(pictured:(l-r) Lt. Governor Judith Guichon with Gerry and Sue Thygeson and their recently won Lt. Governor’s Award for Excellence in BC Wines.)
In one corner of the winery three women don feather boas and vintage hats, handing a camera to Sue Thygesen as they attempt to hold a can-can step in mid-air while stifling their laughter. Nearer to the entrance, Sue’s husband Gerry has two couples engaged in his stories of the Roaring Twenties names for their Kraze Legz wines. Somehow, he manages to blend in the story about why many of the wines now bear the SKAHA Vineyards label.
The magic that obviously takes place in the vineyard – the couple hasn’t made a wine yet that didn’t earn an award – extends into the wine shop. Where else can you find a collection of wine glasses holding samples of spices and herbs to help refresh your palate memory? Where else can you find red, white and dessert wines, all made with consummate care and expertise from grapes grown right on the property? Clearly, Kaleden is an under-appreciated treasure on the province’s vineyard map!
The SKAHA Vineyard 2013 Unoaked Chardonnay is a crisp, bursting-with-flavour wine, a celebration of what this great grape can offer. It was a hit with wine judges too, who named it one of only 12 winners of a 2014 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in British Columbia Wines.
Additionally under the new SKAHA Vineyard label, cotton candy flavours emerge from a luscious 2013 Merlot Rosé, lemon lime bursts for the 2013 Pinot Blanc, a sip of 2013 Icewine tastes like a teaspoon of your mom’s strawberry freezer jam and the 2012 Rogue, a Port-style wine that developed in a barrel stored outdoors, is selling so fast it may be gone before the cork sealer labels arrive. Simply put, Kraze Legz Vineyard Winery oozes with character and quality. End of story.
~ Lorne Eckersley