Press Release
June 9, 2004

The Fort Wine Co.’s unique white cranberry wine surpassed grape vintages from around the world to be selected as the surprise winner of the People’s Choice Award for Best White Wine in Show at the SOS Children’s Village Wine Festival & Tasting held recently in Surrey.

“The award is not totally unexpected to us, as our white cranberry has been well received in the market since we first introduced it last fall,” said Wade Bauck., President of The Fort Wine Co.

White cranberry wine is extremely rare, having been previously produced only in small quantities in the US and Canada. Producing it requires the same sort of timing as that found in producing ice wine from grapes in sub-zero winter conditions. Timing of the harvest is critical in that the cranberries must be picked during a short time frame in August when the berries are ripening but have not yet developed any red pigment to colour the wine. Last year, The Fort Wine Co. harvested more than 4,500kg (10,000 pounds) of white berries and began the process of producing wine. The White Cranberry wine was released publicly in early January and became a big seller almost immediately.