Rick and Amy Barr started making wine in their basement decades ago from the fruits growing wild on their farm in Strathcona County, east of Edmonton. It tasted good -so good that they took their friends' and family's praise to heart and started making wine to sell. Barr Estate's rhubarb wine, The Barb, and raspberry wine, The Other Red, made their debut last summer at the Edmonton City Market.

Sales have been pretty good during their first year, the Barrs say, and they're hoping a recent change in liquor distribution regulations will make the next year even better. Their first challenge was to ensure they could grow enough good-quality fruit to make consistent wine.

They transplanted several raspberry bushes and rhubarb plants first grown by Amy's grandparents in the 1920s on their Strathcona County homestead. All the fruit they need for their wine now comes from these heritage plants, which are unofficially organic, as the Barrs avoid using chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides.

As the winemaker, Amy is busiest during the growing season, monitoring the crops and making the wine. Rick handles most of the marketing and distribution. Both juggle full-time careers as researchers at the University of Alberta Cardiovascular Research Centre.

To design their striking labels, they employed Edmonton marketing agency Vision Creative, which also developed the look for Alley Kat Brewing Company.

Local foodie and editor of The Tomato, Mary Bailey, wrote the tasting notes that adorn the back of the labels.

But by far their biggest challenge has been distribution. It's not prohibitively expensive for Barr Estate to sell wine from the farm gate or at the market -it costs them a 70-cents-a-litre fee to the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission. But their reach is limited.

They could list their wines with Connect Logistics, the distributor from which all restaurants and liquor stores in Alberta must order their alcohol. But at $3 per litre, it would have cost $7,000 for the roughly 2,250 litres they made in their first year -too much.

Until recently, microbreweries were the only exception to the distribution rule; they can sell directly to liquor stores and restaurants at the 70-cents-a-litre rate.

Rick and representatives from other Alberta cottage wineries met with the AGLC to ask for the same deal, and last month, they got the good news. It's a huge boon to the fledgling industry, enabling wineries to boost distribution without drastically raising overhead.

Barr Estate's arrival on the scene signals a change in Alberta's cottage wine industry. The Barrs leaped into winemaking for its own sake; the other four wineries -Field Stone, Fruit Salad (formerly en Sante), Chinook Arch Meadery and Fallentimber Meadery -all started out as fruit growers and/or honey producers, which only began making wine as a way to diversify their businesses after legislation permitting cottage wineries was passed in 2005.

"We were winemakers first, and we needed to find fruit," says Rick.

He and Amy maintain a cautious optimism.

"I think the industry can thrive," Rick says. "But there's a lot of education we need to do with the public.

. . . There are still numerous people who aren't even aware there is a cottage wine industry in Alberta."

Mel Priestley blogs about wine, spirits and beer on her website, CellarDoor. Follow her on Twitter @melpriestley.

Alberta's cottage wineries

- - Chinook Arch Meadery, chinookarchmead.com, 403995-0830

Founded in 2008 by Art and Cherie Andrews. Located in Okotoks, about 20 minutes south of Calgary. Offers several varieties of mead made from different types of honey and blended with different fruits. Available at the farm gate and, in season, at the Millarville and Hillhurst-Sunnyside farmers' markets.

- - Fruit Salad Organic Winery & Meadery, ensantewinery.com, 780-657-2275

Founded in 2005 as en Sante Winery by Victor Chrapko; now run by his daughters Tonia and Xina Chrapko, who announced the name change and new labels last week.

Located just north of Brosseau near Lac Sante, 160 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. Offers several certified organic fruit wines made from wild cherries, Saskatoon berries, rhubarb, raspberries, highbush cranberries, apples and alfalfa, as well as mead. Available at the farm gate, at farmers' markets throughout Alberta and in many liquor stores throughout the province.

- - Fallentimber Meadery, fallentimbermeadery.ca, 4036372667

Founded in 2010 by brothers Nathan and Colin Ryan. Located northwest of Water Valley, about 50 minutes northwest of Calgary. Offers several types of mead made from different varieties of honey, available from the farm gate, at the Kingsland Farmers' Market in Calgary and at several liquor stores.

- - Field Stone Fruit Wines, fieldstonefruitwines.com, 403934-2749

Founded in 2005 by Marvin and Elaine Gill, Lynden Gill and Glen and Lorraine Ellingson. Located just south of Strathmore, 40 minutes east of Calgary.

Offers several fruit wines made from Saskatoon berries, wild cherries, rhubarb, raspberries, black currants and strawberries, available at the farm gate, at the Calgary and Kingsland farmers' markets and in liquor stores throughout the province.

Founded in 2010 by Rick and Amy Barr. Located just east of Sherwood Park. Offers two fruit wines made from rhubarb and raspberries, available at the farm gate and the Edmonton City Market downtown on 104th Street (seasonal).

Chinook Mead Slammer: This drink, created by the folks at Chinook Arch Meadery, is a favourite among meadery workers during their Friday happy hour.

2 oz Chinook Arch Bodacious Black Currant Melomel Mead

1/2 oz rum

1/2 oz amaretto

2 oz orange juice

fresh cherries

Pour the mead and liquor over ice in a rocks glass. Top up with the orange juice and garnish with a cherry or two.

Bosc Pears in Saskatoon Dessert Wine

The folks at Field Stone Fruit Wines love dessert, and they also love dessert wines. This recipe unites the best of both.

1 orange, zested and juiced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

3 cups (750 mL, or two 375 mL bottles) Field Stone Saskatoon Berry Dessert Wine

1/2 cup (125 mL) sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

8 Bosc pears

whipped cream

Place orange juice, lemon juice, zest, wine, sugar and cinnamon sticks in a large heavy pot. Bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.

Peel pears with a vegetable peeler or paring knife, leaving stems intact. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each pear so that they can stand upright.

Place pears in a large saucepan. Cover and simmer until just tender. Rotate pears once during cooking.

Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer pears to a baking dish and cool. Reduce remaining sauce to about 1/2 cup (125 mL). Strain into a separate bowl and let cool. Cover and refrigerate sauce and pears for at least two hours and up to two days.

To serve, bring to room temperature and place on large platter. Spoon sauce over pears. Served with whipped cream on the side.

Serves 8

French Envy Soup

This recipe is the creation of Tonia Chrapko at Fruit Salad Organic Winery & Meadery (formerly en Sante). She recommends using local, organic ingredients. The soup is quick to make and will warm your soul on those cold winter days.

3 medium onions, cubed

2-3 tbsp (25-50 mL) butter

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 cup (125 mL) en Sante Green Envy alfalfa wine

4 cups (1 L) water

3 bouillon cubes (of any type and combination)

Parmesan cheese, shredded

several slices of bread, cubed (and toasted, if you like)

Saute the onion and bay leaves in the butter. Add the wine and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the water and bouillon cubes and simmer for another 10 to 20 minutes, or until onion has reached desired tenderness. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the shredded Parmesan. Serve with cubes of bread.