Here and there

Several new wine category signs have been put up in provincial liquor stores following a controversy over the labeling of some bulk import wines as B.C. wines.

It took the government about a month to get the game straightened out and that is really good timing for Victoria. What I still don’t understand is how those involved thought they could get away with this “lets pull the wool over the consumers eyes because they’ll never know.” It was a marketing mistake that will go down on the "don’t do this" list. Don’t forget, all four players were the big guys in the industry, the leaders.

The signs, replaced existing signs in all 198 liquor stores, and are meant to make the labeling much clearer so that consumers know exactly what they’re buying.

Consumers expressed concern over the imported bulk wine as being labeled and sold as B.C. wine.

“Cellared in Canada” appeared in fine print on the back label of some of the wines sold by the big three Canadian winemakers: Vincor International, owner of the Jackson-Triggs label Andrew Peller Ltd., owner of Peller Estates and the Mark Anthony Group, owner of the Artisan Wine Group and its Sonora Ranch and Painted Turtle brands. Other wines, often with similar labels but at a higher price, are genuine B.C. wines.

Bulk wine was bought from cheap sources outside Canada, bottled here and sold in the B.C. wines section of government liquor stores. I understand the wineries paid about 21 cents a litre for the imports.

The sign identifying Bottled in B.C. with some imported wines state: “Bottled in British Columbia from International and Domestic Wine.”

The sign for wine casks (bags-in-boxes) with import content will say: “Wine Casks Packaged in B.C. from International and Domestic Wine.”

The signage for 100-per-cent BC VQA grape wine will say: “BC VQA — 100% British Columbia Wine.”
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Bigger, better more new technology. Every time broadcasting plans for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics are mentioned this is what the broadcasters want the world to know.

While you might think this is all pre-Olympic hype and that “bigger and better” have officially been added to the Games’ “higher, faster, stronger” motto, the fact is that from a Canadian perspective Vancouver will definitely be a high-water mark for television.

It certainly will be bigger. As for the better part, that remains to be seen. A convoy of up to 20 18-wheelers hit the road a couple of weeks ago, loaded down with tonnes of the most sophisticated TV equipment in the world and more than a million feet of cable. The convoy contained the guts of the largest broadcasting production ever undertaken in Canada.

It will help the CTV Olympic consortium to produce an unprecedented 4,500 hours of everything that happens during this country’s third Games on 10 television channels, two radio stations and two websites.

The destination for all this high-tech wizardry is the International Broadcast Centre in Vancouver, which will be the heart of all TV production during the Games. While the CTV group is determined to provide the most comprehensive coverage seen in this country, the broadcast center is focused on giving broadcasters from around the world the best coverage ever.

Olympic Broadcasting Services Vancouver is set to produce many images that’ll be firsts for the Winter Games:

All coverage will be in high definition, with 5.1 sound.

Ski coverage will include “ghost images” that will allow viewers to see how each skier is faring against a computer-enhanced image of the leader.

Super slow-motion cameras will slow down pucks and sticks almost to the point of stop action.

Some skiers and snowboard cross competitors will be fitted with helmet cameras.