(To get in the spirit, you’ll wanna hit ‘Play’ above…)

For those of you who aren’t sluggin’ back beer, here’s a few inexpensive, hockey-friendly picks along with pairing suggestions for snacks to enjoy while you’re watching the NHL All-Star Game this Sunday.

Some may think the Wayne Gretzky Estates wine would be a no-brainer here, but I’m not gonna be recommending them.  I have nothing against “celebrity wines” if they’re good (I’ve long been a fan of the consistent Coppola brand), but I just haven’t tried the stuff, so the obvious choice won’t be making an appearance.

So here we go! Grab a couple big wine glasses or tumblers, a giant bowl for snacks, plop yourself on the couch and enjoy the game!

While Segura Viudas still has the ‘Great Cheap Cava’ market cornered, I prefer to spend the extra five or six bucks on the delicious and organic Parés Baltà Brut for superior quality and showier fruit. It’s zippy and bright with a boatload of lime, peaches and grapefruit, plus a generous pinch of white pepper tossed in on the finish.  That pepperiness is a good match for the dusty white cheddar component of Smartfood Popcorn, while the juicy, citrusy bubbles refresh your palate after each handful.

Ahhh… Hailing from Australia’s mighty Barossa Valley comes the delicious drop that’s gotten many a wine guy out of a jam!  When you’ve run out of something at your lowest by-the-glass price-point and have to run to the closest liquor store renowned for the worst selection in town, when you get a last-minute large party booking and need something crazy cheap and cheerful that can be found in abundance, or when you’re at the store and suddenly realize you only have a $5 bill and a few toonies in your pocket, the St. Hallett Poacher’s Blend (consisting largely of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc) has always been there offering quality, character and balance.  Along with mandarin orange and key lime, there’s waves of pineapple, mango, kiwi and starfruit with the slightest drop of honey, most likely due to the small splash of Riesling in the blend.  It’s fruity and juuust a little sweet on the finish, perfect for contrasting the mild heat of Lay’s Barbecue Potato Chips while standing up to the wisp of smoke in ‘em.

OK, we’re gonna get CRAZY now!  Both of these fine products come from our own backyard.  Baillie-Grohman is a new winery hailing from Creston BC, over in the Kootenay mountain range.  They’ve been making a splash around Vancouver because of both their dedication to quality and results that offer much in the way of finesse.  Their 2009 Blanc de Noirs is 100% Pinot Noir , chock-full of raspberry, cassis and cherries with a flinty spark of spearmint on the finish.  For those into that sort of thing, there’s 18 grams per litre of residual sugar which makes the wine easily envelope the bold heat of Hardbite Jalapeño Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips, made from Fraser Valley-grown potatoes.  Miles of flavour with this combo.

The fourteen-dollar Pavillon Arnaud 2008 Minervois has peppery blackberries and currants with a pretty fierce lashing of leather and smoky cloves.  The carnivorous among us will want to tear into something meaty after the first sip.