20 Bees And RBC Centre Form Partnership

By DAVE BORODY

It’s a match made in heaven.”

Those were the words of Andy Rush, vice-president of sales for 20 Bees Wines upon the announcement this week the wine maker has entered into a partnership with the RBC Centre and the Sarnia Sting Hockey Club.

20 Bees Wines will provide a variety of wines at all Sting home games as well as other special events at the RBC Centre.

We are very proud to be the official wine of the RBC Centre and the Sting,” said Rush. It’s just an ideal fit with the trademark name of our wine and of course the Sting name.

We are an Ontario winery located in the prime grape growing region of Niagara on the Lake, by Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Ltd. We thrive to be part of the community and this partnership is just another way of doing that. All our products are made with grapes that are grown in Ontario.”

Paul Nathan, director of sponsorship at the RBC Centre, explained how the two sides came together.

Sometime during the summer one of our employees brought in a bottle of 20 Bees Wines to one our meetings. Not only was the taste great, but also the logo was the perfect color and the name a perfect fit. We didn’t have a wine brand at the RBC Centre. So I e-mailed 20 Bees Wines. It’s ironic at the very same time they were in contact with us about a possible partnership and it grew from there.”

Nathan added, I’m proud to announce this partnership with 20 Bees Wines. It’s a good product and a good fit for us here at the RBC Centre. It is now being served at the suite level, in our restaurant and even on the concourse level.”

Diamond Estates was founded in 1997. It is a national wine and spirits company marketing an international portfolio of premium wines and spirits across Canada. 20 Bees Wines has been operating for three years and purchased by Diamond Estates a year ago and re-launched.

Diamond Estates are proud owners of Ontario VQA wineries, including well-known brands such as 20 Bees Wines, Dan Aykroyd wines, EastDell Estates, Lakeview and Dois Amigos. It is a privately owned company with about 150 shareholders, including Canadian acting legend Dan Aykroyd.

Last year the company distributed in excess of 500,000 cases of wine in Canada.

Tom Green is the wine maker for 20 Bees Wines. He is originally from South Africa and a couple of years ago was the women’s tennis coach at the University of Western Ontario in London before going into wine making on a full time basis.

I fell in love with grape growing and making wines,” said Green. I want to thank the Sting organization for this partnership. We have consumer friendly products and produce wines with 100 per cent local fruit from the Niagara region.”

He added, I like to be the best when it comes to making wines and I know the Sting want to be the best in hockey. Go Sting go.”

Anyone wishing more information on 20 Bees Wines and Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Ltd. can visit their website at:www.diamondwines.com



Dave Borody is a freelance writer who provides stories for the Sting website.