GOSH: Cellared in Canada wines to get new bottles and labels. to include stretch water.

 

NEWS ITEM: The Wine Council has formed the Industry Working Group on Label Clarity to develop industry-led improvements to the labeling of blended wines. Our Board gave this committee a strict timeline for response - it has been mandated to report back by December 31, 2009 in order to ensure attention to this important review and to demonstrate that  we are serious about implementing improvements on a timely basis. -- Wine Council of Ontario email to Brett Grimsby.

 

 

 

TRAWNA  -- (GOSH Wine News Services) --  With the sky visibly falling down, Chic Little, CEO and CRO of the Association for Cellared in Canada Wines (ACCW) proclaimed today at a hurriedly called Press Conference:

 

"We're changing…we can do it…with your help we can be the wine that Canadians love to enjoy."

 

Stung by all the bad press revolving around the revelations that "Cellared in Canada" wines can be misleading and that labels are untruthful, Little has lashed out at the critics by promoting change.

 

"Whatever you have heard about Cellared in Canada wines, forget about it…we're on a new playing field. And this time it is on the level. We're tired of the media that disseminates only disparaging remarks and slanderous disinformation through out-of-context misquoting. We are now in full damage control mode!"

 

As readers should know by now, Cellared in Canada wines in British Columbia can be 100% imported wines. They have been represented by the Cellared in Canada Wine Association (CICWA). In Ontario, there is a legislated ratio whereby the wines must be at least 30% domestic, and the balance can be stretch water (up to a prescribed limit) and offshore wines. These wines are represented by the Association for Cellared in Canada Wines.

 

Said Little: "We're working on developing a new bottle for the Ontario market. It will be a standard PET bottle for recycling, screw capped, and transparent. The labels will be clear to see. The words "Cellared in Canada" will be half-inch in height. There will be percentages listed, so consumers can tell right away which brand has the highest amount of Ontario wine or the lowest amount of stretch water, The standardized capsules will have a CIC logo."

 

Little went on: "But the best part about the bottle is its performance, which is why we are calling it the Puisse Café bottle. Each transparent bottle will have one-way slots to contain 70% or so of international wine, followed by a slot for the stretch water, followed by a third slot for the minimum 30% domestic wine. This way you can see the layers, the differences in colours, and yet be able to enjoy the full strength of the wine. If you are having a party, just pour the whole bottle into a decanter – there's no fuss or muss. If you feel like a little something from off-shore, just drink the top 70%. If you're thirsty, then stretch water is your next bet. If you want a domestic wine (and who doesn't?: they all meet strict CIC standards which are based on the QC and VQA standards), then just pour off the cheap 21 cent-a-litre offshore stuff, and the water, and then drink away -- but it's best with food."

 

Samples were provided at the press conference, and the media were busy pouring wine to see the effect of the slots and the change in the bottles. CIC food (burgers, fries, pizzas, wings, ribs) was served…look for an association between CIC wines and McDonald's real soon.

 

The LCBO immediately announced that while they would be collecting the 20 cent deposit on each bottle, they will not be returning the whole sum to the consumer who returns the bottle.  Said a spokesperson, "We don't pay out returnable deposits on stretch water."

 

Other plans for re-vamping Cellared in Canada wines include a sub-script on the label which states "Partially Parked in Canada" and a contest to engage the locavores in buying "local" wines.

 

Oh, and did you not know that bit about the stretch water? 

 

More on this developing story as it happens…

 

Chimo!  www.deantudor.com