Northern Lights Estate Winery – photo 250News

Prince George, B.C.-  In just  two weeks, the Northern Lights Estate Winery on PG Pulpmill Road in Prince George, will celebrate its first  Anniversary, and what a year it has been.

“We’re so excited  about the way this first year has treated us,  about the way this community has treated us” says  Northern Lights  Operating Partner Doug Bell “This has been phenomenal,  we couldn’t have  predicted the kind of  support we’ve gotten  so far.”

The fruit winery  is making a mark in the fruit winery business says Bell ” We’re actually  quickly approaching  the top five  in fruit wineries in terms of production in B.C.,  We didn’t  expect that to happen so quickly.   We’re already at  capacity for making as much wine as we possibly can, so we’re increasing our capacity by 54% this year by getting new equipment.”

While the winery first  started  producing  product  with  a little help from  non locally grown   juices,  Bell says  they are now producing some wines that are from 100%  northern grown fruits  “Not only are we using our own orchard fruits,  we’re also  partnering with orchards in the north, such as Sweder  Berry,  Veekens we have now taken over  which is near the Airport, and Heritage  Acres Organics in Quesnel.  We also do  programs such as the Bear Aware  apple picking  program which we did last year.  We partnered with them  to take (apples from) areas that were at risk  of human-bear conflict  and were  able to take over 5,000 pounds (of unwanted apples) in 2015. ”     He says they are also working with  different groups and  First Nations  to  see if there are opportunities  to collect fruit  during normal wild berry picking  season.

The winery  is making its mark in Prince George both for its  fruit wines,  and for  its setting along the  banks of the Nechako River as it is quickly becoming a popular spot  for weddings and special  events.  In addition to  offering  winery tours,  Northern Lights is preparing to launch  joint tours with Pacific Western Brewing  “People can learn about the brewing process at PWB, se it in action, see what kind of new products they have coming  down the line, then come  to the winery and do the same, learn about how we make our wines what kind of fruits we  are growing on site and learn the whole process from start to finish.”  Those  tours start this Thursday.

Then on  Father’s Day, there’s a Bar B.Q. says Bell   “I think if we can give families a reason to come out and enjoy the winery,  enjoy the scenery, the river  and  get quality  time together the better. So  we’re trying to create events that will bring families together and create new things to do in Prince George.” Tickets for the Father’s Day  Bar B Q are being sold in advance and  the event is expected to be a sell out.

Those new things, include  a concert  with Gary Fjellgaard  on  June 25th  at the  amphitheatre  on the north side of the orchard  “So I think we have a couple of good things coming up.”

He says  the winery  continues to work with a number of  organizations including Tourism Prince George, “Where it’s possible,  we think its important to collaborate with the City, Tourism Prince George and other   businesses in the City to make sure we are all  successful.”