Vitis Labrusca Vol. 1
Vitis Labrusca Vol. 1
Introducing our 2023 Concord Pet-Nat! Get your hands on one of these fun and “grape-y” flavour bombs!
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Vitis Labrusca is a grapevine species native to North America and the parent to many wonderful grapes like the one used in this cuvée - Concord. This Bottle is the first of many iterations of a hybrid varietal that has captured our hearts.
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Both grapes were hand crushed and macerated on skins individually. 13 day maceration for the Concord ferment and 11 days for the Vidal. The two were carefully blended to achieve a well balanced wine while highlighting the iconic Concord flavour. Drink this wine cold, on a warm summer day, and enjoy the nostalgic memories of purple freezies and grape juice.
Low-intervention, unfiltered, and bottled with lees.
WHERE TO FIND US
Toronto
Grape Witches
1247 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1X6
Outwith Wine
41 James St, Parry Sound P2A 1T6
Pizza Monster
213 Montreal St, Kingston, ON K7K 3G6
Sunnyside Provisions
287 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto, ON M6R 2M3
Paradise Grapevine
841 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6G 1M3
Greater Ontario
Lake Inez
1471 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M4L 2A1
Mac’s Pizza
759 Dovercourt Rd, Toronto, ON M6H 2X1
Archive Wine & Spirit
39 James St, St. Catharines, ON L2R 5B9
Happy Coffee & Wine
1304 King St W, Toronto, ON M6K 1G8
Ricky + Olivia
996 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1k1
The Everly
171 Wellington St, Unit #103, Kingston, ON K7L 3E3
Ellena’s Cafe
16 Dundas St E, Napanee, ON K7R 1HR
The Hamptons
53 Clinton St, Toronto, ON M6G 2Y4
Lovebird Snack Club
49 Bruce St S, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0
Good Cheese
614 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1Y3
Availability varies per location. Quantities are low!
OUR STORY
Try my garage wine… I swear it’s good!
We all have that uncle who claims his homemade wine rivals the finest châteaux of Bordeaux. So we set out to make the next family reunion a bit more memorable.
We commandeered the in-laws’ garage, found an old basket press, and purchased three bushels of Concord grapes. After picking, sorting, and crushing - all by hand of course - we left our organic homemade grape juice to its fermentation. Seventeen days later, we had the “grapiest” wine we had ever tasted!
It was like a nostalgic trip back to childhood: imagine a warm summer day, holding a freezie, sipping on a crisp glass of Welch’s Grape Juice.
We had just made an adult version of that. There we had it - our first wine!
Okay, but what if…
When we first embarked on this journey we wanted to understand how to craft high-quality natural wine. As longtime enthusiasts of natural wines, it was crucial for us to produce a wine with minimal human or chemical intervention. With an understanding of the difficulty of the task, we first settled on an easier goal - make drinkable natural wine, not vinegar!
From 2020 to 2023, our learning and experimentation continued. We collaborated with a farmer named Joe to deepen our understanding of viticulture. During these years, we experimented with various grape varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer, and tried new techniques within the principles of natural winemaking. And yes, as anticipated, we made vinegar along the way.
Despite all our testing, tasting, and, frankly, more wine consumption than we'd care to admit, one thing kept tormenting us. None of the wines we made were quite as interesting as our first Concord wine.
If you've ever found yourself in a conversation with us, you'd know we're no strangers to terrible ideas. What follows is a great example of this.
We thought - “Okay, but what if we built our wine project around our love for Concord?”
Vitis Labrusca & hybrids
For those brave souls still reading, here is a fun dive into history. Vitis Labrusca and its native cousins were hanging out in North America long before Europeans decided to crash the party. In 1988, the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) decided to play favorites, effectively giving the cold shoulder to native vines in favour of Vitis Vinifera—the popular grapevine on the global block. Unfortunately, Vinifera vines aren’t the best at surviving our beloved Canadian winters—they just can’t handle the chill.
In our pursuit of natural wine and sustainable practices, we chose to focus on hybrid varieties with roots in Labrusca or other native grape vines. This path proved more challenging than anticipated. The regulations for selling wine from non-VQA approved grapes can be daunting for a small, emerging winery.
Fortunately, the VQA is gradually revising its standards to include more hybrid grapes. Although Concord is still waiting its invite to the party, we are proud to showcase what Ontario grapes can offer.
What’s with the odd name?
“Bon sang!” is a beloved French exclamation similar to “My goodness!” If you've ever enjoyed a good meal alongside a French person, you might have heard them exclaim, “Bon sang! Que c'est bon!” — which translates to “Wow, that's good!” That’s exactly the reaction we hope to inspire with your first sip of our wine.
Pronunciation: /bɔ̃ sɑ̃/
Visit Us
Niagara Custom Crush Studio
3201 King St, Vineland, ON, Canada