Cork fort is ‘labor of love’ for Province resident

Not everyone has a neighbor who used to bartend in California and just happens to have a tub full of wine bottle corks. Province resident Fred Schoenthal has that very neighbor, which is how he fell heir to the corks.

“I got tired of making trivets for family and friends, so I need a bigger challenge,” said Schoenthal.

His “challenge” was using in excess of 1,000 wine corks to make a model of a fort, which took him more than 180 hours to complete.

The fort is two-feet square. In the center is a replica of the Commodore Sloat and General Kearney Flag, circa 1846. It has 28 stars and was raised over the Customs House at Monterey on July 7, 1846.

“The idea for the fort came from looking at the corks and the fact the majority of them came from California. Putting a date on the fort came from the United States flag of 1846,” Schoenthal said.

Some of more intricate features of the fort are the hand-shaved stairs and its hinged gates—all made from cork, of course.

“I thought Fort Grape was appropriate because it was made out of wine corks,” Schoenthal said. “It became a labor of love, working on it in the hot garage 6-7 hours a day.”

Still under construction are a covered wagon, some wine barrels, and whatever else the craftsman thinks of next.
 
“No doubt it’s a one of a kind,” Schoenthal admits. “I hope to sell it to a winery, so it can be displayed.” He may even try to sell it on EBay.

Schoenthal sent photos of his fort to his grandsons to see what they thought of it. “The six year old didn’t comment on how cool it looked; he said it looked like someone drank a lot of wine.” .
 
In spite of his six-year-old grandson’s views, Schoenthal, after the 180 plus hours constructing his fort, knows one thing for certain: “There is more to a bottle of wine than just the liquid.”  
 
Photos by Tony Debevec