Watch above: The awards keep coming for Saskatchewan’s Living Sky Winery. The winery located near Perdue recently won awards at wine shows in Calgary and Edmonton.
SASKATOON – The rhubarb wine produced by Living Sky Winery was recently named People’s Choice Award winner at Winefest in both Edmonton and Calgary. For Living Sky , which operates out of Perdue, it was very encouraging.
“That was very exciting,” said Susan Echlin, who with her husband operates Living Sky Winery.
“It was our first foray into the Alberta markets, and to beat a lot of the really expensive grape wines was an added bonus,” she told Global News.
Winefest, held in February, is Alberta’s biggest wine event, featuring over 270 wines from around the world. Echlin said another indication of their popularity was that their wine was the first to sell out of an on-site liquor store in both cities.
“It’s just sort of an indication of the demand that’s out there,” she said.
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Living Sky produces a variety of wines using fruit they grow themselves – such as cherry, rhubarb, raspberries, and currant. Operating with a committment to the Prairies, and the environment, they opened in 2010 and have already received 16 national and international medals for their work.
According to Echlin, demand is growing.
“We’re doubling our production this year,” she said. “We’re making huge inroads into Alberta … it’s to where we’re going to have trouble finding the fruit to make the wines,” she said.
Growth has been rapid.
“When we first started everyone thought we were completely insane,” she said. “It’s been really nice … having outside people justify what you do makes it easier getting up in the morning and adds some excitement when you are pushing forward on some of those tough days,” she added.
Besides ramping up production this year, Echlin says they are constantly experimenting with new wines – which may be one of the reasons for their continued growth.
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