For the Love of Wine.

Sherry got into wine because she was really bad at dating men. She always seemed to choose the bad boys. One day, her friend, Christine Aquin, persuaded Sherry to post a profile on the dating site LavaLife. The deal was Sherry wasn’t allowed to “smile” at any man, no matter how cute he was, unless she could check off all her interests on his profile. One of the key interests she listed was wine. After many months, Sherry narrowed her candidates down to three men. 

Richard Karlo had a head start as a big-hearted man with magnetic charisma. The second candidate didn’t stand a chance next to Richard. “Oh yes, Richard is definitely the one for you,” her mom said. Sherry never met the third. While chatting online with Bachelor #3, she was honest and said Richard was courting her by taking her to the County to look for vineyard land. Well, what’s a girl to do? The third man encouraged her to follow through on Richard as Bachelor #3 was also dating someone. 

After taking her profile off Lava, Sherry was an early adopter of Facebook, as it was a free way to promote the winery. She thought of everyone she could think of, because if she could tell them about the winery, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, she could build the brand before the winery even opened. At this time, Sherry remembered Bachelor #3’s name. It turned out, he was an early adopter of Facebook too. The relationship remained platonic with virtual check-ins every couple of years. 

“How’s the main squeeze?”, Sherry would ask when she saw a beautiful woman on his arm. 
“Still squeezing”, he’d reply.

Together for ten years, Richard proposed to Sherry. They had planned on getting married on the 10th year anniversary of the opening of the winery.

“How’s life treating you?” Bachelor #3 checked in after his relationship did not work out. 

“Things are looking up, I have a big rock on my hand” 

In January of 2014, Richard came home from a boys weekend with a cough that would not quit. After multiple antibiotics, a chest x-ray followed by a CAT scan, Richard was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. It had already entered his lungs and liver. The marriage could not wait. At Richard’s request, only a few family members had been told of his illness as he didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him but rather wanted to enjoy his remaining time. He also chose to forego chemotherapy and radiation as he wanted to use his time to teach Sherry how to run the business rather than being back and forth to hospitals feeling sick. The couple held themselves together at their wedding on June 14th, 2014. After 7 months and a honeymoon spent in hospital, Richard died at home in front of his vineyards on November 26th, 2014. Sherry not only lost her husband but she also lost her Winemaker and CEO.

People thought Sherry was brave to carry on the dream, but really, she had no choice. She did not want their dream to die because if the winery failed, to her, it meant Richard had died in vain. With no time to grieve, her ship was burning so she had to venture into the forest. 

About a year after making more mistakes than she’d care to mention, Sherry announced on Facebook she was coming into the city to do her first public appearance since losing Richard. It was a wine tasting held in Toronto’s Distillery District.

Bachelor #3 from LavaLife was Saxe Brickenden. He had a vintage loft a couple of blocks from The Distillery and after seeing Sherry’s post on Facebook, he decided it was time to meet her in person.

As soon as Saxe walked in, despite being at the far side of the room, Sherry’s face was the first place his eye settled. He did not want to appear uncool, so, he sampled another winery’s Chardonnay before walking over to Karlo. 

As Saxe spoke to Sherry, he found he was getting his “mords wixed” like a 15-year-old at the high school dance. He watched as she professionally presented perfect one-ounce pours while introducing the wines to the crowd. The only sign that she might also be affected was when she poured into his glass, he heard “glug, glug, glugs” as they made eye contact. 

“Generous pour!” Saxe exclaimed. As she was dealing with a lineup, he moved on. 

“Oh well, I guess I finally met Saxe Brickenden” Sherry thought as she strained to maintain her composure. 

Not being able to have a conversation, Saxe walked over to SOMA, his favourite chocolatier and returned with a small box filled with their dark chocolate bergamot truffles and fleur de sel caramel dark chocolates. He knew they would be the perfect pairing with Karlo’s port-style fortified wine. Flustered, Sherry quickly put the box in her pocket. The Trojan Horse had been accepted.

An agonizing three days later, Saxe received a Facebook message from Sherry. “OMFG, these are the crack cocaine of chocolate!” Sherry was finally home from her business trip and, after unpacking the show, had come across the box and was finally settling down for the evening to relax.

“I can get you more, you know,” Saxe replied.

Remembering her old LavaLife rules of only accepting a date if the man was willing to come to her, she replied, “I’ll only take delivery if it’s at The Drake Devonshire here in Prince Edward County.” The other catch was it has to be in three weeks as Sherry was understandably busy.

Saxe accepted.

Since that date, Saxe hasn’t looked back, feeling instantly that he had met a woman he could relate to. Yes, he stepped into a maelstrom. And Richard’s were big boots to fill. Saxe frequently points out that it has taken himself and three other men to attempt to fill Richard’s role. 

With business mentoring from Saxe who had founded several successful businesses, fellow winery owner/accountant, Paul Gallagher and Karlo Office Manager/Bookkeeper, Sandra Young, Sherry was able to get Richard’s vision for the winery down into a 92-page business plan and then put that plan into action.

It was during this time Derek Barnett left Lailey Estates in Niagara. With Saxe and friend, and Wine Judge, Cynthia Moore’s encouragement, Sherry called Derek to ask if a winemaker can ever stop making wine. Derek didn’t like to discuss business over the phone, so he drove to the winery the following week. After a five-minute walk down to the bridge, Sherry and Derek had struck a deal, sealed with a handshake, and have been working together ever since. 

Saxe says he feels great admiration for Richard Karlo, the man he never met; who contributed so much to the beloved County; who blazed the trail for Karlo Estates and who clearly had great taste in women. Together, the late Richard Karlo, Sherry, Saxe, Derek and Assistant Winemaker Spencer Mayer share a great love of wine. Sherry and Saxe share an even greater love for each other.