Former British Columbia cabinet minister Pat Bell is spending more than $1 million to open the province's most northerly winery – a fruit winery, on 4.2 acres near Prince George, he told Business in Vancouver October 15.
"We likely would have qualified for various government programs but I refused to apply for any of them because it would have caused a controversy given my past in government," he said.
He will even stay out of lobbying government to do what other B.C. fruit winery owners have long wanted: the ability to qualify for the B.C. Wine Authority's BCVQA symbol and be sold in BCVQA stores.
Bell's son, Doug Bell, will be the operating partner of what will be known as Northern Lights Estate Winery. Bell will work part time at the facility given that he is on the board of Conifex Timber Inc. (TSX-Venture:CFF) and is providing advice to the engineering company Allnorth.
Bell sought advice from fruit winery owners and believes his business plan is sound although he jokes that he's not sure whether it's a "vision or a delusion."
He will make wine from 10 fruits including three that have not yet been made into wine in B.C.: jostaberry, goji berry and haskap.
Haskap, he believes, is a fruit that tastes similar to grapes.
Bell has already received a shipment of haskap berries and has made a home brew that he said he thinks is "quite appealing and will be a good seller."
Sales are not expected to start until 2015, although wine making can begin before then because of flexible rules that allow new fruit wineries to make wine from purchased fruit during their first three years in business. After that, B.C. fruit wineries must produce at least 25% of the fruit used in their wines to qualify for tax status as a land-based winery, Bell said.
His plan is to expand to 2,000 cases and sell all of that at an on-site wine store.
Bell, now 56-years-old, did not run in the last provincial election after being diagnosed with an aneurysm. He said doctors are watching the aneurysm closely but that he feels fine.
"I still have a good career of wine-making in front of me," he said.
