Dan Aykroyd Donates Wine to Kandahar Troops

An inequity between beer drinkers and wine lover has been resolved thanks to seasonal Kingston area resident, movie star Dan Aykroyd.

Until recently, Canadian Forces personnel in Afghanistan – who are allowed only two drinks every month – were able to get beer for free, but had to pay $9 for a half bottle of wine.

The no cost beer was courtesy of donations from breweries, however wine drinkers not only had to pay but also did not have access to Canadian wines.

That situation was finally addressed by Lt-Col Doug Johnson, who lives in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region of Ontario — one of Canada’s best-known wine-producing regions.

“It didn’t seem fair to me that if you wanted to drink wine you had to pay for it, and if you had beer it was free,” said Johnson.

So he began contacted wineries in and around his hometown in hopes of having some donations for his fellow wine drinking soldiers.

“Of course, coming from that region I just thought it was a tremendous marketing opportunity for the wineries down there to take advantage of and … show their support for the troops,” Johnson said.

Eventually, the Niagara-on-the-Lake winery that produces Dan Aykroyd Wines – Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Ltd. – answered his request and shipped bottles of 2007 Pinot Noir and Riesling to the Kandahar base.

Dan Aykroyd, whose name is labeled on those bottles, said he was “onboard the moment Diamond Estates mentioned their support of our troops with Dan Aykroyd Wines.”

“This is a very proud moment for me as a Canadian and I hope these wines can inspire some light-hearted times during this difficult mission for our Armed Forces,” he added.

Aykroyd’s  bottles started shipping a month ago and are now stored inside a secure, chilled storage container at Kandahar Airfield.

Until this donation, Canadian personnel in Afghanistan went through about 82 bottles each month, and Diamond Estates is donating about 110 bottles per month.

Capt. Michel Larocque is one member of the military benefiting from the donation, and thinks some beer drinkers may cross over to wine now that a free option is available.

“I think now that Dan has been so generous, it will probably influence the number of wine drinkers.”

The wine donation is planned to continue until the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan ends July 2011.

Dan Aykroyd and his family are long-time residents of the Kingston Area.

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Photo: Chebbs

Tags: CFB Kingston, Dan Aykroyd, wine

Category: Entertainment, News