1.
Where will I find Fort Wine Co. products other than at the
winery? |
Our
products are currently featured in a number of BC Liquor Stores,
Beer & Wine Stores and restaurants. Now that the word is out
about our terrific fruit wine products, we expect that our wine
products will become even more available. For a current list of
locations selling The Fort Wine Co. products, please click
here.
| 2.
Can I order the wines directly from you? |
You
sure can. You can now order all of our wines by phone, fax &
e-mail. For more contact and ordering info, please click
here.
We've
also got a toll free number for out of towners: 1-866-921-WINE.
We use Loomis Couriers to deliver our wines to just about anywhere
in Canada.
| 3.
How is Iced Apple Wine made? |
Through
a special process called "Cryo-extraction". A blend
of quality apple juice is flash frozen, then slowly allowed to
thaw out where the juice is taken out of the ice, leaving behind
much of the water content. The resulting concentrated juice is
then processed under scrupulous and consistent methods to create
this very special wine.
| 4.
At what temperature should fruit wine be served? |
Fruit wines
should be served chilled, similar to grape white wines. Store
fruit wines in a cool dry location with minimal temperature variations.
| 5.
Why do you control the temperature of your tanks? |
A long and
cool fermentation (14'C - 17'C) ensures strong aromatic qualities
of the wine. It is a little riskier from a winemaking standpoint,
but the results are well worth it.
| 6.
Do your wines have sulfites? |
Our wines
do have sulfites. The amounts are low compared to a lot of other
traditional wines due to the fact that our pH levels on our wines
are low. They simply do not need a high amount of SO2 like other
wines. However, SO2 is important for being able to age the wines
for any period of time.
| 7.
What foods do your wines go with? |
Our wines
are very versatile and will go with a variety of foods. Typically,
they go well with festive foods and foods that are very flavourful.
Cranberry wine is terrific with Thai cuisine and with traditional
Thanksgiving turkey dinners. The fruit wines are also very good
with outdoor meals such as BBQ. The Fortified wines are good on
their own, with desserts, and can also be used creatively in a
variety of bar drinks.
| 8.
How long do the wines last once they have been opened? |
Similar to
regular grape wines, our fruit wines will last about three to
four days once opened. Keep them refrigerated to increase that
time. Fortified wines, due to their higher alcohol content, will
last several months after opening if kept in your fridge. But
they are so delicious, we'd be surprised if they lasted that long.
| 9.
What is the alcohol level of the wines? |
They range
between 11% and 18% depending on the fruit and style.
| 10.
What is the difference between a liqueur and fortified wine? |
Our fortified
wines are partially fermented (to about 5%) and then alcohol is
added. This stops the fermentation and preserves the strong aromatic
and fruit characteristics of the wine. It also keeps the wine
on the sweet side.
| 11.
Where does your fruit come from? |
Our fruit
comes mostly from local Fraser Valley fruit growers. Our peaches,
apricots and apples come from the Okanagan. The cranberries come
straight from our own cranberry bogs.
| 12.
What type of yeast do you use? |
We use special
strains of yeast and enzymes that are specific to the fruit wines
we make, which accentuate the fruit characteristics.
| 13.
How big are your tanks? |
We have tanks
ranging from 1,000L all the way up to 9,000L. We have a total
tank capacity of 49,000L. At three batches a year, we can now
produce a total of 147,000L a year or about 200,000 750ml bottles
of wine.
| 14.
How long does it take to make a batch of fruit wine? |
Depending
on the fruit used or style of wine made, it takes an average of
4 months to make.
|
