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Wine makes it ‘Everything Berry’


Fermented products have been a popular addition to themix for Krause operation.


By Grant Ullyot K


rause Berry Farms in Langley, owned and operated by Alf and Sandee Krause, introduced


berry wines to customers two years ago. “The idea tomake and sell berry


wines grew out of the importance of our berries and ‘Everything Berry’ we do here on the farm,” says Alf, “but the one part of everything berry we lacked was not having any berry wines. “There were a couple of other berry


wineries around, but the one closest to us was having problems. That’s when we decided to go into the wine business. Staffing, and having someone who we felt we could work with tomake our winery different and unique, was something we thought we couldmanage. We had the expertise around us to do it. Also, it was a way tomove more berries out of going to the processors and packing houses. Another reason for doing it was for our


Alf Krause many guests who


come to visit.” Krause explained they keep the


berry juice in 1,000- and 2,000-litre tanks where it can ferment for three months prior to bottling. Their wine maker is Sandra LeeHarcourt, who oversees themaking of the wines. The winery is located on the farm


property and has a 1,600-square-foot tasting roomwhere visitors can ‘saddle up’. There are actual saddles along the tasting bar that customers can sit in while tasting the wines and sampling some of the food items served. The four dollar tasting charge


10 British Columbia Berry Grower • Winter 2014-15


Suitably decorated for the holiday season, the wine tasting room at Krause Berry Farms can cater to those who’d rather saddle up than sit in a regular chair.


is refunded if a bottle of wine is purchased.Wine can be bought by the bottle or the case. Alf says they have about 14 different


wines now. “We have three categories— sparkling wines, table wines, and


dessert wines.We have a regular apple, and an oaked apple, rhubarb, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, and we are working on some other blends using honeysuckle and elderberries as well. The wine business is going very well


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