape
From left to right Pat Bell & son Doug – photos 250News
Prince George, B.C. -Northern Lights Estate Winery continues to make strides towards its planned opening this summer.
“Almost a year and a half ago now we said we’d be opening the summer of 2015 and we’re still on target for that,” says development partner Pat Bell.
“We hope for a very early summer opening so a lot will depend on the next three, four weeks and the progress we make. The building we’re confident will be ready on time, the question is will the winery be ready on time and we can’t open without the wine.”
Speaking of wine, operational partner Doug Bell (also Pat’s son) says the picturesque orchard includes over 2,200 plants and is in great hands due to the expertise of farm manager Noemie Touchette.
“We were really successful last year thanks to our farm manager who did a great job putting our farm together.”
Things are also shaping up in the building located on the south side of P.G. Pulpmill Road.
“Our facility is coming along really nicely (located just 30 metres from the Nechako River overlooking Prince George). The hard labour has been done already thanks to a lot of our local contractors. Now we’re on the finishing work on the inside and the outside of the building so within the next few months you’ll see it come together nicely.”
The building is located on the edge of the Nechako River
Once complete he says the facility will include a retail space with views of the river, a large patio area plus additional space for other events which he says will allow them to host corporate retreats and board meetings.
Pat adds the business will offer much more than wine.
“For us we really see this as being a centre of tourism for Prince George. It’s more than just a winery. Certainly the winery is the hub part of it but there’s an amphitheatre where we’ll be able to host concerts. We’ve already had numerous requests for weddings. We have ideas for different sorts of festivals so we see this as a real hub for Prince George.”
Another positive says Doug is the employment it will produce.
“I think that there’s two sets of employment opportunities within the winery. One is with the farm and the orchard. We expect that will vary from year to year and inside the winery we believe there’s an opportunity for anywhere from 8-15 people, again depending on the season and the amount of business that is generated.”
He’s also passionate about the fact it will allow them to promote the city.
“I believe that tourism in Prince George as well as the opportunity to showcase our culture in our area and our heritage is really important.”
And perhaps most importantly, he says the wine is fantastic.
“The wine is unbelievable. Especially fruit wines are what attracted me to the business. I initially started out as a beer drinker and I’ve changed my mind the more of the fruit wines I have drank. They’re unbelievable and I think most people in Prince George will enjoy them.”
Comments
good thing your son is running this isn’t it Pat…
C’mon racer, I know you want to try a bottle of baconater, perhaps a bottle of Refinery Red, or a pint of Pulp. Okay, one more. Ice Jam wine. :)
The location is bad, lots of traffic so will be noisy and dirty.. One view is of the old rusting sawmill, the other of a road. Good luck,though gents, to bad I don’t care for wine..lol
such pessamistic views…………..
I think it is nice to see something new in our city. I hope it works out well.
Congratulations Pat Bell for bringing a winery to P.G. A whole lot better than the whine and cheese comments that this story has engendered.
Some jealous people here.
Can’t wait for the wine tours to start ;)
As some other people have mentioned, I think there are a few posters on here who are upset they didn’t think of this idea first.
Cant wait to have some of the fruit wine drizzled over my ice cream!
It takes guts and cahonnes to do something outside of the mold. This is a huge step forward for Prince George. Let this be a catalyst for local farmers and let agriculture into the big picture.
Way to go guys,
cute Digitus Impudicus..
I am not much of a wine drinker…
even less of a Pat fan….
actually I am waiting to see how long it takes for them to yell for flood relief….and I have no doubts it will happen…..
teach them to build on a flood plain…seems he made comments along that line at one time….
FFS!! This is such a great addition! Finally a venue that takes advantage of PG’s best feature – those rivers.
In all fairness, they need to be given a chance to be successful. Its them spending the money. The soil is excellent for growing there. It would be a nice place for a weddding. Nice place to take wife or family to dinner.It will be the first winery in PG. and not just grape wine. I wish them well on their investement.
All positive as far as this new business in P.G. including the location.
One negative, (as mentioned above) the location, in terms of ice jam flooding.
Maybe with Pat’s political clout the confluence of the Nechako/Fraser can be dredged ;)
metalman.
I remember when there use to be an apple orchard down past there. That was when temperatures were a lot colder. I wish Pat and Doug success. I wonder if they will be buying local fruit for their winery.
Finally . A little diversification . Not a pat fan either but how is it that he is allowed to think outside of the box . Coincidence that local wines being sold in grocery stores ? Change laws for pat , son and ilk ? Nah , right ?
Ataloss: “Change laws for pat , son and ilk ? Nah , right ?”
I didn’t realize Pat Bell had a monopoly on BC Wine supply and production.
No, the law change to allow local wine sales in grocery stores was a direct thank you to Ben Stewart (Quail’s Gate Estate Winery) for stepping aside to allow CC to run in a safe riding when she couldn’t win in her own.
Thanks fate . Nice to see the cc payola machine leaving a few crumbs in pg . Why only local wine in grocery stores ? Why not locally produced ales and pilsners ? The transportation on booze is insane . Johnnybelt , look up ilk .
Darn . The transportation costs on booze is insane . Another thought . I guess the big brewing corps might have had a word or two with cc on that subject .
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 @ 2:47 PM by Fate
No, the law change to allow local wine sales in grocery stores was a direct thank you to Ben Stewart (Quail’s Gate Estate Winery) for stepping aside to allow CC to run in a safe riding when she couldn’t win in her own.
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To me, allowing wine sales in grocery stores seems to be more of a boon for the consumer then it is for the producer. I doubt were all going to turn into raging alcoholics once BC wine is more readily available. ie, I don’t see sales going through the roof because of this.
As for beer sales; apparently since they’re not a 100% BC product they may take a little longer to be approved for sale.
How much is it insured for when the ice jams crush everything. I
Maybe the city will buy it if an ice jam does damage?
Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2015 @ 10:13 AM by Hartly 2
I was driving down River Road the other day and noticed an empty lot where a house (or 2?) used to be upstream from the hatchery. Anyone know what happened to it (them)?
Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2015 @ 11:11 AM by graymare
The City bought & demolished them after the flood.
Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2015 @ 11:13 AM by Honestjoe
I don’t know if it is fact but I heard the City of PG bought them after the ice jam and flood of several years ago.
I agree with Furbink. It is about time that our rivers are used as an attraction and not industrial. I wish the Bells good luck with this venue and hopefully more investors will follow this lead. A nice restaurant/pub along the river would also be nice.
I realize no one follows links posted here but on the off chance, check out this place in Kamloops. . . http://www.stormsrestaurant.ca/about.php we need places like this.
Allowing wine sale in grocery stores is more of a boon for the consumer than it is for the producer .
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