Gretzky toasts new winery
There will be more than spirits on offer at the Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery and Distillery threeday event this weekend.
Finishing touches are still going on inside and to the exterior of the modern barn-like structure on Niagara Stone Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake, but the 2,070-square-metre facility, which includes a winery, distillery, tasting areas, retail and hospitality spaces, fermentation facilities and barrel storage areas, will be open with guided tours, tastings and music to celebrate its official opening.
While the structure features stone, metal, stained wood and lot of glass, inside individual rooms and hallways chronicle Gretzky’s career with memorabilia and photos of defining moments, including his first goal as a youngster in organized hockey. His family is also honoured, including by a large mural of his grandfather’s barn where he would shoot pucks, a photo of his father freezing the backyard rink, and family portraits with his siblings, his children and his first grandchild.
One wall of the main tasting room is devoted to “friends,” with photos of Gretzky and the famous people he has met, including a shot of when The Great One and The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, came face-to-face.
Outdoors there are patio areas with views of surrounding vineyards, a pathway to Trius Winery next door — like the Gretzky winery, part of Andrew Peller Ltd. — and a large pond with fountains, which will be frozen in the winter for skating.
Throughout the weekend there will be tours, door prizes, interactive games, wine by the glass, cocktails and tastings.
Friday is food truck day, with “vinyl in the vineyard” and the opportunity for friendly competition with friends at an electronic hockey net.
Saturday offers live music from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday features seafood with Buster’s Sea Cove food truck.
There will be opportunities to tour the winery, learn about the winery’s unique products and processes, and why there are two wine tasting rooms.
One, referred to as “The Office,” has comfortable sit-down tasting areas and is named after Gretzky’s space behind the goalposts, often referred to as his office, where he would set up many of his goals.
Upstairs at the winery is a tasting bar exclusively for members of the No. 99 Club, private receptions and for people who want to sample more expensive vintages.
Award-winning winemaker Craig McDonald says it features premium small-lot wines that have been added now that the winery has progressed from being a “sub-brand” within a big company to its own home with a larger presence in the industry.
He speaks about collaborating with master distiller Joshua Beach, and one of the results of their partnership — artisanal spirited wine now made at the winery.
Also as a result of their working together, the distillery offers whisky with a wine influence — the Red Cask and Ice Cask, small-batch premium whiskys finished for a short time in wine barrels, including a Ninety Nine Proof, a deep amber bronze-coloured whisky that has been finished in Wayne Gretzky Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.
The Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery and Distillery at 1219 Niagara Stone Rd. is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The grand opening will be celebrated Friday to Sunday.
For more information visit gretzkyestateswines.com.