The mighty cranberry is one of only three fruits native to North America that are of significant commercial value. The other two are the blueberry and the concord grape.

Cranberries were once an important food and medicine for Native North Americans. The creeping cranberry plant thrives on a peat host. Various groups of even the earliest people in North America who lived in proximity to cranberry rich peat bogs made good use of the berries that ripened there in late summer. These aboriginal people made sauces from ripe cranberries to preserve fish and meats. They dried the fruits to cache away for nutrition over the cold winters. They almost certainly drank some form of cranberry tea. They may even have made some cranberry moonshine.

Medicinally speaking, cranberries were used by Native North Americans to treat a variety of illnesses, including bladder infections

Early European settlers soon discovered the benefits of cranberries, and in areas where they flourished, cranberries were very much a part of the Fall harvest, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Cranberries are a very durable little fruit that transports very well and were easily shipped all over the shop, even in the early days. The Hudson's Bay outpost in Fort Langley was doing commerce in cranberries as early as 1830. Somewhere along the way someone figured out that cranberries and poultry taste exceptionally good when consumed together.

The first known commercial cranberry bed was planted on Cape Cod in Dennis, Massachusetts in 1816 by Henry Hall, a revolutionary war veteran. The Hall family still grows cranberries. As a matter of fact, Henry Hall's cranberry bed is still in production today. Cranberry beds can be very long lived if taken care of. It is not uncommon for beds to be over 100 years old. Cranberry plants have longevity on their side.

Cannons and cannon balls for the USS Constitution were made of "bog iron", which was melted out of kettle bogs in southern Massachusettes. These bogs, which are found around the town of Wareham, MA, were then planted sometime after the War of Indepenance ended and are still under production today.

Horticultural Description

Contrary to popular opinion, cranberries do not grow in water. Beds are dry during the growing season, and are flooded for harvesting only.

The American cranberry is a low-growing, vining, woody, perennial shrub with small, alternate, oval leaves. The plant produces trailing stems or "runners" up to six feet long. The leaves, glossy green in summer, turn dark red during the dormant season, which is from November to April. Short vertical branches up to eight inches tall, called uprights, grow from buds on the runners and produce both vegetative and fruit buds. Each fruit bud contains as many as seven flowers.

After emerging from dormancy in May, the vines begin to develop new leaves, followed by flowers. Flowering typically begins mid-June and last from three to six weeks. Berries reach maturity approximately eighty days after full bloom and are harvested from September through early October.

Worldwide Production

The USA produces approximately 85% of the world's cranberry supply. Canada produces 15%. And a small but growing supply is now available from Chile.

The main producing areas of North America are Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Quebec and here in British Columbia.

95% of all cranberries harvested are used to make juice, now recognized as a very healthy addition to one's diet. The other 5% goes into such things as sauces, fresh fruit sales, sweetened dried craisins, the bakery trade, and last but not least, wine.

The Modern Cranberry

Today, more than ever, cranberries are regarded by the medical community as an important component of a healthy diet.

Recent research has indicated that cranberries are an excellent source of antioxidants. There has been a lot in the news lately about antioxidants. They are a naturally produced protector against cancer, heart and other diseases.

Nutritionists and those in the medical community believe that there is a clear association between a diet high in fruits and vegetables and a low risk of chronic disease.

Recent research has also shown that a glass or two of wine per day may be beneficial for the prevention of heart disease and stroke.

Through our cranberry wine, we combine the two - cranberries and wine - into three delicious concoctions: Red Cranberry Wine, White Cranberry Wine and Cranberry Klondike.

Cranberries at The Fort Wine Co.

The Fort Wine Co. is situated on a 20 acre cranberry farm in the picturesque Glen Valley, just east of Fort Langley. There is a real working vineyard underfoot.

Every year The Fort Wine Co. participates in Fort Langley's Cranberry Festival in early October. For more details you can surf into fortlangley.com. Folks come from all over the Lower Mainland to enjoy the festivities.

We currently make 3 varieties of Cranberry Wine, along with a great line up of other fruit wine varieties. As our winery continues to grow, and we continue to branch out into new flavours, our talented winemaker will be exploring new ways to play with cranberries and wine.

Red Cranberry Wine
The Fort Co. Cranberry Wine is our flagship product, and we are very proud that it has gained us such a loyal following. The Province newspaper, in one of their seasonal wine rating surveys, rated it as a top choice for wine to serve at Christmas dinner in 2004, over many well-respected grape reds & whites.

White Cranberry Wine
Our White Cranberry wine was rated as the Best White Wine in Show by the 500 people in attendance at a recent Lower Mainland wine festival. That win was against all of the 35 grape wineries taking part. Not bad eh? This product is unique and is highly sought after by our regular customers. There is only a very small window of opportunity for harvesting white cranberries, which is after they have ripened, but before they change colour.

Cranberry Klondike
Cranberry Klondike is our fortified cranberry dessert wine. It won Best Fortified Wine IN Show at the 2005 Northwest Wine Summit. Anthony Gismondi, a well known and respected Canadian wine critic, popped an 87/100 when he scored this wine (he apparently took quite a liking to our fruit dessert wines), and recommended using Cranberry Klondike as a sauce with turkey and pork to his gustatory readers. Our customers say that it is more than worthy of raising a glass or two of this deliciously different dessert wine.

Take a Tour of a Cranberry Winery

We are pleased to offer free public tours of our winery, which are offered every Sunday at 1 pm and 3 pm. For groups of 10 or more, we ask that you please call ahead so we make sure we have enough staff on site to show your group through our winery. We can be reached at 604-857-1101 (Lower Mainland) or 1-866-921-WINE (toll free).

We welcome you to come out and visit our cranberry farm and taste our delicious and healthy cranberry wines, amongst other award-winning fruit wine products that we produce.