For Immediate Release

July 3, 2009

CONTACT

Martha Rueca-Gustafsson, Assistant Winemaker, Winterhawk Winery

coffeebnqn@comcast.net

707.428.6977

Winterhawk Winery to Release United States’ First

Fish Friendly Farming Certified Wine Label

2008 Suisun Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Fairfield, CA, July 3, 2009—Winterhawk Winery will celebrate the release of its 2008 Sauvignon Blanc on July 18, 2009, at Winterhawk Winery. The event, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., will feature the newly designed Winterhawk label, which is the Country’s first Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved label with the Fish Friendly Farming trademark logo. In addition to the $5.00 glass and tasting flight, there will be live music, sales discounts, and food pairings with Sauvignon Blanc.

The 2008 Suisun Valley Sauvignon Blanc is produced from grapes grown in a Fish Friendly Farming-certified vineyard, and is the first wine in the United States label-approved with the trademark logo by the TTB. "The Fish Friendly Farming program is the most comprehensive environmental certification in the state. Winterhawk Winery manages its vineyards with care to protect water quality and fish and wildlife habitats, and this care is now marked on its wines with the Fish Friendly Farming logo,” says Laurel Marcus, Executive Director of the California Land Stewardship Institute. Jim Parr, Vineyard Manager for Winterhawk Winery, finds the award for FFF certification gratifying. “It’s nice to implement a program that integrates Best Management Practices and great wine together.”

A wonderful pairing with a wide range of cheeses, seafood, and Asian cuisines, the wine has a higher acid profile than many other California white wines, due to the intentional absence of Malolactic fermentation and oak.  The juice was fermented dry and under cold temperatures, resulting in no residual sugar with intense citrus and grass aroma in the wine. Bulk aging occurred in 100 percent stainless steel. Only 200 cases of the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc was produced.

 “The fruit for this wine grows adjacent to our facility and was delivered without delay. This directly impacts the wine, capturing every last bit of classic Sauvignon Blanc character from the fruit, yielding grapefruit, grass, and honeydew melon flavors,” says Matt Smith, head winemaker for Winterhawk Winery.        

Winterhawk Winery is located at 4537 Abernathy Road in Fairfield, in Suisun Valley in Western Solano County, four miles from the Napa border. Don Johnson purchased Gordon Valley Farm in Suisun Valley in 1977, and is the proprietor of Winterhawk Winery. After three decades of growing outstanding wine grapes and selling them to premium Napa vintners, Don decided to take his venture one step further and produce wine from his own grapes.

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