Food & Drink

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Hat Trick wines hope to score with hockey fans

By: Geoff Kirbyson

Posted: 02/1/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

THERE will be a Hat Trick in Winnipeg this hockey season -- guaranteed.

It may not happen at the MTS Centre -- no member of the Winnipeg Jets has scored more than two goals in a game so far this year -- but it will happen at wine stores around the province.

Bottles of Hat Trick red and white wine will appear on liquor store shelves in the next two to three months, according to the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission. They were launched in Ontario on Monday by Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Ltd. and the NHL Alumni Association with an event at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Both wines are blends of three different varietals -- Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz for the red and Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Chardonnay for the white.

"A hat-trick is three goals (by one player) and each bottle of Hat Trick has three different types of grapes," said Bill Gould, president of WETT Sales, which will distribute the wine in Manitoba.

Mark Napier, executive director of the NHLAA, said individual players have come out with their own wines in the past -- Wayne Gretzky and Valeri Bure to name two -- but these wines are endorsed by all members of the alumni.

The NHLAA will receive 50 cents per bottle sold, which it plans to use to help out former players in need, their widows or minor hockey programs. Both bottles will retail for $13.99 each in Manitoba.

Napier said the perception that all former hockey players are multi-millionaires simply isn't true.

"Some of the guys who just retired are millionaires but a lot of the guys in their 50s, 60s and 70s have a pension of $1,000 or $2,000 a year," he said.

Ab McDonald, the first captain of the Winnipeg Jets and a four-time winner of the Stanley Cup, is already on board with Hat Trick and will be participating in tastings and other promotional events. He said he's far from a sommelier but he has been making his own wine for the last 20 years.

"I'm an amateur wine maker. I enjoy a good glass of wine with dinner," he said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 1, 2012 C1

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Food & Drink

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.