It’s hardly an exaggeration to say that 2014 was a year of the ridiculous and the sublime at Kraze Legz Winery.
The ridiculous came right up front, with the news that their order for tall Bordeaux-style bottles could not be filled due to a production problem. Owners Gerry and Sue Thygesen put their heads together and came up with a plan—they would use what bottles they had for some of the wines, and create a new brand for a paper label that would fit shorter Burgundy-style bottles. And SKAHA Vineyard was born.
And lo and behold, customers love both brands! Of course the contents have to live up to the promise of the bottle, and that’s where the sublime part of the story comes in. Every SKAHA Vineyard release won at least a Gold Medal. And every Kraze Legz release also won a medal at a major competition, continuing the winery’s unbroken streak of never having released a wine that didn’t win a major medal. (Okay, we’ll admit that this probably qualifies as ridiculous as well as sublime!)
So how do they do it? Gerry and Sue are hands-on winery owners and operators. They tend their gorgeous vineyard in Kaleden, they make the wine, they staff the wine shop and they create their own marketing schemes. They get some help along the way, of course, but the point is that they are exactly what they seem—tirelessly committed to quality and passionate about they are accomplishing.
In stores and restaurants, remember that the wines are now listed under two label names.
~ Lorne Eckersley