By Ben Tompkins

Drink Wine Save Bears

Northern Lights Winery aims to collect over 20,000 pounds of apples in an effort to reduce Human-Bear conflict

Aug 12, 2021 | 5:01 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Northern Lights Estate Winery and the Northern Bear Awareness Society of Prince George is hoping to collect over 20,000lbs of apples to add to the more than 100,000lbs it has received since 2015.

These apples are donated by residents and can be dropped off at Northern Lights Estate Winery. There is also a small crew of volunteers that are available to pick apples for homeowners that are unable to pick their own fruit.

“When bears are attracted to residential areas, not only are the residents at risk but so are the bears. Many bears are killed every year because they are thought to pose a risk to the health and safety of people in the area,” says Noemie Touchette, Director of Operations at Northern Lights Estate Winery.

The idea came about early in 2015 while in discussion with the Northern Bear Aware Society on how to reduce the attractants that occur in areas of the city where bear activity is high year after year.

The team at NLEW believes that sustainability and environmental stewardship means more than just what we do on our own site. It also means contributing back to the broader area which includes wildlife habitat and the community. Also, the opportunity to source Northern Fruit which is better for winemaking was initially a challenge until this solution was developed

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“The solution to both problems came together in a very natural way,” says Doug Bell, operating partner for NLEW. “In recent years there has been up to 25,000 calls about bears to the conservation office annually in BC and we believe that this program is making an impact in reducing these as well as raising money and awareness for the problem”.

The apples are used in the creation of several wines, most notably the Ursa apple, Boreal Frizante sparkling, and the newest hit of 2021 called Pink Knight

The wine produced from these northern hardy apples is a beautiful blend of sweet and sour. It produces an off-dry wine similar to a Pinot Gris Grape wine. The blend of apples has the right aromatics and complexity to pair well with many different foods and is sold across BC at select retailers.

This year in an addition to the program, individuals can make their own fruit wines from fruits harvested by bringing them into Hobby Brews by Northern Lights.

“You can now get the same professional wines found at Northern Lights Winery using your own fruits by bringing them into Hobby Brews. This is a great way to use up excess fruit and restock your wine cellar at the same time,” says Diana Bell, operating partner of Hobby Brews by Northern Lights.

Early indications are that the apple harvest in 2021 is set to be one of the largest in recent years and with that will come many hungry bears looking for an easy meal. To keep our communities and bears safe, it is incredibly important that homeowners pick their fruit before it ripens.