Thursday, March 04, 2010

Wine & Sponsors at the 2010 Olympics !


The 2010 Winter Olympics have been a great success in spite of the lack of snow. The sponsors of course, have been very happy with the huge exposure of their products. But wait a minute here. What was that Canadian Women's gold medal winning hockey team up to? Two of the major sponsors at the Olympics were Molsons Canadian Beer and Vincor Canada's Sumac Ridge Winery in the Okanagan. Fittingly the gold medalists were treated to a three litre sized Molson Canadian beer that looked very much like a Champagne bottle and Sumac Ridge's Tribute Gold sparkling wine. The Tribute Gold and Silver were created in honour of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.
Click on these pictures courtesy Alex Livesey/Getty Images and Surprise !!
That ain't no
Tribute going down that gullet. Looks suspiciously like Sigura Viudas to me. Sigura Viudas was rated as one of the top 100 wines by the Wine Enthusiast. And yes that is a cigar in the picture on the right. Now cigars and beer maybe. But cigars and sparkling wine? That is a no no. Especially when it is not even from one of the official sponsors. Oh well, at least the ladies'?' won't be at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Vincor Canada is again one of the sponsors. Its not cheap to be a sponsor and Vincor did not get their money's worth at this event. But Viudas received a bonus and how do you suppose that happened? Oh the joys of being a sponsor and the politics in wine!

4 comments:

Porland Bob said...

A friend from Victoria sent me to this site: I tasted Canadian wine 25 years ago and thought "Oh Well". A few years ago I had some again and was very impressed and coming from Oregon and our wonderful wine, I thought that there had been wonderful progress. I haven't been back to Vancouver for about 8 years but I'm ready to taste more of there juice.

Wilf G.K said...

Thank you Bob for your comment. A few years back I was invited by a California wine magazine, Patterson's Beverage Journal, to do an article for them on Vancouver Island wineries. My first thought was "No". How can I write about BC wineries for a California audience. Well, I had not visited the Island wineries for a few years but thought I should. I was totally amazed how the wines had improved. Maturity of vines, more experience by the winemakers and some good vintages all made the difference. Yes BC makes some outstanding wines.

Jo Diaz said...

Girls... sports... cigars... bubbly... All they're missing is the perfume that smells like wine, and it's a total package. Fun story!

Wilf G.K said...

Jo, I thought about that after reading your blog but then I thought,"Cigars and Chardonnay perfume"? Naw, I will leave that one for someone else. I have a follow up on the Girls Hockey team and Sigura. Will post within a day or so.
Thanks for stopping by, JO.