Quick Conversations In Wine – Heleen Pannekoek from Fort Berens Winery

The Vancouver International Wine Festival is on and we’ve interviewed a few of the attendees that you can meet at the 2024 Festival. Here’s our Q&A with Heleen Pannekoek from Fort Berens Winery in Lillooet, British Columbia.  Find more on the Wine Festival here.

When and how did you know the wine industry was where you belonged?

In our mid-thirties, my husband and I had long talks and did some “self-reflecting” to decide on how we wanted to spend the rest of our working careers and how we could best combine them with raising a family. We had this view of our kids growing up in the countryside rather than the city, while we were both working in jobs connected to big cities. Great food and wine were our passion and that was the start of a long journey that led us from The Netherlands to Lillooet.

Who inspired you to be in wine? Do you have a mentor?

My parents started to have an appreciation of wines in the 70s and that’s where the interest began. We would visit lots of regions in France in my youth. The appreciation of good local food, and later the combination of good food paired with great wines started with my parent’s appreciation for them.

What is your favourite food & wine pairing?

There are too many to mention and the diverse options are the best part of enjoying food and wine, in my opinion. Rieslings are usually great with almost everything. But equally, I also love a grilled steak from the barbeque with a wonderful ‘spicy’ Cabernet Franc.

Do you have a favourite style of wine?

Elegance and balance are key for me. That’s also why I love good Barolo, it’s a shame that Nebbiolo grapes aren’t particularly suited for our Canadian short-growing season. I usually gear towards dryer styles of wines with fresh acidity, but a good, sweet white with enough balance can be so delicious also.

When you are not in the vineyard/winery, what are you doing?

Hiking in our amazing area or gardening in my backyard are some of my favourite things. And having great food and wine with good company.

Where did you study/learn to make wine?

I made a batch of wine at home once back in the Netherlands from our 2 backyard grapevines, which worked but also made me realize that winemaking is something to be left to the professionals. When we first moved to Canada, I took the Viticulture Course at Okanagan College. After 5 years, I also left the vineyard work to someone with more knowledge in that field than I have. I still like to discuss with our vineyard manager how to grow our grapes and what to do, but I no longer do that work myself. I currently look after several general management areas like finance and HR, and I lead the Business-to-Business sales team.

Any advice for women wanting to follow in your footsteps?

If you have a lot of passion for growing things and for producing wines, and if you’re not afraid to put all your time and effort into setting up your own business, give it a go! In the beginning, it’s important to find good advice on items you’re the least strong at, this can prevent you from making the big mistakes. But always be ready to make your own choices for yourself and your own business.

How are you reacting to climate change in your part of the world?

This is a difficult subject. It seems like we’re seeing more extremes (e.g. the summer of 2021 with the early season drought and subsequent heatwave and fires). Climate change is impacting all of us and we need to learn to adapt and pivot to these changes. Just coming out of a very cold winter, it may sound weird but overall, I believe it’s helping us to grow great grapes in Lillooet. I’m happy to be where we are, and I believe that our area will grow over the years to come. BC has great potential for vineyards and making excellent wines.

Do you have a favourite wine region aside from where you are working/living?

There are so many amazing regions in Europe, like Tuscany and Provence. I’m not sure which one I would choose. The ancient buildings are something that I miss now that I’m living in Canada. When it comes to dramatic natural beauty though, I believe that we live in a wonderful region. 😊

What do you love about your current winery/role/job?

I like being an entrepreneur, it’s so diverse! Daily, I speak with customers and our very diverse group of colleagues, I work on ‘here-and-now’ stuff like our landscaping, but also on building our long-term strategy.

If wine wasn’t your career, what would you be doing?

OMG, I was a banker before we started. In the first few years of our business, almost 15 years ago, I thought that it would be easy to get back into that if we weren’t successful in setting up our winery. Now it’s been so long, and I also don’t think that I’d feel that passionate about banking again. So, I have no idea. Thankfully this is my passion and I love doing it, and I plan to stay in this fabulous wine industry for many years to come.