From the wrestling ring to the winery

Nov. 5—It may seem like a long way from the quiet, pastoral scenes of a country winery to the loud and violent clashes in a wrestling ring. But Kraig Keesaman and his girlfriend Miranda Gordy bridge that gap every week.

Kraig, a sixth-generation Northwest Missouri farmer, opened Windy Wine in 2009. The facility is located about a half mile north of Highway 36 on State Highway J in Osborn, Missouri.

Although he developed a passion for wine, Kraig's first love was professional wrestling.

"Wrestling came first," said Keesaman, whose twin brother, Kasey, is the sheriff of DeKalb County. "I started wrestling in 1999 when I was 17, a junior in high school."

He was introduced to famed local wrestling promoter and trainer Sonny Myers, who then passed him on to former world wrestling champion and Missouri native Harley Race. Since then, Keesaman has wrestled in many regional territories.

Not surprisingly, he brings his interest in wine to his work in the ring.

"My character is wine snob, Niles Plonk (pronounced Plon-kay), and he's a refined, sophisticated, 'better-than-you' bad guy."

Miranda Gordy grew up in the shadow of a wrestling ring. She is the daughter of late WWE Wrestling hall-of-famer Terry Gordy, who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s as part of the tag team known as "The Fabulous Freebirds." Even though she has a brother who wrestled in the WWE and other family members who have donned the tights, she was reluctant at first to enter the ring after her father died when she was only 11 years old.

"Then, I was like, if I'm ever going to take on the legacy, now's the time," she said.

So for the last four years, she has wrestled under her given name, racking up local titles on the women's wrestling circuit throughout the U.S. She and Keesaman met while wrestling for a regional company in Texas, and together they make a great "tag team" in the wine business.

In addition to wine making and tasting, Windy Wine offers live music, special food nights, events for kids (including an annual corn maze) and a wide array of community activities for all ages.

Keesaman and Gordy say their wrestling experiences and skills carry over to their approach in connecting with the public through the winery.

"What I really like about winemaking is ... a lot of it is kind of on the fly for me," Keesaman said. "It's just roll with the punches and see how people react to certain things."

Gordy also sees similarities between the two.

"Just like in wrestling, you've got to cater to what people want so they will keep coming back," she said. "That's what we do in wrestling, and that's what we do in the wine business."

Windy Wine is open from noon to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from noon to 8 p.m. on Fridays, from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Charles Christian anchors the evening news for News-Press NOW and also serves as an ordained minister at United Methodist Churches in Union Star and Helena, Missouri. Charles can be reached at charles.christian@newspressnow.com. Follow him on twitter: @NPNowChristian.