Transformation and Diversification at Ripples Winery

This fruit winery with a twist brings all the senses together in one site.

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Sometimes the world changes, and you have to change with it. This is especially true in agriculture where changes in the markets force changes in what is grown on the farm. The Ripple Winery in Abbotsford, BC is an example of that type of change.

Owners Caroline and Paul Mostertman are familiar with the hard work of farming. The couple bought their beautiful 20 acre farm in East Abbotsford back in 1981 when it was a far less glamorous pig farm, a segment of agriculture they were already well-accustomed to.

The Mostertman’s worked in the pork industry for 28 years until prices bottomed out and the writing was on the wall; it was time for a change. In 2000 Caroline started a nursery on the site while she also planted about 15 acres of blueberries. Now, Ripples is a far cry from the pig farm it once was with the sounds of flowing water and sights of beautiful plants and trees dipping their leaves to greet visitors at the entrance.

That flowing water is what makes this up-and-coming fruit winery so unique. Ripples gets its name from the passionate focus the couple has on pond supplies. The on-site nursery carries plants, fish and hardware specific to ponds.

“The water plant pond business has stayed pretty stable,” Caroline says. “We are the most extensive pond store in the Lower Mainland. It’s a very small segment of the gardening business, but a very stable one.”

If it goes into a pond, you’ll find it at Ripples. Most of the customers are on a first-name basis and love to linger and chat because they’ve become loyal long-term patrons, shoppers and friends.

Two large greenhouses nurture a wide range of water plants while koi swim in the ponds, flashing their bright colours at the surface as visitors walk past. A pergola covers a sitting area just outside of the newly-created, walk-up tasting room and a large stamped concrete and paving stone picnic area invites guests to the farm to linger and take in the sounds – or lack thereof – inherent in being in the midst of farm country on a well-loved acreage.

Each day, Caroline looks forward to getting her hands on the plants and in the soil. She has a number of helpers on her team that feel the same way. They all seem to revel in the ability to commune with nature and share the bounty with others. Bonnie Boes and Melanie Thompson (who is Ripples new marketing manager) are part of the work crew, along with eight-year-old Charlie the dog.

“It’s a huge juggle, but I have a great team of people,” Caroline says. “It’s a great little community.”

While the untrained eye sees no sign of the old pig farm, Caroline points to the building that houses the winery noting it’s the former pig barn. Obviously a lot of renovating happened to make it Paul’s haven and a home to blueberry inspired potables.

“We’ve always split up the work,” she notes. “Paul’s strength is the winemaking, I love the plants.”

They tried making blueberry juice first but found it was too expensive.

“There was too much waste,” says Caroline.

“It became a good fit to make blueberries into wine,” Paul adds.

So in 2015 they turned from juice to wine after talking about it extensively and agreeing they wanted berries that were as clean and organic as possible. The machine-harvested varieties are Reka, Liberty and Draper.

“That’s the blend we make our wine from,” she adds.

Of course there’s a big difference between the idea of making blueberry wine and actually making it.

“We found that out once we started,” she says.

The couple brought on wine consultant Laurent Lafuente who is a distiller by trade, but also consults on a number of fruit wines and has an excellent understanding of the qualities of good wines.

“He’s been a huge benefit to us,” Caroline says and adds that Lafuente and Paul work well together in the winery.”

“He doesn’t have any hang-ups about fruit wines,” Paul notes about Lafuente. “I came from a whole different background. We basically rely a lot on the expertise of Lafuente.”

Caroline sees the winery, which had its grand opening on May 6, as a way to enhance and grow the business that’s already established. The vision is to keep it small and personal, just like the pond business.

“We will be a small backyard winery that produces very high quality wine,” she notes. “We’ll be a destination.”

Recognition of the quality of Ripples Winery wines has already begun with awards for two of the four different creations. Cu-Pe-Re (cupere means desire) won gold in a local competition at a fruit winery meeting and bronze at the Cascadia wine competition. An-The-Ia (which Caroline says means nectar of the gods) won silver at Cascadia. Another wine name, Intemperance, means over-indulgence.

Two of the four wines are fruit ports that hit the mark with a distinctive taste, but no cloying over-done flavours. In fact, while Paul is a rookie fruit winemaker with a consultant to help things along, the product at Ripples Winery is downright delicious. In the wings, Paul is also working on a cranberry wine and is exploring the idea of a pumpkin wine.

The couple also makes wine gummies (their wine is sent to the producer of the gummies), wine salt (a full bottle of wine makes three small jars of the glittering salts) and plan to have blueberry ice cream for guests.

“We make that here,” Caroline says of the salts. “It has a really unique flavour.”

The attractive high-end packaging and labelling plays an important role as well in customer perception and appeal.

Up until the grand opening in May, the Mostertmans hadn’t sold their wine. They’ve created, sampled and shared, but never sold a single bottle.

“We’ve been building up our inventory,” she notes. “We’ve only just started and we haven’t sold our wine yet. It was a bigger investment than we expected, but we decided if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right.”

Providing unique wine and a unique setting makes Ripples Winery the ideal location for special occasions like weddings, birthdays and other celebrations. Paul also sees the farm’s position near the freeway as a huge bonus. Tour buses on their way to wine country in the Okanagan and those going through the Rockies are the ideal customers to stop and enjoy wine, a picnic and even feed the fish in the ponds before they continue their travels.

“We get to meet a lot of different people,” says Paul.

“We just love what we do. We enjoy chatting to people,” Caroline says. “And being your own boss. Every day is different. Sometimes it’s too much of a challenge but I wake up every morning happy to be doing this.”

A lot of Ripples’ regular customers were looking forward to the winery opening despite the fact that their original relationship with the Mostertmans is through pond supplies. One might not think that pond supplies is a natural fit for a winery, but it all comes down to relationships, spending time together and sharing great products and experiences.