Big News

Five gardens chosen by their supporters will receive awards to grow and improve their community gardens

Russian River Valley, CA –  After a successful spring and summer campaign, DeLoach Vineyards is proud to announce the winners of its Community Garden Campaign in partnership with Organic Gardening Magazine.  Over the past four months, 15 community gardens across the country from California to Florida participated in the online campaign to win a coveted total award of $20,000 ($4,000 per garden) to improve the communities they serve.  Wine and garden enthusiasts in communities across the country showed their support with more than 70,000 site visits to www.deloachcommunitygardens.com, where they watched videos produced by the gardens and voted for the garden of their choice.

The following 2011 DeLoach Community Garden Award Winners will each be awarded $4,000 each and will be featured in the October/November 2011 issue of Organic Gardening:

Center for Growing People, Dallas

Long Beach Organic Community Garden, Long Beach

Magnuson Community Garden, Seattle

Ocean View Farms, Los Angeles

Three Brothers Garden, Chicago

As an additional retail component to support the campaign, bottles of DeLoach wine were adorned with neckers that included a QR code that allowed consumers to instantly link to the contest microsite through via smart phones.

DeLoach Vineyard’s estate vineyard in the beautiful Russian River Valley is a Demeter-certified Biodynamic® property.  In harmony with organic and Bioydynamic principles the DeLoach estate includes an exquisite Biodynamic garden that not only nourishes the staff at the winery, but also provides the necessary natural remedies to optimize the health and fertility of its Biodynamic vineyards.  The Community Garden Campaign is a part of DeLoach Vineyard’s commitment to a healthy, sustainable lifestyle from garden to table that includes the appreciation of wine, food and community and to support the role of community gardens in promoting good living. Equally as important, the campaign is part of an effort to help educate a new generation to better the communities in which they live—something DeLoach has been passionate about cultivating since the inception of the winery.

About DeLoach Vineyards

DeLoach Vineyards has been a pioneering producer of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley since 1975. DeLoach seeks to produce exceptional wines that spotlight the singular personality of the Russian River Valley, with its rare and bountiful convergence of the sea, the soil and the stars. The Boisset family of Burgundy purchased DeLoach in 2003, bringing the techniques and approaches of Burgundy to its winemaking in the Russian River Valley, which they believed to be California’s most expressive terroir for cultivating Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Under Boisset, DeLoach has grown its small-lot vineyard designate wine program, converted to organic and Biodynamic farming practices, and implemented traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques such as open-top wood fermentors, native yeast fermentations, and hand punch-downs.  Wine & Spirits magazine named DeLoach Vineyards a Top 100 Winery for the tenth time in the winery’s history in 2009.  Located at 1791 Olivet Road in Santa Rosa, the DeLoach Vineyards tasting room, picnic area and organic garden are open to the public daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m.

For more information, visit www.deloachvineyards.com or contact Emily Aschbrenner of Charles Communications Associates at 415.701.9463 or press@charlescomm.com

About Organic Gardening Magazine

For 70 years, Rodale’s Organic Gardening, the leading magazine resource for living a healthier, more environmentally conscious lifestyle, has been empowering its readers with the most trusted, eco-friendly news and information.  With the mission to “live lightly from the ground up,” the brand’s editorial agenda sets an accessible and easy-to-embrace course toward the goal of living a healthier, more environmentally sustainable lifestyle, delivering the safest and most natural approach to health, home, food and garden. Organic Gardening’s Twitter handle is @OGMag and Organic Gardening can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/OrganicGardening and it’s also available on the iPad. For more information, contact Erin Miller and Organic Gardening at 212.573.0378 or erin.miller@rodale.com.

Russian River Valley, CA – DeLoach Vineyards, the pioneering Russian River Valley producer of award-winning Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel, released today the first estate vintage after receiving both Biodynamic and organic certification for its estate. DeLoach has released a 2010 Estate Collection Pinot Noir Rose from its estate vineyards in the Russian River Valley.

This past September, DeLoach Vineyards celebrated the first harvest after earning organic certification from the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in 2008 and receiving Biodynamic® certification from the prestigious Demeter USA, the only certification agent for Biodynamic farms in the United States, in February 2010. The release of this wine represents the culmination of a long and dedicated effort to become a more self-sustaining and environmentally friendly estate. In 2003 when the Boisset Family purchased the vineyards, they immediately began the conversion to organic and Biodynamic methods. This conversion necessitated a two-year series of crop rotations and the lands were left to lie fallow in order to restore a healthy balance to the soil. New vineyards were planted between 2006-2008, and have since been farmed according to Biodynamic principles.

Since the implementation of organic and Biodynamic farming methods, the estate at DeLoach has become a rich ecosystem, complete with sheep that graze the vegetation beneath the vines, kept bees that pollinate the half-acre CCOF and Demeter certified garden and cover crops. The resplendent and complex vitality that DeLoach has cultivated has allowed their eight clones of Pinot Noir to brilliantly express the unique combination of soil, climate, air, water, nutrients, and human attention that is specific to the estate.

While the 2010 vintage in the Russian River Valley presented many climatic challenges and yields were low, the quality of grapes harvested at DeLoach Vineyards remained impressive. The Estate Rose, which was harvested from the back Pinot Noir block of the estate, demonstrates the superior quality that DeLoach’s meticulous Biodynamic farming methods aim to achieve. Made in a deliberate rose style, the wine is light, fresh and fruity and is being sold at a suggested retail price of $20.

About DeLoach Vineyards

DeLoach Vineyards has been a pioneering producer of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley since 1975. DeLoach seeks to produce exceptional wines that spotlight the singular personality of the Russian River Valley, with its rare and bountiful convergence of the sea, the soil and the stars. The Boisset family of Burgundy purchased DeLoach in 2003, bringing the techniques and approaches of Burgundy to its winemaking in the Russian River Valley, which they believed to be California’s most expressive terroir for cultivating Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Under Boisset, DeLoach has grown its small-lot vineyard designate wine program, converted to organic and Biodynamic® farming practices, and implemented traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques such as open-top wood fermentors, native yeast fermentations, and hand punch-downs.  Wine & Spirits magazine named DeLoach Vineyards a Top 100 Winery for the tenth time in the winery’s history in 2009.   Located at 1791 Olivet Road in Santa Rosa, the DeLoach Vineyards tasting room, picnic area and organic garden are open to the public daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m.

For more information, visit www.deloachvineyards.com or contact Emily Aschbrenner of Charles Communications Associates at 415.701.9463 or emily@charlescomm.com

Russian River Valley, CA – November 2010: DeLoach Vineyards announced today its collaboration with Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York to help launch the Kingsborough Urban Farm, the college’s first project of this kind. The project, Build a Garden in Brooklyn, will be integrated into the school’s academic program and will provide students with the opportunity to grow and harvest healthy, organic produce. The new culinary arts program, student-catering firm, and college cafeteria will use the food produced from the Urban Farm to feed and educate students. DeLoach, with its commitment to organic farming and education, was thrilled to contribute to a program that helps create environmental awareness.

DeLoach Vineyards has long been a leader in sustainable practices, innovative “green” technology, beginning its conversion to organic and Biodynamic® farming practices in 2004.  It achieved organic certification from CCOF in 2008 and earned Demeter certification for its Biodynamic vineyard practices in 2009.  The 2010 harvest is the first as a Biodynamic-certified estate and the first since the award-winning 2004 vintage (Wine of the Year, Wine Enthusiast). Many years ago, DeLoach converted its winery horse pasture into a half-acre organic and Biodynamic® garden of seasonally fresh produce that DeLoach chefs use to prepare meals for winery visitors and employees year round. In addition, DeLoach emphasizes sustainable farming and the conversion to organic and Biodynamic farming with its grower partners, helping, for example, the Maboroshi Vineyard convert from conventional to Biodynamic practices.  Furthermore, DeLoach uses renewable energy, and reduces its water usage through implementation of an innovative membrane bio-reactor that relies on micro-organisms to purify water used in the winemaking process so it can then be used for landscaping and vineyard irrigation, saving up to two million gallons of water per year.

The partnership between DeLoach Vineyards and Kingsborough Community College complements DeLoach’s efforts in farming and gardening, allowing it to help educate a new generation about leading a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Jean-Charles Boisset, proprietor of Boisset Family Estates, explains the enthusiasm with which DeLoach Vineyards joins this project: “As stewards of the land, our responsibility lies not only in fostering best practices within our own methods, but also in sharing the breadth of our knowledge with our communities. We’re happy to participate in the Kingsborough Urban Farm as it helps educate young people about what we have so passionately believed in for years at DeLoach Vineyards.”

To spotlight this new partnership in the public domain, bottle neckers, made of seed paper with annual and perennial wildflower seeds, will be placed on DeLoach bottles in stores throughout New York City. Beginning in November, $0.50 from every bottle of DeLoach wine sold in the City, up to $5,000, will be donated to help jumpstart the Kingsborough Community College Organic Urban Farm. The sales-focused program will continue to run through January 2011. Stuart Schulman, Executive Director, Center for Workforce Development and Economic Development confirms the benefit of this partnership: “We are very excited about our partnership with DeLoach, a leader in sustainable agriculture. Their support will help us to provide our students with the tools to learn to eat healthier food, live in a more sustainable way, and find new career pathways. Our students in nursing, childhood education, biology, and our new culinary arts program will benefit from having the Urban Farm on campus, and they will take this experience with them as they go out into the workplace.”

About DeLoach Vineyards

DeLoach Vineyards has been a pioneering producer of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley since 1975. DeLoach seeks to produce exceptional wines that spotlight the singular personality of the Russian River Valley, with its rare and bountiful convergence of the sea, the soil and the stars. The Boisset family of Burgundy purchased DeLoach in 2003, bringing the techniques and approaches of Burgundy to its winemaking in the Russian River Valley, which they believed to be California’s most expressive terroir for cultivating Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Under Boisset, DeLoach has grown its small-lot vineyard designate wine program, converted to organic and Biodynamic® farming practices, and implemented traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques such as open-top wood fermentors, native yeast fermentations, and hand punch-downs.  Wine & Spirits magazine named DeLoach Vineyards a Top 100 Winery for the tenth time in the winery’s history in 2009.   Located at 1791 Olivet Road in Santa Rosa, the DeLoach Vineyards tasting room, picnic area and organic garden are open to the public daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.deloachvineyards.com.

About Kingsborough Community College

Kingsborough Community College is located on a 71-acre campus in Manhattan Beach, on the southern tip of Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 1963, the College serves approximately thirty thousand students per year, offering a wide range of credit and non-credit courses in the liberal arts and career education, as well as a number of specialized programs.  The breathtaking Kingsborough Community College campus overlooks three bodies of water: Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  Kingsborough serves a widely diverse student population and ranks among the top community colleges in the country in associate’s degrees awarded to minority students.

For media inquiries, please contact Samantha Kane at Charles Communications Associates: samantha@charlescomm.com, tel: 415|701-9463

For more information about Biodynamic® agriculture or products, please visit www.demeter-usa.org.

At the site of the future Kingsborough Urban Farm at
Kingsborough Community College, from left to right:
Stuart Schulman, Executive Director, Center for
Workforce Development and Economic Development
Sara Matthews, Project Manager for the Urban Farm
Jonathan Deutsch, Associate Professor and Director, Culinary Arts Program
Zenia George, student, major in Community Health/Gerontology
Elizabeth Basile, Associate Dean, Office of College Advancement

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The best of Sonoma and Burgundy terroir enjoyed in a stylish tasting salon

Healdsburg, CA – The charm of Healdsburg and the surrounding wine country has always evoked the climate, charm and rhythm of France and has created world-class wines of diverse varietals that have put Sonoma and its AVAs on the map worldwide. Jean-Charles Boisset, President of Boisset Family Estates, a family-owned collection of estate wineries in the world’s pre-eminent terroirs including DeLoach Vineyards in the Russian River Valley and Raymond Vineyards in the Napa Valley, has debuted a unique tasting salon on the Healdsburg square. Dubbed the Boisset Taste of Terroir, it offers a selection of three dozen Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from Sonoma and Burgundy, a diverse range of flights and tasting experiences, and a captivating environment evocative of a cozy left bank boutique –elegance without pretension.

Nine different themed tastings offer the guest tastes of Sonoma and Burgundy with a delightful array of choices ranging from a Crémant de Bourgogne sparkling flight of three wines at $8, to Pinot Chic featuring three Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs, two from DeLoach and one from the JCB line of wines, to a Grand Cru tasting of nine Burgundies for $100. There are wines suited for the curious and experimental palate at the Taste of Terroir expressing the unique AVAs of Sonoma as well as climats of Burgundy. Guests can also avail themselves from a series of DeLoach Barrel to Barrel wines, created to offer a touch of old world service and style with a modern technological twist.

Beautiful design appointments include Philippe Starck ghost chairs, a custom made Carrara marble communal table, a Bisazza Marie Antoinette chandelier that illuminates the room with a warm, soft glow, elegant decanters and barware designed by D’Anjou and Christophe Dubois, as well as champagne flutes designed by Jean-Charles Boisset. Custom-designed accoutrements and accessories for the home are also offered for purchase. The inspiration for the design was to incorporate both Californian and French sensibilities with a strong accent on Bay Area design talent including the interior design of Nicole Hollis and the architectural design of Backen Gillam Kroeger.

The Taste of Terroir is open seven days a week, 10:30-5:30 PM Sunday through Wednesdays, open until 7 PM Tuesdays in the summer, and until 9 PM as a wine bar Thursday-Saturday. For more information please visit www.boissettasteofterroir.com or phone 707-473-9707.

About Boisset Family Estates

Boisset Family Estates is a family-owned producer and importer of fine wines founded in Burgundy, France in 1961. Boisset’s collection of more than twenty historical and unique wineries boast leading positions in the world’s pre-eminent terroirs, including Burgundy,
Beaujolais, the Rhône Valley, the South of France, Canada, and California’s Russian River Valley and Napa Valley. One of the world’s foremost producers of Pinot Noir and principal proponents of organic and Biodynamic® viticulture, Boisset crafts fine wines with a strict
terroir approach: each house in its family of wineries has a unique history, identity, and style, yet all are united in the pursuit of superior quality. To learn more about the Boisset Family Estates collection, please visit www.boissetfamilyestates.com.

Boisset Family Estates Continues its Year-Long Fight Against Hunger;  Two Hundred Springfield Families to Receive 112,000 meals

Springfield, MO – On April 21 at 12 p.m., international hunger relief organization Feed The Children will distribute a semi tractor-trailer with more than 15,000 pounds of food and personal care items at Brown Derby’s International Wine Center (2023 South Glenstone Avenue) to 200 families selected by The Kitchen of Springfield. Each box is designed to help a family for up to one week.

Brown Derby and Boisset Family Estates, through its wineries DeLoach Vineyards, Lyeth Estate, French rabbit, and Oceana Riesling, are partnering with Feed The Children and The Kitchen of Springfield to help alleviate hunger in Missouri by participating in Boisset’s “Fight Against Hunger” campaign.

Boisset’s Fight Against Hunger is a national campaign to combat hunger in local communities through the sale of its wines. Boisset has donated more than 1 million meals to communities in Dallas, Indianapolis, Denver, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009-2010. With this food drop donation of 112,000 meals, Boisset’s Fight Against Hunger will surpass its goal of donating 1.2 million meals to local food banks. From July through December 2009, every bottle of wine from these Boisset wineries sold at participating retailers supplemented three meals for a family in need in the U.S.   In Missouri, Brown Derby supported and participated in Boisset’s Fight Against Hunger campaign and therefore, made this food drop possible.

Brad Feuerbacher, Director of Operations for Brown Derby commented, “Recent statistics show that one in five children in Missouri are on the brink of hunger and are among the neediest and hungriest in the United States.  Brown Derby is proud to partner with Boisset Family Estates to tackle the epidemic of hunger in our community.  As a local business with a strong sense of serving the community, we hope events like these not only promote awareness of the problem of hunger but provide immediate relief to families in need.”

Jean-Charles Boisset, president of Boisset Family Estates notes, “The wine world is deeply connected to the harvest, agriculture and food – great wines are complemented by great meals, and thus, as part of the world of food and wine, we find it genuinely troubling to tolerate the existence of hunger among our friends and neighbors,” says Boisset. “We know that now, more than ever, even families that have never thought to seek help before need assistance. That’s why Boisset Family Estates has committed to providing a minimum of 1.2 million meals to U.S. families in need through our partnership with Feed The Children.” For more information, visit www.boissetfamilyestates.com/fightagainsthunger. Boisset’s campaign is intended to not only provide immediate relief to local families, it further hopes to inspire the wine world to take part in its critical mission to alleviate hunger for American families in these challenging times.

About Brown Derby

John A. Morris opened his first liquor store, Brown Derby, in Springfield, MO in 1937.  Through the decades, Brown Derby has evolved and positioned itself as a leader in the Wine and Spirits industry.  Still a family run business, Brown Derby, prides itself in the depth of selection it provides to customers.  In its 5,000 square foot temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar, Brown Derby houses over 70,000 bottles of wine dating back to the late 1800s.  Brown Derby has 18 locations in Southwest Missouri and provides catalogue and on-line shopping services. To learn more, please visit www.brownderby.com.

About Boisset Family Estates

Boisset Family Estates is a family-owned producer and importer of fine wines with roots in Burgundy, France, Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and the Napa Valley.  One of the world’s leading producers of Pinot Noir, Boisset crafts fine wines with a strict terroir approach: each house in its family of wineries has a unique history, identity, and style, yet all are united in the pursuit of superior quality. Simultaneously, Boisset is an innovative leader in the wine world, seeking to reduce the environmental impact of wine packaging and production and protect the long-term sustainability of winegrowing. To learn more about Boisset, its wineries from California to France, and its Fight Against Hunger campaign, please visit www.boissetfamilyestates.com.

About Feed The Children

Founded in 1979, Feed The Children is consistently ranked as one of the 10 largest international charities in the U.S., based on private, non-government support. Feed The Children is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty and natural disasters. Since its founding, the organization has reached out to help those in need in the US and in 118 countries around the globe. For more information, please visit www.feedthechildren.org.

About The Kitchen

The mission of The Kitchen is “To create a place where persons, especially the poor, are welcomed and cared for with dignity and compassion.”  In 1983, Sister Lorraine started the Soup Kitchen and served the first meal in Springfield, MO.  Today, The Kitchen is the largest provider for of services for homeless children and families in Southwest Missouri.  The Kitchen’s Anex Food Warehouse is the receiving site for all donated food.  Seven days a week, three times a day, over 400 meals are served to residents of the Missouri Hotel, The Kitchen’s homeless shelter.  Approximately, seventy families visit the Kitchen Food Pantry five times a week where they receive grocery items.  All of this food is provided through donations.  To learn more about The Kitchen, please visit www.thekitcheninc.org.

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Boisset Family Estates Donates More Than 6,500 Pounds of Food to The Greater Boston Food Bank through its “Fight Against Hunger” Campaign

Sausalito, CA, January 21, 2010 – Boisset Family Estates, a family-owned producer and importer of fine wines with offices in Sausalito, CA, wineries in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and the Napa Valley, and roots in Burgundy, France, will make a donation of 6,700 pounds of food, equivalent to 5,175 meals, to families in the Boston area this month through its Fight Against Hunger campaign via The Greater Boston Food Bank.  The donation of meals is made in partnership with Boisset’s partners in Boston, including Legal Sea Foods.

Boisset’s Fight Against Hunger is a national campaign to combat hunger in local communities through the sale of its wines. Through its wineries DeLoach Vineyards, Lyeth Estate, Oceana Estates Riesling, and French rabbit, Boisset has donated more than 1 million meals to communities in Dallas, Indianapolis, the San Francisco Bay Area and Denver in 2009-2010. Fight Against Hunger is on track to reach its goal of donating 1.2 million meals to local food banks; from July through December 2009, every bottle of wine purchased from Boisset’s four wineries listed above helped supplement three meals for an American family in need when purchased through a participating retailer, restaurateur, or hotelier such as Legal Sea Foods.

Given the current global economic situation, the issue of hunger is more keenly felt than ever and Jean-Charles Boisset, President of Boisset Family Estates, believes strongly that with the integral connection between wine and food, it is essential for his family’s company to contribute to a solution.

“The wine world is deeply connected to the harvest, agriculture and food – great wines are complemented by great meals, and thus, as part of the world of food and wine, we find it troubling to tolerate the existence of hunger among our friends and neighbors,” says Boisset.  “We know that now, more than ever, even families that have never thought to seek help before need assistance.  That’s why Boisset Family Estates has committed to providing a minimum of 1.2 million meals to U.S. families in need through our Fight Against Hunger campaign.”

Boisset’s donation will be announced January 24th at the Boston Wine Expo, inspiring the wine world to take part in its critical mission to alleviate hunger for American families in need in these challenging times.

“We are grateful to Boisset Family Estates for developing this campaign that will help food banks across the country provide more meals to more families,” said Catherine D’Amato, president and CEO of The Greater Boston Food Bank. “We urge the community to take action and help us in the fight against hunger so that every person receives the nutritious meal they deserve.”

The Greater Boston Food Bank distributes more than 30 million pounds of food and grocery products annually to nearly 600 member hunger-relief agencies in a dedicated partnership to end hunger in eastern Massachusetts. The Food Bank serves 83,000 people each week and is part of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network. For more information about The Greater Boston Food Bank, visit www.gbfb.org or call (617) 427-5200.

About Boisset Family Estates
Boisset Family Estates is a family-owned producer and importer of fine wines based in Sausalito, California with roots in Burgundy, France, Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and the Napa Valley.  One of the world’s leading producers of Pinot Noir, Boisset crafts fine wines with a strict terroir approach: each house in its family of wineries has a unique history, identity, and style, yet all are united in the pursuit of superior quality.  Boisset is an innovative leader in the wine world that seeks to reduce the environmental impact of wine packaging and production and protect the long-term sustainability of winegrowing from farming methods to winery practices and packaging.  To learn more about Boisset, please visit www.boissetfamilyestates.com.

More about Boisset’s partners in its Fight Against Hunger can be found by visiting www.boissetfamilyestates.com/fightagainsthunger.

Boisset Family Estates Donates More Than 200,000 Meals to Families in California’s Bay Area through its “Fight Against Hunger” Campaign in Partnership with the Fairmont San Francisco

Donation will benefit the Redwood Empire Food Bank of Santa Rosa, CA and the San Francisco Food Bank

Sausalito, CA, January 7, 2010 – Boisset Family Estates, a family-owned producer and importer of fine wines with offices in Sausalito, CA, wineries in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and the Napa Valley, and roots in Burgundy, France, will make a donation of more than 200,000 meals to families in the San Francisco Bay Area this month through its Fight Against Hunger campaign.  The donation of meals is made in partnership with the Fairmont San Francisco, a leading supporter of Fight Against Hunger. Boisset’s local wholesaler, Young’s Market Company, has also been instrumental in Fight Against Hunger’s Bay Area successes.

January’s donation will benefit the San Francisco Food Bank and the Redwood Empire Food Bank in Santa Rosa, CA.

Boisset’s Fight Against Hunger is a national campaign to combat hunger in local communities through the sale of its wines. Through its wineries DeLoach Vineyards, Lyeth Estate, Oceana Estates Riesling, and French rabbit, Boisset has donated more than 1 million meals to communities in Dallas, Indianapolis, and Denver in 2009. Fight Against Hunger is on track to reach its goal of donating 1.2 million meals to local food banks; from July through December 2009, every bottle of wine purchased from Boisset’s four wineries listed above helped supplement three meals for an American family in need when purchased through a participating retailer, restaurateur, or hotelier such as the Fairmont San Francisco. Boisset partnered with Feed The Children to provide meals to the local food banks.

Given the current global economic situation, the issue of hunger is more keenly felt than ever and Jean-Charles Boisset, President of Boisset Family Estates, believes strongly that with the integral connection between wine and food, it is essential for his family’s company to contribute to a solution.

“The wine world is deeply connected to the harvest, agriculture and food – great wines are complemented by great meals, and thus, as part of the world of food and wine, we find it troubling to tolerate the existence of hunger among our friends and neighbors,” says Boisset.  “We know that now, more than ever, even families that have never thought to seek help before need assistance.  That’s why Boisset Family Estates has committed to providing a minimum of 1.2 million meals to U.S. families in need through our Fight Against Hunger campaign.”

“We are delighted to partner with Boisset Family Estates to help feed the hungry in our local community,” explains Thomas A. Klein, Regional Vice President and General Manager of The Fairmont San Francisco.  “Since 1907, The Fairmont has been an integral part of the fabric of San Francisco.  Just as The Fairmont is San Francisco’s residence of U.S. presidents and world leaders, it is the place where generations of San Franciscans have come to celebrate special occasions for more than a century.   We feel it is our responsibility to give back to society and our partnership with Boisset’s Fight Against Hunger is one of the many programs we support to help ensure a healthy community.”

In conjunction with the Redwood Empire Food Bank, a food drop event will take place on Friday January 8th in the parking lot of the Redwood Convenant Church, 3175 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95407 at 11:30 AM to benefit families in DeLoach Vineyards’ local community.

More about Boisset’s partners and the Fight Against Hunger can be found by visiting www.boissetfamilyestates.com/fightagainsthunger.

About Boisset Family Estates
Boisset Family Estates is a family-owned producer and importer of fine wines based in Sausalito, California with roots in Burgundy, France, Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and the Napa Valley.  One of the world’s leading producers of Pinot Noir, Boisset crafts fine wines with a strict terroir approach: each house in its family of wineries has a unique history, identity, and style, yet all are united in the pursuit of superior quality.  Boisset is an innovative leader in the wine world that seeks to reduce the environmental impact of wine packaging and production and protect the long-term sustainability of winegrowing from farming methods to winery practices and packaging.  To learn more about Boisset, please visit its website at www.boissetfamilyestates.com.

About the Fairmont San Francisco
Scheduled to open soon after April 18, 1906, The Fairmont survived The Great Earthquake that struck that day but was ravaged by the subsequent fire.  When the hotel opened exactly one year after the earthquake, it symbolized the rebirth of San Francisco.  The landmark hotel has played witness to many defining moments in history and pop culture, including the drafting of the United Nations Charter in the hotel’s Garden Room in 1945, and Tony Bennett’s first performance of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” in The Venetian Room in 1962. For more information about The Fairmont San Francisco, please visit www.fairmont.com/sanfrancisco.

DeLoach Vineyards and Academy of Art University in San Francisco Join Forces to Create New Art

Winery hosts art students and professors in unique community partnership

Russian River Valley, CA November 16, 2009-Boisset Family Estates is pleased to announce another unique collaboration with the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Art inspired by and created at DeLoach Vineyards’ bucolic location in California’s Russian River Valley by Academy of Art University students and professors is now on display at the winery and available for purchase. Proceeds from the sale of the DeLoach-inspired art are directed to the artist with a portion allocated to the Academy of Art University’s scholarship program.

“In the wine world, we talk about terroir – the land – as inspiration for great wine, which I believe is also great art. To share the same terroir that inspired me to want to make Pinot Noir wine in America with the talented artists from the Academy of Art University has been a wonderful experience,” shares Jean-Charles Boisset, President of Boisset Family Estates and Proprietor of DeLoach Vineyards. “We feel privileged to have the exceptional work of these local artists enriching the winery; we hope that by offering the winery as a gallery for their work, more people will be exposed to their art and the immense creativity and passion that emanates from the Academy of Art.”

Over 80 pieces of art were created as part of this project. Mediums were diverse – from oil on canvas paintings to mixed media sculptures with steel and recycled wine bottles. To further encourage the artists’ creativity, DeLoach offered items such as cow horns, an essential part of the vineyard’s biodynamic preparation, and 10 Liter barrels from its new barrel-to-barrel program as materials for sculptures and canvases for painting. The painted barrels have generated so much excitement that discussions are currently underway to bring these into interested on-premise accounts. DeLoach Vineyards and the Academy of Art University announced this program with a gallery opening and week-long exhibit at 79 Gallery in San Francisco’s SoMa district in mid-September. Today, the art adorns the walls of the winery and will remain there indefinitely. An online gallery of all the artwork is also available online here. DeLoach’s history of partnering with The Academy of Art University began in 2007 with a scholarship competition for students from all Academy disciplines that repurposed the eco-friendly packaging material from French rabbit, Boisset’s 1 Liter vintage-dated, premium wine in Tetra Prisma containers. In 2008 a graduate Graphics Arts class at The Academy of Arts University completed a semester-long project in which they created a multi-media presentation for DeLoach’s proprietor, Jean-Charles Boisset, to present at CompostModern 2008 highlighting Boisset’s commitment to sustainability that extends from its organic farming methods to pioneering efforts in wine packaging. Earlier this year, DeLoach Vineyards commissioned Peter Schifrin, Director of the School of Fine Art Sculpture at the Academy of Art University, to create a sculpture for the winery’s picnic area. Schifrin’s sculpture, Earth and Sky, is an eighteen-foot bronze monument celebrating the human spirit in its relationship to the earth and its celestial skies. Sculptor Schifrin describes, “DeLoach Vineyards is committed to biodynamic agriculture which embraces a spiritual, organic, and scientific relationship with farming. It nourishes and heals the earth. My sculpture is created as a symbol honoring that effort. I offer works as visual mnemonics affirming life — reminders to seize the day.” DeLoach Vineyards has been undergoing a conversion from conventional to biodynamic farming and will release its first biodynamic wine in 2010 from the property.

About DeLoach Vineyards

DeLoach Vineyards has been making terroir-driven wines in the Russian River Valley since 1975 and is a pioneer in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel. In late 2003, Boisset Family Estates, the U.S. importer for family-owned Boisset, La Famille des Grands Vins, purchased DeLoach Vineyards, citing the Russian River Valley as California’s most expressive terroir for cultivating Burgundian varietals. Since joining the Boisset family of wineries, DeLoach has reduced production and improved quality, expanded its allocated single-vineyard program, and converted its estate vineyards to a rigorous organic and biodynamic farming regiment, receiving CCOF Organic Certification in 2008. DeLoach has adopted green practices throughout the winery, using an innovative membrane bio-reactor to purify water from wine-making to be re-used in the vineyards. Located at 1791 Olivet Road in Santa Rosa, the DeLoach Vineyards tasting room and organic garden are open to the public daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.deloachvineyards.com.

About Peter Schifrin

Peter Schifrin has created several large-scale public commissions including twelve-foot bronze, Play Sky in Sonoma County (2009), twenty-foot bronze Full Sky for award-winning Junto Farm in New York (2008), bronze Coyotes in downtown San Jose, bronze Firefighter in San Ramon, nine-foot bronze Wounded Man for the city of San Mateo’s Performing Arts Center and two twenty-two foot bronze monuments Confluence and Skyward at 491 Post Street in San Francisco, commissioned by the Academy of Art University. Schifrin is represented by Sculptursite Gallery in San Francisco and New Leaf Gallery in Sonoma, and is also Director of the School of Fine Art Sculpture at the Academy of Art University. His work is highlighted in a hardcover monograph, Love and Fear: The Sculpture of Peter Schifrin with an accompanying film on DVD. Schifrin received his MFA in sculpture from Boston University and his BA from San Jose State University. Schifrin was a member of the 1984 U. S. Olympic Team in Fencing and was inducted into San Jose State University’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.  Please view his work at www.peterschifrin.com and www.mudpoet.com.

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WINE.COM DEBUTS ECO WINE TRIO; FINE WINES BUILDING A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

Partnership with Boisset Family Estates and EarthEra directs 10 percent of proceeds to build new renewable energy projects in the United States

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, October 7, 2009 – Wine.com, the leading online wine retailer, today debuts its Eco Wine Trio. The exclusive product offers three premium red wines from Boisset Family Estates, the first fine wines available in revolutionary PET¹ bottles in the U.S. These custom-designed PET bottles feature a unique oxygen-barrier that ensures wine quality and taste. The bottles also weigh 90 percent less and have a 50 percent lower carbon footprint than traditional wine bottles.

The retail price of the Wine.com Eco Wine Trio is $29.99. As part of Wine.com’s and Boisset Family Estate’s commitment to a clean energy future they have partnered with EarthEra. Through the unique EarthEra program, Wine.com will direct 10 percent of the retail price of the Eco Wine Trio to the EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust. All funds accumulated in the Trust will be used solely to build new, renewable energy projects in the United States. In addition, EarthEra will carbon balance the shipments of the Eco Wine Trio from the winery to the customer.

The Wine.com Eco Wine Trio is presented in a gift box produced of 100 percent recycled packaging. The premium red wines included in the trio are:

• Fog Mountain 2006 California Merlot: 100 percent Merlot sourced from prime growing areas throughout California result in black cherry, dusty chocolate and blackberry flavors finishing soft with ripe plum notes. This wine is packaged in the first 1 liter PET bottle for wine in the US.  One liter offers 33 percent more wine than a standard 750ml bottle.
• Louis Bernard 2007 Bonus Passus Côtes du Rhône AOC: a spicy, Grenache-based red from the Rhône Valley that is well-balanced with red-berry fruit flavors and a long finish.
• Yellow Jersey 2007 Pinot Noir: a fruity red from the South of France with blackcurrant aromas, soft tannins and a silky finish.

“Wine.com is excited to be partnering with two forward thinking leaders – Boisset Family Estates and EarthEra – to create an eco-friendly premium product,” said Michael Osborn, Wine.com Founder and Vice President of Merchandising. “We have been hard at work, lowering our environmental impact by placing warehouses close to our customers and by using 100 percent recycled and recyclable packaging, made from 85 percent post-consumer waste. The Eco Wine Trio is yet another way to make enjoying wine better for the planet.”

The Eco Wine Trio features wines from Boisset Family Estates, a leader in sustainable practices from vineyard to bottle. To continue the tradition begun in the organically and biodynamically-farmed estate vineyards, Boisset introduced alternative packaging that further reduces the wine’s carbon footprint through its life cycle. “We believe that it is vital to consider the environmental impact of wine through the entire supply chain, and to find solutions that reduce our carbon footprint while offering high-quality and value to our customers,” says Boisset Family Estates President, Jean-Charles Boisset.

Through its partnership with EarthEra, Wine.com is balancing the carbon impact of all shipments of the Eco Wine Trio and provides consumers a way to contribute to a clean energy future. “EarthEra is excited to be part of this initiative with Wine.com and Boisset Family Estates,” said Nathan Hanson, Vice President, EarthEra. “By participating in the EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust, Wine.com is making a meaningful commitment to the environment by providing its customers the opportunity to purchase a high quality product in an environmentally responsible manner, all at no extra cost. Wine.com’s commitment of 10 percent of the revenues of the Eco Wine Trio to EarthEra will help build new renewable energy projects, benefiting the environment on behalf of the entire Wine.com community.”

About Boisset Family Estates

Boisset Family Estates is a family-owned producer and importer of fine wines based in Sausalito, California with roots in Burgundy, France. Founded by Jean-Claude Boisset in 1961, the company has a presence on six continents and in more than eighty countries, and is one of the world’s leading producers of Pinot Noir. Each house in its family of wineries has a unique history, identity, and style, yet all are united in the pursuit of superior quality. Simultaneously, Boisset is an innovative leader in the wine world, seeking to reduce the environmental impact of wine packaging and production and protect the long-term sustainability of wine growing. For more information on the company and its wineries, please visit http://www.boissetfamilyestates.com.

About EarthEra

EarthEra is a unique program that provides businesses, institutions and consumers the opportunity to build new renewable energy facilities in the United States. EarthEra sells environmental products, such as renewable energy certificates and carbon offsets, to help customers balance their carbon footprint and then directs 100 percent of sales to the building of new renewable energy projects. The EarthEra program utilizes the EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust to accumulate and distribute all funds to new renewable energy projects. The Trust is administered by an independent trustee, US Bank. For more information visit: www.EarthEra.com.

About Wine.com

Wine.com is the nation’s #1 online wine retailer, according to Internet Retailer magazine’s annual ranking of websites by revenue, offering thousands of wines, wine gifts, gift baskets and monthly wine clubs. Wine.com’s mission is to be the ultimate resource for wine enthusiasts, whether shopping for themselves or sending a gift, by offering a great selection, low prices, convenient delivery and helpful information. Wine.com is the world’s most visited wine web site, according to research conducted by comScore Media Metrix. For more information, visit www.wine.com.

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¹PET stands for “polyethylene terephthalate” and it is a thermoplastic polymer resin used in packaging applications. It is widely recognized by its recycling symbol identification – #1 PET. Lightweight and safe (BPA-free – now and always), PET weighs 90% less than traditional bottles, and conserves fuel, energy and greenhouse gases throughout its lifecycle, from production to transit to recycling. It is estimated to have a 50-60% smaller carbon footprint than a traditional bottle and is 100% recyclable into valuable end products from fleece to carpet fiber to polyester insulation.

DeLoach Vineyards Receives Double Honors from Wine & Spirits Magazine
Winery recognized for overall performance, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir named a “100 Best Buy of the Year”

Santa Rosa, CA, September 17, 2009 – DeLoach Vineyards will be named by Wine & Spirits Magazine a “Top 100 Winery of the Year” in its upcoming winter issue. In the same issue, DeLoach’s 2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir will be recognized as one of the “100 Best Buys of the Year.”

DeLoach Vineyards has been making terroir-driven wines from the Russian River Valley and premium vineyard sites across Northern California since 1975. Its founders were among the first group of vintners to plant Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley in 1973, and they also helped to draft the initial application that created the Russian River Valley AVA in 1983. Boisset Family Estates purchased DeLoach in 2003 and immediately began a seven-year mission to convert the estate vineyards to organic and biodynamic farming methods, and anchor the winery in its high quality, historic winemaking roots. Today’s announcement is an exciting acknowledgement that Boisset’s patient commitment to sustainable winemaking processes results in superior world-class wines. This is the tenth year that DeLoach has been named a “Winery of the Year,” one of very few wineries to achieve this distinction.

Boisset’s commitment to preserving the environment extends into the packaging of DeLoach wines; in July, DeLoach developed an innovation for the on-premise wine market and launched it in partnership with The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco. DeLoach Vineyards California Pinot Noir is now available to restaurants for by-the-glass service in a 10-Liter eco-bag housed in a wood barrel. After depleting the first barrel, restaurants need only reorder the 68-Gram recyclable eco-bag filled with 10 Liters of wine at the same cost as a typical 12 bottle, 9Liter case.

Wine & Spirits Magazine’s “Top 100 Best Buy” wines are selected from over 9,000 wines that are blind tasted by the editors each year. To have the DeLoach Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir included in this exclusive list in the same year that the winery is named a “Top 100 Winery of the Year” is a great honor, especially from a publication whose primary audience is the wine trade. DeLoach Vineyards will participate in the sixth annual celebratory tasting event to honor the “Top 100 Wineries of the Year” on October 14, 2009 at the San Francisco Design Center.

The complete list of Wineries of the Year and Top 100 Best Buy Wines will be announced and profiled in the November issue of Wine & Spirits, available on newsstands nationwide on October 13, 2009.

About DeLoach Vineyards
As a pioneering force in Pinot Noir winegrowing in Sonoma County, DeLoach Vineyards has been experimenting with and perfecting the various combinations of soil, rootstock and clones for over three decades. In 2004, the Boisset family brought its eco-friendly and biodynamic approach to sustainable winemaking at DeLoach Vineyards: showing its dedication to the environment, Boisset Family Estates tore up award-winning vineyards after the 2004 vintage and replanted them with cover crops designed to revitalize the soil. New vines were planted in 2006, and 2010 will be the first eagerly awaited vintage grown with biodynamic farming techniques. In the meantime, DeLoach Vineyards continues to partner with winegrowers who are equally dedicated to eco-friendly farming practices and the production of world-class wines.

For more information about DeLoach Vineyards, please visit www.deloachvineyards.com.

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