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 garage 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 favor 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 for its invite to the party, we are proud to showcase what Ontario grapes can offer.

What’s with the weird 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: /bɔ̃sɑ̃/