(If you’re not aware of the whole “Cellared In Canada” controversy that I refer to in this post, this previous post gives a good, brief synopsis.)

On Monday, November 17th 2009 at 4:00 p.m. PST, I was brought into this room at a downtown hotel in Vancouver.

I was invited by the Marketing Director of a major Canadian Winery to view and give feedback on a complete re-vamp of their labels and marketing direction.  I was the fourth person outside of the company’s head office to have the opportunity to look at what will be rolled out over the next nine months.

This winery, and it is not the only one, has been close to the epicentre of the Cellared In Canada controversy, and I am pleased to say that the labeling will now be extremely transparent, clearly stating on the front and back labels that the wine in the bottle is made from the juice of Canadian and International grapes.  The Cellared in Canada wines will also have a new name that reflects that the wine is indeed made with international juice.  As an aside, the labels look much sharper than they currently do.  There is minor tweaking to be done, and this is where my feedback was solicited.

I walked out of this door feeling much better about the whole Cellared In Canada thing, and look forward to other wineries who practice these methods to follow suit.

I believe CTV will be officially unveiling way more details and breaking this story wide open in the coming days.

Keep an eye out.

~ A couple Cherries And Clay readers may have more details on this and possibly even photos (I tried, but couldn’t sneak any), but being aware that these are not for public consumption yet, I’ve turned of the comments for this post, just in case someone was feeling frisky, so I don’t get in trouble for blowing CTV’s lead on the story or compromising the confidential elements that were extended to me.  I’m sure I’m allowed to divulge even more info than I have, I just want to ensure I’m not overstepping my place, as I appreciate being asked for involvement in this important aspect of our industry.  Thanks for understanding.