Who we are - history

Tom grew up in Chicago and came to San Jose California in his early twenties. Nostalgic for the summers he spent on a farm in Wisconsin, he purchased an antique basket press shortly after he moved here, like the ones used to make cider that he had seen on the farm. In California, however, his friends were more familiar with pressing grapes than making apple cider, so out of curiosity, he tried making a batch of wine. To his and his friends’ astonishment, the wine turned out really good. He was intrigued. He spent the next few years immersed in winemaking, learning about fermentation science and grape cultivation. He opened a Wine Art Store for home winemakers and he taught wine appreciation classes.

Eventually he found a piece of property near Gilroy with an old barn and small house, and in the fall of 1971, Tom quit his day job and opened the Thomas Kruse Winery on Hecker Pass Highway. The winery began on a shoestring, but his energy and enthusiasm more than made up for any lack of capital. He made very small quantities from local grapes. He made some dry roses from lesser known varieties like Carignane and Grignolino and customers loved them. He was the first person to label Thompson Seedless wine. He also began making a tiny bit of champagne in the traditional french ‘fermented in this bottle’
method and couldn’t keep enough of it on hand. He made Zinfandel Nouveau using a carbonic maceration process. Tom’s novel approach and his friendly and outgoing style soon had customers crowding into the tiny tasting room.

Over the past several years, Tom’s focus has been more and more on
traditional varietal wines. In 1997, he and his wife Karen purchased a larger, 20 acre property across the valley. In 1998 they planted their own 12 acre vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel and Chardonnay - still a small family operation and sized to make only 2500 cases of wine annually, but now all estate grown varietals. They began constructing a new winery building and opened for business at their new location in September of 2003. Believing that bigger is not always better, they have remained small, friendly and personal. Along with making quality wines at affordable prices, the winery has attracted a loyal following of patrons/volunteers/friends that still remain today.