Heres the Wine Youre Looking for Gast Station Funny

The debut of his wine is pure performance as Dan Aykroyd and his darlings mug for the camera.

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A wine tasting in four (funny) acts

The set-up: Dan Aykroyd personally conducting a tasting debut of his two Ontario wines in his hotel suite.

The set-up: Dan Aykroyd personally conducting a tasting debut of his two Ontario wines in his hotel suite.

The audience: Handlers and top brass from Diamond Estates Wine and Spirits, in which Aykroyd has invested $1 million. They are grouped on flanking couches.

Act I

Sniffing the good life

Aykroyd rushes around the hotel room in a dapper but disarrayed black shirt, his hair still sticky from a shower. He quickly realizes a Toronto Star photographer is present and starts to spruce up.

He ushers me to an ornate linen draped table. "Here, Gordon, you sit in this chair." The smell of cooked fish saturates the air. Aykroyd sits down opposite me.

"Wine is all about complementing the food," he says. "Wine is not to drink by itself, but to go with fine victuals." From under the table he magically hauls out two hot plates laden with asparagus, sea bass and smashed potatoes. We dig in.

He bounds up and asks someone to super chill the white wines and goes into overdrive when he realizes they are still a tad too warm.

"We're doing a fantastic California white, Stag's Leap Chardonnay, an old, great standby. It's in the $60 range. We'll see how it stands up against my $14.95 chardonnay from Niagara."

act II

the delivery

The Stag's Leap is big and bold and brimming with oak spiciness. It's an overwhelming white. Next, he pours his Dan Aykroyd 2006 Chardonnay. He tries it with his fish. Then he tries it with some of my fish. He has a lightning-fast fork. His wine is a fruit forward, very food-friendly chardonnay. I ask how much wood is in it as I detect a subtle kiss of oak.

"It's unoaked," Aykroyd says. But a voice pipes up from the couch that it has a touch of oak to round it out. Aykroyd's feathers are ruffled. "I thought we agreed to do an unoaked chardonnay." In diplomatic mode, I say the oak helps – the forward peachy flavours resemble an un-wooded white, but it is much more consumer friendly than the Stag's Leap, which is a meal in itself.

This "Discovery Series" of entry-level wines is sculpted by Tom Green and his winemaking team at Lakeview Cellars, one of the stable represented by Diamond Estates wines, which includes EastDell Estates, Birchwood Estate and Thomas and Vaughan, all in Niagara. Aykroyd's $1 million investment in these properties bears testimony to his enthusiasm for Canadian wines.

His family roots go deep into Ontario. He spends holidays and down time at his family's Kingston farm, which is right on the lake. "My family just celebrated our 180th anniversary of being on our farm and my dad is really into fine wine, too."

act III

tasting the past

Aykroyd's earliest foray into vino? "I got into wine at Carleton University, where I learned my capacity at Grape Grope, when I passed out from drinking too much Manishewitz and Mogan David." Later, during Saturday Night Live days, wine was a staple of dining out.

Quickly, he orders the fish plates cleared and whips out two more plates from under the table, laden with medium rare steaks, to pair with the Dan Aykroyd 2005 Cabernet Merlot ($16.95). But first, he orders that a Chateau Giscours Margaux from Bordeaux be poured. This is a flashy, muscular $81 red. Or, as Aykroyd intones, "a monster wine."

In a manic moment, he hoists his two Niagara wine bottles up to frame his face and puts on a contented, loving expression. The Star photographer moves in for a close-up of the cheeky arrangement.

Aykroyd is still going strong with his Blues Brothers concerts. "I spend one-third of my time on the road with the band now. I also spend one-third of my time devoted to promoting my Padrone Tequilla."

For Aykroyd, the wine biz is a kind of show biz. He leans over in sommelier mode and pours his Cabernet Merlot into my glass. It tastes surprisingly rich at the price, even as a chaser for the complex and endless Giscours. "With a celebrity label comes an image of entertainment and enjoying life," says Aykroyd. "But, most of all, I wanted to create user-friendly wines."

act IV

the finish

While Aykroyd was obviously not involved in personally making his chardonnay, he participated in a series of blind tastings when selecting lots for his Dan Aykroyd Vidal Icewine ($79.95), which hits Vintages shelves in September. The icewine will be the first in a projected premium level of wines, called the Signature Reserve series. This has yet to roll out and most of the red wine involved is still slumbering in barrels.

I mention foie gras as a perfect food to complement Niagara Vidal Icewine and Aykroyd's face undergoes an almost Ghostbuster transformation. Eyebrows arch upward, his mouth goes "oooo" as he agrees. I have hit a soft spot. But, alas, no sample is available yet to taste, nor any foie gras. I do manage to nibble two bits of fish and three chews of steak. Keeping up with Aykroyd is not conducive to slow food.

So, I ask, feeling a bit like an overwhelmed Rick Moranis, is a Ghostbusters III in the wings? "I want to do it as CGI (computer generated images)," Aykroyd says. "I'd like Bill Murray doing voice as well. But I'm not holding my breath."

Aykroyd's own $12 million winery will have a groundbreaking ceremony in September on a 10-hectare estate in Beamsville. It is slated to open sometime around harvest next year, with full hospitality facilities. "The reason I really look forward to my winery opening is it is a great place for me to finally put all my entertainment memorabilia, which is now housed in five barns."

His wine dream goes far beyond Ontario. "With Diamond Estates, I want to go around the world with globally sourced wines made in various countries for my Signature Series. But, for now, we are starting in Ontario. We want to take on Vincor," he adds, referring to Canada's wine giant, which bought wineries in various countries before being swallowed by Constellation Brands.

Aykroyd's handlers suddenly signal the interview is at an end. We shake hands and I exit stage right.

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Source: https://www.thestar.com/life/homes/2007/06/23/a_wine_tasting_in_four_funny_acts.html

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