iNwine Wednesday: Fort Berens Winery Cabernet Franc
B.C. Cabernet Franc is seeing the spotlight these days and has become a favourite for critics in our wine world. No longer playing second fiddle to its glamourous cousin Cabernet Sauvignon, our B.C. Cabernet Francs have evolved rapidly from having a small cult following to becoming a mainstream fave for red wine lovers.
This week deserves a fireside red to enjoy while you gaze at your Christmas tree and log on to virtual zoom calls with your loved ones and I suggest a Cab Franc.
Fort Berens Winery is a pioneer winery in Lillooet. This stunning part of our province, with its dramatic mountainscape, rolling farmlands and vineyards, is still a relatively new wine region but will play a big role in our future wine celebrity thanks to the great success of Fort Berens. Do mark this winery as a destination to visit once travel is allowed again.
2018 Cabernet Franc Reserve
Tasting Notes:
Deep ruby in colour, this wine features aromas of ripe plums, raspberry jam, chocolate covered berries and coffee beans. The palate is bristling with notes of black currants and fresh red berries. Full bodied and highly balanced, it has a good mid-palate weight and a lengthy finish.
Winemaker Notes:
A portion of the Cabernet Franc grapes were left whole cluster on the bottom of the tank while the balance of the grapes were destemmed and left whole berry. This allowed for natural carbonic maceration in the tank. The berries were left to cold soak for four days before natural fermentation started. The wine was aged in barrels for 14 months. Then during blending, a small portion of Cabernet Sauvignon was added to provide more depth and complexity.
The wines are widely available at the B.C. liquor stores.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor.
