About Flying Fish

Flying Fish Winery

Try Us – You’ll Be Hooked!

At Flying Fish Winery we have devoted our lives to the premise that life is too short to drink bad wine. Wine is one of the great pleasures of life, and it’s our goal to show just how much of a pleasure good wine can be. Don’t just take our word for it, visit our Central Saanich location to see for yourself. Our friendly staff can show you around and help you find the perfect wine for your needs.

So how do we keep people away from bad wine and show them the way to good wine? We do it by example.

We make wine the way nature intended: clean and simple.

Making your own wine is more than just a way to support a small local business rather than a government-owned liquor store. Yes, you will save money by making your own wine, but there’s more to it than that. Choosing your own craft wine not only ensures that you will never be surprised by a bottle of bad wine with a pretty label, it also puts you in control of what you’re drinking.

When you make your wine with us, you know exactly what goes in the bottle because you put it there. There are no unpleasant surprises because there are no surprises. It’s just one more way we work to help you get the best out of every bottle of wine.

We proudly ferment your wines, ports, beers, and ciders with clear filtered water, containing minimal sulphites and preservatives. Unlike the other guys, we don’t use any clearing additives. While most wine kits are typically done in as little as six weeks; we devote anywhere from eight to thirteen weeks to your wine. This extra time allows us to ensure that your wine has fermented completely, giving it a dryer finish.

Your wines are cold stabilized in our large walk in coolers where they hang out at a cool 2-4 degrees Celsius for a couple of weeks mellowing out the sharp acidic tones that you find in a lot of craft wines.  This is also when they naturally drop their sediment. Your wine is then filtered through our state of the art Italian filter system, making sure we do not strip your wine of its body and character.

Our biggest secret: we can use YOUR fruit!

We can help you turn your fruit into wines, ciders, ports and sparkling wines! Bring us your own fruit, fresh or frozen, and we can help you turn it into something amazing. Let other people make pies or jams; you can watch their jaws drop when you bring out a bottle of your finest.

Don’t have fruit trees or berry bushes? Don’t worry. Even outside the Saanich Peninsula, the island is covered in rogue blackberries and everyone has a neighbour who leaves their apples to fall…trust us, it’s worth the effort!

Fresh grape & grape juice sales

For those who want a more traditional approach to winemaking; we make wine from grapes, too. We import fresh whole grapes and juices from California seasonally, so you can make your own California wines right here in BC.

We begin taking orders for fresh grapes and juices in the spring. You can make wine with fresh California grapes and juice at our establishment just off Keating, or take them home to create your own magic! Home brewers can join our mailing list for order date cutoff reminders, expected harvest dates, new varietals and more! We never sell or share your information (scroll to the page bottom for signup).

Every fall we have an annual crushing party, and well, crush grapes of course! Fall in love with wine all over again as you watch the grapes pop. It’s fun and it’s sticky! Wine is more than just a beverage, it’s an experience. Bond with others over the shared love of the grape.

Proudly local & family owned

We are a proudly, locally, family owned and operated small business in the heart of the Saanich Peninsula. We love what we do, and that love is passed on in our products. You won’t believe how good today’s craft wine can be until you taste it yourself. It’s nothing like the wine your parents used to make in the basement!

Remember those boxes of cheap wine your parents brought out for summer barbecues? Here at Flying Fish Winery, we pride ourselves on thinking outside that box. We want you to fall in love with wine the same way we have. Whatever you’re looking for in a wine, port, beer, or cider…we can make it; and we can make it well. Enjoy twenty-first century wines made with the traditional values of the past. Look no further than us for your personal winemakers.

We’re going to knock your socks off! No one ever leaves without a smile!

At the Flying Fish Winery your satisfaction is guaranteed! Wine, Cider, or Beer, make it RIGHT HERE!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Cheers!

– Daniel & Karen Ryan