Winery FAQ
Wine Bar and Winery, Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What kind of wines do you sell?
A: Our CT Farm Winery License #57 allows us to sell wines we make and wines made by any other Winery in CT holding a Farm Winery License. We sell wines from Hopkins Vineyard, Jones Farm Winery, Jonathan Edwards Winery, Chamard Vineyards and Sunset Meadows Vineyard. At our Annual Shoreline Wine Festival held in early Aug each year, we also have other CT Farm Wineries products and tastings.
Q: What reds and whites do you make?
A: Our wines are purely non-grape wines. We only use fruits we grow here in the orchards in our wines. Since red and white wines are made from red, blue and white grapes, we do not have your conventional red and white wines. Our wines are more similar to whites and blush wines. Our Strawberry, Raspberry and Blueberries wines have striking colors.
Q: What is the alcohol content?
A: Our wines range from 11% to 12% ABV.
Q: Do you make Hard Cider?
A: Yes. We have a separate license under CT Law to make Hard Cider. We have several Hard Cider styles, and are developing more as we find an increasing interest in Cider. They have an alcohol content around 6%, similar to craft beers, and are lightly effervescent.
Q: How much is a tasting?
A: A full tasting is $6 for six samples of our wines and you get to keep the glass! If you do not want to do a full tasting, as time allows, we will give you a sample of 1 or 2 of the wines you are interested in buying.
Q: How do you make wines that aren't from grapes?!
A: In a very similar way! We take our fruit, crush it, add sugar, yeast and nutrients and let it ferment into a delicious wine which we filter and then send out to be bottled.
Q: Do I need to make an appointment to do a wine tasting?
A: Nope! We offer wine tastings 7 days a week, MTWRFS from 10-6:30 and Sunday from 11-5:30. We do ask that if you are coming in with a party of 10 or more, that you call ahead of time so we can accommodate you. Come on in and try our wines!
Q: Do your wines have sulfites in them?
A: Yes, our wines do have some sulfites in them to add to stability and help maintain freshness.
Q: Do you ship wines? Can I purchase them at other shops in Connecticut?
A: We do ship our wines within CT only. You can order wines by calling 866-2BISHOP. You can also find Bishop wines at Stew Leonard's of Newington and Spendless Discount Liquors of Manchester. We do sell shipping boxes so you can pack or ship for traveling.
Q: Where are your wines made?
A: The fruit from our wines comes from our own orchards and the wines are made in the winery which is located in our main building at 1355 Boston Post Rd.
Q: Do you offer wine tours?
A: Yes! We offer wine tours of our winery every Saturday at 2pm. The tour involves climbing some stairs, takes about 40 minutes and concludes in a tasting. Total cost is $10.
Q: Since your wines are all fruit wines, are they all sweet?
A: Nope! We make a wide variety of wines, including three dry wines, five semi-dry, five semi-sweet and three dessert wines. We've got a wine for every taste!
Q: Who makes your wines?
A: Our Winermaker is Keith Bishop, fifth generation member of our family, co-owner and Co-CEO.
Q: When did you start the winery?
A: We received our license on November 25, 2005.
