New upgrades at the Minhas Sask Distillery, Winery and Brewery have created a number of full-time jobs in Regina.
The distillery expansion is meant to accommodate the manufacturing of wines, ciders, hard root beer, hard iced tea, and other coolers. One of the goals of the project also is to highlight the use of provincial ingredients.
Moni Minhas, the president and CEO of Minhas Sask Ventures Inc., said the distillery uses a number of Saskatchewan ingredients and hopes to promote industry growth in the province.
Ingredients include mead from Shellbrook and malt imported from Saskatoon which is marketed in Biggar.
“This is a farming province, it’s so easy to find great ingredients,” said Minhas.
The expansion will require an additional 35 new employees to work in sales, marketing, blending, distilling and other skilled positions on the assembly line.
Minhas hopes the distillery will eventually require up to 50 to 75 full-time positions, and will continue to use Saskatchewan-based products.
“Why should a cream liqueur or a vodka be shipped from someplace else?” said Minhas. “We’re putting Saskatchewan money back in (the province) and putting Saskatchewan skills to work.”
Expansion also included equipment upgrades such as a CO2 tank made in Saskatchewan, and a glycol chiller to keep products at a certain temperature.