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TO: Senior-Level Executives / Beer, Wine & Spirits Industry

FROM: Jeffrey Pipes Guice, Executive Editor & Publisher

William J. Kearney IV, Associate Editor/Special Projects

DATE: April 22, 2004 Volume 3; Number 9

The following is a collection of press releases and some articles appearing on websites around the
world on some of our favorite topics - beer, wine and spirits.

In this edition we feature news from 2006 Soccer World Cup; Absolut Vodka; Adolph Coors
Company; Allied Domecq plc; Anheuser-Busch; Brown-Forman Corporation; August A. Busch IV;
Australian Wine Research Institute; Canadian Club whisky; Charles Shaw Winery; Chateau Potelle
Winery; Chivas Brothers; Tom Cole; Compania Cervecerias Unidas; Crescent Crown Distributing;
Czechvar Beer; Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines; Distinguished Brands International; E.& J. Gallo;
John Esposito; Fetzer Winery; Glenfiddich; Golden State Vintners; Hardy Wine Company; Heineken
Group; Lincoln Henderson; Liquid International Premium Spirits; Magnolia Marketing Company-
Louisiana; Malibu Rum; Ivan Menezes; Midori Melon Liqueur; Millennium Imports; Miller Brewing
Co; Moet Hennessy; Moretti Beer; Mount Gay Rum; Mount Veeder Appellation Council; Robert
Parker; Pearce Beverage Company; Peerless Importers; Pennsylvania Wine Association; Pernod
Ricard; Christian Porta; Harvey Posert; Rémy Amerique; Rémy Cointreau; Republic Beverage
Company; Robert Mondavi Corporation; Sabate; ScentAir Technologies; Schieffelin & Somerset Co;
Scotch Whisky Association; Scottish Courage; Shaw-Ross International Importers; Smirnoff Ice;
Lars Olsson Smith; The South Beach Diet; Star Brand Imports; Stelvin; R. C. Stephens &
Associates; Stone Villa Wine Cellars; Tax Free World Association; VINEXPO AMERICAS; The Wine
Group LLC; Woodford Reserve Bourbon and X3D Technologies Corp

• Beer Industry News Beginning on Page 1

• Wine Industry News Beginning on Page 14
• Spirits Industry News Beginning on Page 26

Please send all press releases as a WORD document directly to editor@optonline.net. Cheers!

BEER INDUSTRY NEWS

Anheuser-Busch Reconsiders Ads

By Stuart Elliott for The New York Times

New York, NY - Anheuser-Busch, one of the largest American advertisers and the one perhaps
most under fire recently for provocative pitches in mainstream entertainment like the Super Bowl,
is rethinking the tone and content of its advertising campaigns for beer brands like Bud Light and
Budweiser.

August A. Busch IV, president of the Anheuser-Busch Inc. division of the Anheuser-Busch
Companies in St. Louis, disclosed the reappraisal yesterday in a question-and-answer session
after his speech here in the opening general session of the 2004 management conference of the
American Association of Advertising Agencies. Mr. Busch attributed the reassessment to the
intense backlash against risqué content generated by the Janet Jackson performance that went
st
awry during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show on February 1 .

The storm of protest that followed has prompted a great deal of soul-searching by companies and
their agencies about how far is too far in infusing their ads with crowd-pleasing elements of humor
and music.

"As we came out of the Super Bowl, the mood of the country seemed to have changed, and some
of our ads got wrapped into that same controversy," Mr. Busch told the audience of about 330
people at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach hotel.

As a result, "we are taking a more cautious approach to our creative," he added, seeking to "not
be distasteful in our content moving forward."

Until now, almost all the changes in reaction to Ms. Jackson's wardrobe "malfunction," as it was
described by her partner in disrobement, Justin Timberlake, have come in the realm of
programming, not advertising. Television networks introduced five-second delays in live
broadcasts of awards shows, for example, and the Federal Communications Commission levied
higher fines against radio broadcasters who carried Howard Stern and other so-called shock
jocks.

Among the few advertisers that have been rethinking campaign content is an Anheuser-Busch
competitor, the Coors Brewing division of the Adolph Coors Company, which is toning down the
sexiness of commercials featuring twin sisters who promote its Coors Light beer brand.

The rethinking at Anheuser-Busch is already affecting the development of commercials for the
2005 Super Bowl, Mr. Busch said in an interview after his speech. The company typically starts
planning for the next Super Bowl as soon as a week after the previous one.

The company and its agencies are "prepared to do better research" into consumer attitudes, Mr.
Busch said, because "there's something going on we need to understand."

One commercial that Anheuser-Busch ran during Super Bowl XXXVIII, a Bud Light spot about a
flatulent horse, has been withdrawn from the company's rotation of commercials, Mr. Busch said.
The spot had been appearing during late-night shows since early February.

The horse commercial was among several for Bud Light that critics complained were evidence of
a corporate philosophy by Anheuser-Busch to reach for the lowest common denominator in
commercials aimed at the most frequent beer drinkers - men from 21 to 25 years old - resulting in
a race to the bottom to fill commercials with bathroom humor, double entendres, crude sight gags
and vulgarisms.

Other Super Bowl spots the critics condemned featured a crotch-biting dog, a male monkey
wooing a human female and the comedian Cedric the Entertainer mistakenly undergoing a
bikini-wax treatment at a spa.

"Has the Super Bowl become the toilet bowl?" asked one conference participant, Cheryl
Berman, chairwoman and chief creative officer at Leo Burnett Worldwide in Chicago, part of the
Publicis Groupe.
After watching the commercials on Super Sunday this year, she added, "you wanted to take a
shower."

"It's not hard to do a raunchy commercial that gets a one-shot belly laugh," Ms. Berman said. "It's
harder to do one with a great idea" that is "more emotionally connective" to consumers.

Many of the Bud Light Super Bowl commercials were created by offices of DDB Worldwide, part
of the Omnicom Group, led by the Chicago office.

"We try to do advertising people like to see," said Bob Scarpelli, chairman at DDB Chicago and
United States chief creative officer for DDB Worldwide. Mr. Scarpelli, who was in the audience for
Mr. Busch's remarks, said that all the tests of the Super Bowl XXXVIII spots before the game
showed that "people loved them: younger drinkers, older drinkers, male, female."

"But in the context of the halftime show, it all got crazy," he added, so now "we need to be
listening to the changing mood" of the public.

Bud Light "is about fun, being with friends, good times," Mr. Scarpelli said, "and we can do that
within the boundaries of good taste."

He added, referring to the tenor of the most recent commercials, "Maybe it was a little risqué."

Other conference attendees who listened to Mr. Busch's remarks said they were struck by their
relevance to the age-old question of whether advertising should reflect consumer mood, be far
ahead of it or seek to lead, but just a little.

"You can still be creative and be careful about sophomoric humor," said Steven Blamer,
president and chief executive for the North American operations of Grey Worldwide in New York,
part of the Grey Global Group.

"You have to be sensitive to the mood," he added, "and I think the mood has changed
significantly."

Kevin Roberts, worldwide chief executive at Saatchi & Saatchi in New York, also part of
Publicis, offered another perspective, declaring that agencies "are not here to mirror culture;
we're here to inspire."

While the Anheuser-Busch reassessment "is a good thing, because it will probably get us to a
better place," Mr. Roberts said, "we must not respond to every reaction" by consumers that is not
adulatory. "It should be a proactive, creative-driven approach, rather than a defensive reaction to
an isolated accident."

To demonstrate, Mr. Roberts, in a speech he made after Mr. Busch's, showed a commercial his
agency created in Australia that featured a mass murderer named Mark Read, known as Chopper
- for a campaign to stop drunken driving.

During the Super Bowl, Anheuser-Busch "crossed a line that had already been crossed over by
other advertisers," said Ron Berger, chief executive and chief creative officer at Euro RSCG
MVBMS Partners in New York, part of the Euro RSCG Worldwide division of Havas.

"Janet Jackson actually helped out" the company and its agencies, he added, "by deflecting
scrutiny of their work," which was ignored in the days after the halftime brouhaha.
Mr. Berger, who was elected last month as chairman of the agency association, said that as
Madison Avenue ponders how far is too far, "at the end of the day the determination ought to be
this: are you willing to put your family name, your brand name, on the ad?

"And in this case," he added, referring to Anheuser-Busch, which sells beer under the Busch
label, "the family name is the brand name." The conference, the 86th annual meeting of the
agency association, known as the Four A's, concluded this week.

Anheuser-Busch Jumpstarts Pentagon Memorial

By Jeff Clabaugh

The Anheuser-Busch Foundation has signed on as the first major corporate donor to the
Pentagon Memorial Fund, donating $1 million to the cause.

The Pentagon Memorial Fund campaign has set a goal of $30 million to pay for the construction
and maintenance of a permanent memorial park for the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the
Pentagon. The fund estimates construction costs will be $17.5 million, with the majority of the rest
of the funds raised going to establish an endowment for the memorial's maintenance.

The design for the memorial, chosen from about 1,100 entries, is by New York-based Kaseman
Beckman Amsterdam Studio. It will include permanent inscriptions of each of the 184 victims'
names and will be constructed on Pentagon grounds near the site where the plane crashed into
the building.

The Pentagon Memorial Fund, established as a nonprofit by the victims' families, has set up a
Web site for donations at www.pentagonmemorial.net.

Chile's CCU Plans $200 Million Investments 2004-2007

Santiago, Chile - Chile's biggest brewer CCU said on Thursday it plans to invest $200 million
between 2004 and 2007 to expand its Argentine operations and production of new candy brands
and the distilled grape alcohol pisco.
The company, formally known as Compania Cervecerias Unidas, also forecast 2004 sales
growth in line with overall economic growth in Chile and growth outstripping the pace of the
economy in Argentina. CCU sells Heineken beers in Argentina and Chile and also produces soft
drinks, wine, juice, mineral water, pisco and candy.

Patricio Jottar, CCU general manager, told reporters in a news conference after the company's
annual shareholders meeting that the $200 million did not include any potential acquisitions.

"In the last 12 months we have seen strong growth in soft drinks and beer, and we believe that
growth will hold steady or increase this year, in line with Chile's economic growth," said
Guillermo Luksic, president of CCU.

Chile's Central Bank estimates economic growth this year between 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent.

Growth will be higher in Argentina, Luksic said, due to double digit growth in sales volume that
may force the company to expand plants.

CCU produces about 15 percent of Chile's pisco, a distilled grape alcohol used to make pisco
sours.

The company currently rents one plant in Chile to make pisco, but plans to buy new plants or
build a new one to increase market share.

The company is also planning expansions at two candy and cookie factories -- in Santiago and in
the southern Chile city of Talca -- recently acquired when it bought the Calaf brand.

Coors Net $4.84M in First-Quarter Profits

Golden, CO - Adolph Coors Co. said Thursday its profit jumped six-fold in the first quarter,
helped by cost cuts and higher beer sales in Europe.

The Golden-based brewer said its net income rose to $4.84 million, or 13 cents a share, from the
prior year's $806,000, or 2 cents a share.
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Wall Street expected Coors to earn 15 cents a share for the quarter ended March 28 , according
to the average estimate of analysts in a Thomson First Call survey.

Sales climbed 11.5 percent to $923.5 million from $828.1 million in the previous first quarter, as
the volume of beer and other beverages sold rose to about 7 million barrels from 6.9 million
barrels.

The company said results for the latest period improved significantly against difficult operating
results a year ago in both the Americas and Europe.

Coors said it made progress on cost initiatives and supply chain improvements in the United
States, although it didn't succeed in growing volume in the Americas.

Net sales in the Americas rose to $539.8 million from $526.8 million last year, despite a slight dip
in barrel sales. The segment benefited from higher revenue per barrel, driven by favorable
pricing, higher Canadian income and cost cuts in the United States.

Net sales in Europe climbed to $383.7 million from $301.4 million.

Shares of Coors closed Thursday at $66.70, down 78 cents, or 1.2 percent, on the New York
Stock Exchange.
Czechvar Beer, Now Imported By Distinguished Brands International

Littleton, CO - These days, most every leading brewer boasts of “old world brewing traditions,”
despite using modern stainless steel brewing vessels, centrifuges, abbreviated fermentation,
formulated hop pellets, and lagering times averaging from 18 to 40 days. It seems “old world
brewing” is flourishing most in the advertising department.

For those seeking a true taste of old world brewing techniques, Distinguished Brands
International is now importing Czechvar, the special name of the world famous beer produced
by the renowned Brewery Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Republic.

Founded in 1875 but with using the Ceske Budeiovice brewing tradition that’s more than 700
years old, Czechvar’s strict attention to its time-honored brewing process ensures an authentic
taste. Czechvar uses only traditional copper brew kettles; the wort is open lautered, and hopped
using full, all-natural Saaz hops cones, never pellets; primary fermentation is a full12 days and
then the young, rich golden-colored Czechvar Beer begins 90 plus days of slow, cold lagering.

Ninety plus days of lagering is well over a month longer than any other leading brewery. This
long, slow, meticulous secondary fermentation requires massive amounts of cold storage. Each
of Czechvar’s 36 custom-made lagering vessel holds 3,770 hectoliters (about 7,500 kegs), thus
ensuring continued capacities for Czechvar’s brewing traditions.

The result is Czechvar, a bright, golden beer of pronounced hoppy bouquet, traditional mild to
medium bitterness, and a gentle, slightly coarse character. Czechvar has a medium, yet robust
body, and finishes with a light, enjoyable hoppiness. Czechvar’s truly old world brewing
traditions create a beer long savored by the novice and cherished by the connoisseur.

The Brewery, B.B.N.P., is keeper of this Czech National Trust, Czechvar. Beer from B.B.N.P.has
long been exported and enjoyed in 58 countries the world over. Yet it is only now, through its
name, Czechvar, that this world-renowned beer is available in America. Czechvar is imported
and marketed in the USA by Distinguished Brands International (DBI) of Littleton, Colorado.
Founded last year by former employees of Paulaner – North America, Distinguished Brands has
already gained national prominence in its US representation of Fuller’s, Veltins, Erdinger Hefe-
Weizen, Boris, Czechvar, and Dixie Brewing Company.
Study: Alcohol Doubles Chance Of Gout

London, England - A new study has found that drinking alcohol - particularly beer - can more than
double a man's risk of developing gout.

One of humankind's most ancient diseases, the painful joint condition is the leading cause of
arthritis in men. It is less common in women, occurring only after menopause.

The connection to drinking has been believed for centuries, but a study published this week in
The Lancet medical journal verifies it for the first time and found that even light indulgence
increases the risk.

The study found that beer was the worst choice for gout, followed by spirits. It concluded that
moderate wine drinking did not appear to be a problem, but experts said there were too few men
in the study who drank a lot of wine to be sure that wine is a safer alternative.

In the study, conducted by scientists at Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women's Hospital,
and Harvard's medical and public health schools in Boston, researchers followed 47,150 men
with no history of gout for 12 years.

When the study ended in 1998, 730 men, or nearly 2 percent, had developed gout.

The higher the daily alcohol consumption, the more likely gout was to develop, and the disease
was more than twice as likely to occur in men who drank the most alcohol compared with those
who drank none.

The strongest link was with beer - each daily serving increased the risk by 50 percent. For spirits,
the chance of developing gout increased by 15 percent with each extra drink daily. There
appeared to be no increased risk among wine drinkers, but there were only 18 men in the study
who drank more than two glasses of wine a day.

Dr. Hyon Choi, a rheumatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who led the study, said he
could not rule out the possibility that heavy wine drinking could be problematic.

Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. The acid forms crystal deposits in joints,
particularly in the big toe, feet and ankles.

Uric acid levels are raised by foods and drinks containing a compound called purine. Digestion
breaks purine down into uric acid. Beer is particularly high in purine.

"It's often said that we have drugs that are so powerful in the treatment of this disease that dietary
management is probably not all that important ... But modification of diet is one of the ways in
which you can reduce the risk of developing gout in the first place," said Dr. John Klippel,
president of the Arthritis Foundation.

"There are very few forms of arthritis that you can seriously talk about proven ways of preventing
the disease," said Klippel, who was not connected with the research.

Gout causes sometimes-excruciating episodes of pain in feet and joints. Severe cases can cause
major disability or kidney failure. Curtailing alcohol consumption is already recommended for
people who suffer from the disease.
Miller Brewing Inks Wisconsin Center District Sponsorship
By Rich Rovito

Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co. announced Friday that it has signed a multimillion-dollar,
12-year sponsorship deal with the Wisconsin Center District.

Miller also announced that it will hold its 2005 marketing, sales and distribution conference in
Milwaukee to coincide with the brewer's 150th anniversary.

"The Wisconsin Center District is one of the area's premier entertainment and cultural venues,
and we are proud to have our name and product associated with it for many years to come," said
Michael Jones, Miller senior vice president for corporate affairs.

Jones, speaking at a press conference at the Historic Miller Caves near the Miller brewery on
West State Street, declined to provide specific financial information pertaining to the deal.

"It's a lot of money for a long period of time," he said.

The Wisconsin Center district includes the Midwest Airlines Center, the U.S. Cellular Arena and
the Milwaukee Theatre.

"The district is thrilled and honored to have Miller Brewing Co. stand behind us," said Richard
Geyer, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Center District.

The sponsorship agreement will give Miller more visibility within the Wisconsin Center District
through increased signage and advertising, both inside and outside Wisconsin Center District
properties.

The agreement also gives Miller title sponsorship and naming rights for a new refreshment area
to be constructed on the lower level of the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The district also will be a "focal point when the Miller family of employees and distributors returns
home to celebrate our company's heritage and history in Milwaukee," Jones said.

Miller's sales, marketing and distribution conference is expected to draw at least 3,000 people
over the course of the three-day event in April 2005, which will be held at the Midwest Airlines
Center, Jones said.

The conference is expected to have an economic impact of more than $5.6 million, Jones said.

"We held our annual conference in Milwaukee a few years ago and the response was
phenomenal," he said.

Milwaukee last hosted the conference in 2001. That marked the first time in decades the
conference had been held in Milwaukee.

Miller also is planning a variety of festivities to celebrate the company's anniversary in 2005. More
details will provided in the "weeks and months to come," Jones said.

When asked if the celebration would be on the level of Harley-Davidson Inc.'s 100th anniversary
last fall, Jones said: "We are going to do something that is special for us."
Moretti Beer Is The Perfect Match For Any Occasion This Summer

White Plains, NY - Moretti Beer will create authentic Italian experiences this summer as diners
across the country enjoy Italian cuisine with Italy’s most desired beer. As the spring and summer
dining out season begins, Moretti Beer will be highly visible in Italian restaurants across the U.S.
Beginning in May, Moretti is sponsoring a promotion that offers restaurants with Moretti branded
serving kits including olive oil cruets, napkin holders, serving trays and “daily special”
chalkboards.

The promotion will be accompanied by the release of a Moretti sponsored guide to America’s
Italian eateries. Published by Green Line Publishing, the guide will highlight the Italian cafes
and restaurants that make up the United States’ diverse “Little Italy” neighborhoods. The book will
include such neighborhoods as Manhattan’s Little Italy, Boston’s North End, Chicago’s Little Italy,
The Hill in St. Louis and San Francisco’s North Beach, among others.

While dining in these neighborhoods, consumers can add to the authenticity of their experience
by drinking one of Italy’s most popular beers – Birra Moretti.

“Moretti is a beer that is great as a pre-dinner drink and that pairs well with many different
dishes,” said Donal O’Sullivan, marketing manager at Star Brand Imports. “The May promotion
builds on Moretti’s strength as a beer people desire when dining out, while providing bars and
restaurants an easy way to build consumer awareness of Moretti as a great beverage choice
when dining in their establishment.”

In addition to the on-premise kits, the May promotion will feature two off-premise offers one in
grocery stores and another in beverage and liquor outlets. The May grocery store promotion will
pair Moretti with $2-off coupons for Italian cheese. The formula of pairing Moretti with grocery
items has proven very successful over the last year. A similar promotion in May/June 2003 paired
Moretti with a consumer discount on Italian deli meats from the grocery store deli counter and
saw sales boost forty-four percent*.

For liquor stores, Moretti entices buyers with a chance to purchase six Moretti glasses for $6.49.

The May promotion is a continuation of the “Oh, for the love of Moretti” campaign launched last
year and features consistent messaging across all off-premise and on-premise POS in order to
drive sales volumes. Headlines for the May promotion include “In the mood for amore?” and
“Surrender to Italian temptations.”

In 1859, Luigi Moretti founded his “Beer and Ice Factory” in Udine, Italy. Today, Birra Moretti is
still produced following traditional methods, the result of a production process that has remained
almost unchanged. Birra Moretti is now exported to more than 30 countries worldwide. Star Brand
Imports markets and imports Moretti in the U.S. For more information visit: www.birramoretti.it.

Star Brand Imports, based in White Plains, NY, imports and markets a wide range of specialty
beer brands, including: Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr imported from Munich, Germany; Birra
Moretti, produced in Northern Italy; Murphy’s Stout and Murphy’s Red Beer from Ireland;
Affligem, brewed in Belgium and Fischer, imported from France. A member of the Heineken
Group, Star Brand Imports was established in 1980 as Fischer Beverages International – the
American affiliate of Brasserie Fischer S.A. in Strasbourg, France. In 1996, Brasserie Fischer
S.A. was sold to Heineken.

For more information, visit their website at www.starbrandimports.com.

Munich Officials Up In Arms Over World Cup Beer

Munich, Germany - Protect Bavarian cultural heritage. Save local tradition. In the city of the
Oktoberfest, officials are up in arms over the most famous local product - beer, which they say
won't be available at the city stadium during the 2006 Soccer World Cup.

FIFA, the world soccer governing body, has an exclusive sponsoring contract with the U.S.
brewer Anheuser-Busch, which is the only maker allowed to sell beer inside and in the
immediate vicinity of World Cup stadiums.

Local leaders are urging Bavarian governor Edmund Stoiber to take up the issue.

"When the world comes to Bavaria in 2006, our guests should be able to rely on learning about
our unique cultural goods," local Greens party leader Sepp Duerr said Monday.

"We are asking the state government to explain how they intend to safeguard that," Duerr said.

Gerhard Ohneis, chief of the Augustiner brewery, said the FIFA sponsoring contract would
"destroy old traditions."

German beer is brewed according to strict, centuries-old purity laws.

Pearce Beverage Company Sold After 93 Years

Phoenix, AZ - A history of business success, customer and employee loyalty and good corporate
citizenship dating back to 1911 has come to an end as Pearce Beverage Company was sold
recently. Pearce Beverage is the Valley’s Coors and Miller beer distributor and one of Arizona’s
top 100 privately held companies pre-dating Statehood.

Arthur L. Pearce, II, Chairman/CEO, announced that New Orleans-based Crescent Crown
Distributing, owned by the Moffett and Goldring families, has purchased Pearce Beverage.
Pearce explained that this was an asset sale and does not include any property, including the
recently constructed 284,000 square foot state of the art warehouse and distribution center in
Phoenix. He also noted that all the employees will remain and that the company will continue to
operate as Pearce Beverage Co.

“My family and business partners consider this the right time to diversify our holdings by selling to
people who are highly experienced, capable sprits and beer wholesalers. They are also keenly
community-minded, as the Pearce Company has always been, and this was another positive
factor in our decision to sell to Crescent Crown,” Pearce explained. “What has made our
business successful for 93 years has been the excellence of our employees. Times change;
needs and circumstances change, but our people and our shared values always remained the
unshakeable constant that saw us through good times and bad. I’m proud to have worked with
them.”
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In 1911, a year before Arizona was admitted to the Union as the 48 State, Zebulon Pearce,
Art’s grandfather, bought into a produce business serving the Phoenix area. Later, Zeb bought
out his partner’s interest in the business and the Zeb Pearce Companies added warehouses,
then-rare commercial refrigeration facilities and a fleet of delivery vehicles to reach its growing
base of farm produce customers.

After Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the Adolph Coors Company in Colorado sought
distributors out of state. Because nearly all beer was shipped in kegs and had to be refrigerated
the Pearce operation was granted the first Coors franchise since it had one of the few ammonia-
cooled storage facilities in the Phoenix area. In addition, Zeb’s foresight in having his own trucks
for produce delivery made it easier for him to simultaneously deliver Coors to beer retailers.
Phoenix-based A-1 Pilsner was Arizona’s top selling beer in the 1930’s but from 1940 to 1980
Coors was number one in the state, a state that experienced unprecedented growth after World
War II. The Zeb Pearce Companies grew with it. While change came through the decades, it
was always seasoned with reason and the hallmark principles of hard work, high ethical
standards, an appreciation of its loyal employees and providing generous support to the
community, which remained the foundation of the Zeb Pearce Companies.

Zebulon Pearce died at the age of 92 in 1969. By that time three of Zeb’s five sons, Arthur, Sr.,
Norman and Charles, assumed active leadership and management of the company and guided
it into a path of further growth. For years the company operated a Mesa seed mill, a feed store
and also sold dry goods. By the early 1970’s, the beer distributorship had grown to such a large
degree that the seed, feed and dry goods businesses were phased out.

“I recall having long conversations with my dad about what the beer industry was like. It wasn’t
necessarily about the product itself; it was more about the basics of business. Essentially, he
was talking and I was listening,” Pearce related.

After graduating from ASU in 1976, Art came into the business full-time. Since Coors was the
firm’s only product supplier Arthur Senior sent Art to Golden for a nine month apprenticeship at
the Adolph Coors Company. It was a time in which he learned everything from malting,
fermenting, brewing, aging and even packaging first-hand. During that time in Colorado, Art also
gained an unplanned, unforeseen personal benefit: he met his future wife, Dee, who was then
Pete Coors secretary. The couple married in 1979 and have two teen-age daughters.

In the early 1980’s, the third generation of the Pearce family began to fill the roles of management
since Zeb’s sons were now in their late 70’s and early 80’s. Arthur II became President in 1983
while his cousins Norman, Jr. and Robert assumed other high-level positions.

Jim Merideth, one of the most savvy sales and marketing men in the beer industry, was a part of
the Zeb Pearce Companies and their success for many years. In 1998, moving up to Chief
Executive Officer, and breaking with tradition, Art Pearce appointed Merideth president of the
company, marking the first time that someone outside the immediate family held that position in
the firm’s then 87 year history.

Another tribute to the highly positive employee atmosphere maintained for decades at the Pearce
organization is the longevity and contributions of Paul Coleman, hired by Zeb Pearce in 1929 as
a bookkeeper. Coleman was later promoted to controller of the company and was a key figure in
its impressively steady success until his retirement in 1998, completing 69 years of loyal service
with three generations of the Pearce family.

“Today’s beer industry and the marketplace is worlds away from the time that a visionary produce
company founder in the relatively sparsely populated state of Arizona began distributing a then
regional beer called Coors,” Pearce stated. “When I came into the business full-time in 1976,
most of the beers in the bars were Coors, Budweiser and Schlitz. There were no imports. In
the past 15 years, imports have become an important part of our company’s growth and of the
entire wholesale and distribution industry. Mexico’s Corona is the number on import in nearly all
of the United States. Another revolution in the industry was when the Miller Brewing Company
introduced Miller Lite 25 years ago. This launched a whole new part of the industry, which now
includes Coors Light and Bud Light.”

Veteran Coors fans recall the days of the Coors “mystique” which lead to the hit movie ‘SMOKIE
AND THE BANDITS” starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jackie Gleason. People would go to
all lengths to get Coors beer in the East and South. One popular legend has it that whenever Air
Force One with the president traveled to a city in the West, cases of Coors would be purchased
and stored on the plane.

“That story and all the others are true,” Pearce grinned. “But as Coors expanded East and
internationally, the ‘mystique’ eroded and all but vanished.”

With the introduction of sports marketing and advertising of beer, Zeb Pearce management
realized more than 20 years ago that they could not continue to grow as a single product
distributor particularly in the Sunbelt of metropolitan Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun. It was at
that time that they added such import brands as Corona, St. Pauli Girl, Heineken, Amstel, Dos
Equis, Tsintao and Labatt. Pearce also became the distributor for Old Milwaukee, Colt .45,
Pabst Blue Ribbon and others. In 2001, the firm expanded further with the merger of Jay
Morgeson’s Miller Brands of Phoenix, a consolidation, not an outright purchase on either side.
The formerly separate businesses combined under one roof at the newly built Pearce wholesale
facility in Phoenix.

“Speaking on behalf of my family today, and those members who are no longer with us, I know
that we have made the right decision, especially considering the present time and place is
completely unlike my grandfather’s world in 1911. Had he been in my position today, I believe he
would have come to the same decision to sell. I believe in respecting history, because those
people and events that preceded us have shaped who we are today. This begins a whole new
chapter in my life, which definitely includes staying in Arizona. I’m passionate about the state and
will continue to be closely involved with the many community causes and institutions that my
family has enthusiastically supported for decades,” Pearce concluded.

Among so many other civic involvements, almost every member of the pioneering Pearce family
has attended Arizona State University or the University of Arizona. The history with ASU is
especially long. When the school was still Tempe Normal, Zeb Pearce played on the 1899
football team, the year he graduated and Zeb was an early supporter of the Sun Angel
Foundation. With his cousin Norm, Art Pearce recently was active in the restoration of Old Main
on the ASU Campus. The Zeb Pearce Memorial Suite on the first floor is the office for the
president of the Alumni Association. The Pearce family has an endowment at the ASU School of
Liberal Arts and programs with the ASU School of Nursing. Art’s parents were among the first
members of the Phoenix Zoo, one of the only zoos in the country that operates with no public
funds. The Arizona Historical Foundation, the Phoenix Press Box Association, Viet Nam
Veterans groups and charities and community groups too numerous to mention have all been
beneficiaries of the Pearce family. Art has a collection of beer memorabilia and artifacts dating
back to the 1930’s waiting for a home.

Scottish Courage Announces Reorganisation Of Brewing Operations On Tyneside

Newcastle, 22 April 2004 - Scottish Courage, the UK's leading brewer, announces the closure of
the Tyne Brewery in Newcastle and the acquisition of Federation Brewery from Northern
Clubs Federation Brewery (NCFB). Scottish Courage will combine the two brewing operations
at the NCFB site, two miles away at Dunston. Scottish Courage has also today made an offer to
acquire the remaining assets of NCFB.

John Dunsmore, Chairman and Managing Director of Scottish Courage, commented:

"Both breweries have been operating below industry standards of capacity and efficiency. By
joining forces, Scottish Courage and The Federation are able to preserve a home on Tyneside for
the continuation of two long and enduring brewing traditions."

A summary of today's announcement:

• Closure of Tyne Brewery Newcastle, by Spring 2005

 • Acquisition of the Federation Brewery, Dunston, from NCFB for £7.2m
• Brewing operations to be combined at Dunston site
• New combined brewing business will employ 170 people. Tyne currently employs 150,
Federation 130
• Second offer, unanimously recommended by the NCFB Board, to acquire additional
assets of NCFB for £16.2m
• Scottish Courage potential annualized benefits of £10m

For more information, contact: George Hudson at ghudson@smithfieldgroup.com.

'South Beach Diet' Contains Errors On Beer

Miami, FL - Dieting adults who love their beer, but have given it up based on the advice of "The
South Beach Diet" author Dr. Arthur Agatston now have good news: His attacks on beer are
based on errors, which his online nutritionists now admit.

The best-selling "South Beach Diet" book slams beer and bans drinking it, saying it is high in
maltose, a form of sugar.

The trouble is, there is no maltose in beer.

Maltose, from barley malt, is found in beer only in its early brewing stages and is eliminated when
yeast converts it to alcohol and carbonation. Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob, Michelob
ULTRA and all major-selling Anheuser- Busch beers contain no maltose.

"The notion that beer contains large amounts of carbohydrates is simply untrue," said Dr. Sam
Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine.
"Furthermore, the carbohydrates in beer are not sugar. Basically all of the sugar is converted to
alcohol during fermentation."

In fact, most light beers contain fewer than 7 grams of carbohydrates per serving, which is
defined as low-carb by the Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which regulates the
alcohol industry. Regular beers contain about 10 grams of carbohydrates per 12-ounce serving.

"Independent testing confirms there is no maltose -- or any other sugar -- in our beers, or most
other popular beers," said Douglas J. Muhleman, group vice president and chief brewmaster at
Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "This is a basic fact of brewing science, and a call to any brewer would
have cleared this up for Dr. Agatston."

In his book, Agatston advises dieters to "avoid white wine, spirits, or, worst of all, beer"; calls
maltose in beer "even worse than table sugar"; calls maltose "the king of all sugars" that leads to
a "beer belly"; and says "guzzling this beverage" encourages "storage of fat around the
midsection."

"We have notified Dr. Agatston about his inaccuracies," said Francine Katz, Anheuser-Busch
vice president and spokesperson. "Unfortunately, he has so far refused to remove these false
statements from his books and Web site. He has taken no substantive action to make it known to
the millions of people who followed his advice that the information he provided on beer is terribly
flawed and misleading. They have a right to know the truth, so we are doing our best to provide
it."

Anheuser-Busch has placed full-page ads in 31 national and local newspapers nationwide to
advise beer drinkers of the mistakes on beer in "The South Beach Diet." The ads will run April
23.
"Adults who responsibly enjoy beer -- particularly light beer -- have no need to feel the 'carb guilt'
that Dr. Agatston has wrongly attached to beer," said Katz. "We want all adult beer drinkers who
might be watching their carbs to know that."

Agatston wrongly targets beer carbs as being particularly bad, attributing the problem to maltose.
Agatston says the high "glycemic index" of maltose in beer raises a person's blood sugar
response, contributing to weight gain. But beer contains no maltose, and there is no published
glycemic index for beer. In fact, the carbohydrate level of beer is too low to measure a glycemic
index, say University of Sydney researchers.

"Beer does contain calories, which is important to consider when trying to lose weight," said Dr.
Klein. "Light beers have about 100 calories, and regular beers about 160 calories in a 12-ounce
bottle."

Despite the fact that Agatston and his online nutritionists have partially acknowledged the truth
about beer carbohydrates, they have done so only to the limited audience in the diet's chat room
and have not changed the information on beer in the "South Beach" books or Web site.

An online expert for "The South Beach Diet" recently wrote in the chat room: "This diet is
constantly changing based on new research so some of the info in the book is out of date. One
of those items, you will be happy to know, is the ban on beer ... One or two drinks [of beer] is
unlikely to cause weight gain since it takes an extra 3500 calories over what the body needs to
gain a pound of fat."

When questioned about low-carb beers by one chat room dieter, Agatston replied: "All of the
alcoholic beverages, when consumed in moderation, appear to have favorable effects on heart
disease and diabetes prevention. We feel that, as a rule, consuming alcohol with a meal is much
more preferable than is consuming alcohol on an empty stomach. We also prefer the low-carb
beers, such as Michelob ULTRA, to the high-carb beers."

This revised advice about beer comes after Anheuser-Busch notified Agatston about the
inaccuracies in letters sent to him in February and March.

"We are not saying drinking beer will cause you to lose weight," said Katz. "Rather, we are
providing accurate information for adults to determine what products fit within their food and
beverage choices. We want any consumption of our beers to be by adults and to be
responsible."

Details and sources on carb diet book misinformation on beer can be found in a brochure, "Beer
Carbohydrates - The Real Story," available online at www.anheuser-busch.com .

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading U.S. brewer and holds a 50 percent share in
Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer.

For more information, contact Carlos Ramirez at (314) 577-9629, or by email at

carlos.ramirez@anheuser-busch.com.

WINE INDUSTRY NEWS

Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines Announces “Low Carb” Wines

Napa, CA - Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines (DC&E) announced that three of its wine brands,
BV Coastal Estates, Sterling Vintners Collection and a new brand offering, Century Cellars,
all meet the definition of a “Low Carb” alcohol beverage as recently established by the Alcohol
and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
The TTB issued an interim ruling on April 7 on labeling and advertising caloric, protein, fat and
carbohydrate information on wines, distilled and malt beverages. As part of its ruling, the TTB
held that in order to use the term “low carbohydrate” on labels and in advertisements, the wine
must contain no more than seven grams of carbohydrates per a typical serving, which the agency
determined to be 5 fl. ounces.

DC&E will soon begin producing point of sale materials, including bottle neckers and in-store
displays, informing consumers that BV Coastal Estates, Sterling Vintners Collection and Century
Cellars wine brands meet the new TTB guidelines. Also included in the point of sale information
will be other macro-nutritional information, such as fat, protein, calories and serving size. For
example, point of sale material for BV Coastal Estates 2002 Chardonnay will include the fact that
the wine contains 3 grams of carbohydrates, 124 calories, 0 grams of fat and less than 1 gram of
protein per five ounce serving.

“The interim guidance provided by TTB really provides clarity around what can truly be
considered ‘low carb,’” said Ray Chadwick, president of Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines. “We
know from our research that our consumers want this information to make informed decisions,
and we are proud to take a leadership position in this respect.”

Late last year, in an unprecedented move, parent company Diageo announced its intention to
voluntarily provide consumers with “alcohol facts,” including information on calories,
carbohydrates, and alcohol content per serving size on its beverage alcohol packaging and
advertising.

“Our labeling efforts are meant to give consumers meaningful information in a way that isn’t
confusing,” Chadwick continued. “At the same time, we firmly believe in social responsibility and
feel all adult consumers who choose to drink alcohol should do so responsibly and in
moderation.”

Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines is part of Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks business.
The company produces and markets Beaulieu Vineyard, Sterling Vineyards, Sterling
Vintner's Collection, Solaris, and Blossom Hill, as well as the French wines of Barton &
Guestier. DC&E is also a leading importer of classified Bordeaux in the U.S. and F.E. Trimbach
wines from Alsace. A collection of Burgundy estate-bottled wines and several other fine
European wines complement the selection.

Golden State Vintners Receives Superior Merger Proposal

Golden State Vintners announced on Tuesday that it received a new offer (the 'Offer') from The
Wine Group LLC ('TWG') to acquire GSV at a cash price of $8.25 per fully diluted share on
terms and conditions that the GSV Board has determined are superior to the Amended and
Restated Plan and Agreement of Merger (the 'O'Neill Merger Agreement'), dated April 14, 2004,
with the O'Neill Acquisition Co. LLC and certain affiliated parties (the 'O'Neill Group').

As a result and as required by the O'Neill Merger Agreement, the GSV Board has delivered
written notice to the O'Neill Group that GSV is prepared to terminate the O'Neill Merger
Agreement. Under the terms of the O'Neill Merger Agreement, GSV is obligated to negotiate in
good faith with the O'Neill Group until April 22, 2004, should the O'Neill Group wish to adjust the
terms and conditions of the O'Neill Merger Agreement, so as to enable the O'Neill Group to
proceed on adjusted terms with the transactions contemplated in its Merger Agreement.

In the event the Board terminates the O'Neill Merger Agreement, SBIC Partners, L.P. ('SBIC'),
which exercises voting control over approximately 62% of the votes entitled to be cast in favor of
the merger, will be released from the terms of the Voting Agreement, dated April 14, 2004, with
the O'Neill Group. Upon such a release, SBIC is required by the terms of the TWG Offer to enter
into a substantially similar voting agreement with TWG pursuant to which SBIC would provide a
written consent to the merger transaction on April 28, 2004 unless (under certain circumstances)
a competing offer is under consideration at that date or GSV had previously terminated the TWG
merger agreement.

Golden State Vintners is one of the largest suppliers in the United States of premium wines, wine
processing, barrel fermentation and storage services, wine grapes and case goods to California's
major branded wineries and to a number of international wineries. The combination of GSV's
extensive vineyard holdings and five strategically located facilities has enabled GSV to become
one of California's lowest-cost producers of premium bulk wine. GSV also produces private label
case goods for its clients and markets its own line of proprietary brands. GSV's five facilities are
located in Fresno, Reedley, Cutler, Monterey and American Canyon. GSV is also a supplier of
high-speed packaging solutions to major branded marketers of ready to drink beverages. Golden
State Vintners is headquartered in Napa, California and is a publicly held company.

Hardy Wine Company Opens New Wine Bottling Expansion

Revnella, Australia - The Hardy Wine Company has opened a $10 million expansion to its
Australian bottling facilities to meet the continuing spectacular international demand for the
Company's wines.

Last week, SA Premier, The Hon Mike Rann, officially opened the new wine bottling line at
Hardy's Reynella headquarters, south of Adelaide.

Hardy Wine Company Managing Director, Mr. David Woods, said the new bottling line was
driven by the continued strong international success of the Company's wines.

"This is another significant day in the continued demand for our quality wines throughout the
world, and takes to over $40 million the total funds invested in our Reynella bottling complex over
the past six years," Mr. Woods said.

The additional packaging line increases the Company's capacity to bottle wine at Reynella by 25
per cent, with the ability to package about 200 million bottles of wine (150 million liters) of wine a
year, or about 600,000 bottles a day and some 25,000 bottles every hour.

"Significantly, this new addition is a facility that has been installed with future growth, flexibility
and adaptability in mind, and has been designed primarily for our medium volume export
products", he said. "This expansion thereby makes our Reynella plant the most flexible wine
bottling facility in Australia, capable of packaging wine in a vast array of bottle types and sizes.
The Complex also includes the fastest wine packaging line of its kind in the Southern
Hemisphere," he added.

"Such adaptability is crucial to meeting the increasing demand for such a wide range of product,
and to cater for the rapidly growing demand for smaller runs and varied product types we are
seeing from our world markets," he said.

As well as its state-of-the-art Reynella Bottling Complex, the Hardy Wine Company owns wine-
packaging facilities in regional South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia.

Robert Mondavi Reports Results for Third Quarter of Fiscal 2004

Napa, CA - The Robert Mondavi Corporation today announced results for its third quarter of
fiscal 2004.
The company reported net income of $2.0 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, for the quarter
ended March 31, 2004, compared to a net loss of $1.8 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, a year
ago. Last year's quarter included $4.8 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in net charges taken at
the time of a restructuring (see note 1 for more details). Net revenues for the quarter increased 6
percent over the same period last year to $98.1 million, reflecting a 9 percent increase in sales
volume and 5 percent growth in wholesale depletions. Wholesaler inventories of the company's
products held steady at 50 days at the end of the quarter, compared to 50 days last year and 49
days at the end of December.

Net income for the first nine months of the fiscal year increased by 34 percent to $21.3 million, or
$1.29 per diluted share, from $15.9 million, or $0.97 per diluted share, a year ago. Net revenues
for the first nine months of the fiscal year increased by 5 percent to $349.4 million, reflecting a 5
percent increase in sales volume.

"We continue to make progress in establishing momentum behind our new product initiatives,
which are now contributing significantly to topline growth. But, since investments behind these
initiatives and competitive pressure on Woodbridge are causing margin compression, it's
important that we also remain focused on delivering operating expense efficiencies," said
Gregory M. Evans, President and CEO.

The company said it still expects full-year fiscal 2004 earnings per diluted share to range from
$1.63 to $1.78, including approximately $0.06 per diluted share in inventory step-up charges. The
company also announced that it will schedule a conference call in late June to discuss its outlook
for fiscal 2005.

Robert Mondavi Corporation produces and markets fine wines under the following labels: Robert
Mondavi Winery, Robert Mondavi Private Selection, La Famiglia, Woodbridge Winery,
Byron Vineyards & Winery, Io, Arrowood Vineyards & Winery and Grand Archer by
Arrowood. The company also produces Opus One, in partnership with the Baroness Philippine
de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild of Bordeaux, France; Luce, Lucente, Danzante
and the wines of Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, in partnership with the Marchesi de' Frescobaldi of
Tuscany, Italy; and Sena and Arboleda, in partnership with the Eduardo Chadwick family of
Vina Errazuriz in Chile. Kirralaa, the first Australian wines produced by Robert Mondavi in
partnership with Southcorp and Rosemount's Oatley family, were introduced in February 2003.
In addition to the partnership wines, Robert Mondavi Imports represents the wines of Marchesi
de' Frescobaldi, Attems, Vina Errazuriz and Vina Caliterra in the United States.

On July 29, 2004, Robert Mondavi expects to release its fourth quarter fiscal 2004 earnings,
followed by a conference call at 7:30 a.m. PT. A live listen-only web cast and a copy of the
prepared remarks of the conference call will be available at www.robertmondavi.com under
"Investor Relations."

Mount Veeder Appellation Council Appoints New Officers

Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, CA - The Mount Veeder Appellation Council recently appointed
four new officers.

Marketta Fourmeaux, winemaker and proprietor at Chateau Potelle Winery on Mount Veeder
has taken the position of chairperson for a two-year term.

Additional appointments include: John Kirlin of Kirlin Vineyards as viticulture chair; Mary
Lawler of the Hess Collection as marketing chair; Michael Yates of Napa Redwoods Estate as
treasurer; and Lynn Yates of Napa Redwoods Estate as secretary/networking chair.
The Mount Veeder Appellation was established in 1990 and encompasses over 25 square miles,
or 15,000 acres between 400-2600 feet on the steep Mayacamas mountain range that straddles
Napa and Sonoma counties.

Sixteen wineries and dozens of growers are a part of the Mount Veeder Appellation Council,
founded in 1992 to promote this rugged, remote sub-appellation of the Napa Valley. Member
wineries include Chateau Potelle, Franus, Godspeed, The Hess Collection, Jade Mountain,
Lagier Meredith, Lokoya, Mayacamas Vineyards, Mount Veeder Winery, Napa Redwoods
Estates, O’Shaughnessy, Random Ridge, Robert Craig, Rubissow-Sargent, Sky Vineyards,
Wing Canyon and Vinoce.

For more information about the Mount Veeder Appellation Council, visit their website at
www.mountveederwines.com.

Promoting Pennsylvania Wines

By Mark Hofmann for Daily Courier

Acme, PA - To help promote the domestic winery business in Pennsylvania, the state's first
enologist is visiting wineries across the state to gather input and offer suggestions.

Pennsylvania is the U.S. birthplace of commercial vineyards and wineries. William Penn planted
the continent's first vineyard back in 1683.

Currently, Pennsylvania is home to 87 wineries with more on the way. There are seven wine
regions and eight wine trails. The state is ranked fifth nationally in the number of wineries, fifth in
the production of grapes and eighth in the production of wine from grapes.

Christine Bega, public relations specialist for the Barry Group out of York, PA, said when
people think of wines and wineries in the country, they usually think of California wineries and
vineyards.
"Sometimes people overlook what's in their backyard," said Bega, who added that, at the most, a
winery can be found within 45 minutes of any location in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania wines continue to win regional, national and international quality awards. A wine
made in the champagne method captured one of only two gold medals in its category at a
competition in Paris.

The Pennsylvania Wine Association and the Pennsylvania Wine Research and Marketing
Board are encouraging visitors and Pennsylvanians to visit and experience local wineries.

"Just go to a winery and relax," said Bega, who added that wineries make great detours if
someone's on a business trip or traveling to or from a wedding.

Bega said many people are intimidated by wineries because they think they don't know enough to
enjoy themselves, but a visitor can take their time by sampling wines and having the added
benefit of speaking with the wine maker, who could give explanations about a particular wine or
what food will go perfectly with the wine.

Randy Paul, owner of the Stone Villa Wine Cellars in Acme, said the potential customer has an
opportunity to sample a wide variety of wines from dry to sweet to blends to the very sweet ice
wines.

Paul called the sampling the perfect chance to eliminate any intimidation and match the wine with
the person and finding something that someone will like is pretty easy in Pennsylvania because
the region has a bigger variety of wines than any other part of the country.

To help with Pennsylvania's already growing wine industry, Penn State has jumped on the joint
venture by hiring Dr. Stephen Menke as the state's first enologist. An enologist is a person who
has earned a degree in the study of the art and science of wine making.

In October, Menke began visiting every winery in the state to see the wants and needs of
wineries in order to promote the regions and the regions' wine, to set up informational sources
like web sites and databases to get Pennsylvanians to know the industry better and to take all the
good wines in Pennsylvania to the next level and all the other state wines to a higher level, too.

On site at the Stone Villa, Menke asked Paul questions like how he got into the winery business
and what approach did he take in the winery industry.

Out of his 22 varieties, Paul said he makes the dry wines that he prefers, but also makes the
semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet wines to fit other people's pallets.

"You just can't survive in this business if you make only the wines that you like," said Paul, who
said he found what he liked and didn't like from the many wineries he visited and put what he
liked into his winery.

For example, Paul said aesthetics are important for his business. People could visit his winery
that resembles a winery found in France or California. They can drink their wine on the patio with
the vineyards, a pond and the mountain scenery to keep them company.

As Paul took Menke and Bega on a tour of his winery, Menke asked how Paul felt about a lab in
Pennsylvania so wineries, which already have small labs, can send difficult or questionable
samples in the state rather than ship a sample to California.

Menke said there has been discussion of bringing a lab into the state with the use of promotional
and marketing funds.
Paul thought an in-state lab would be beneficial and may wineries would support that as well.

So far, Menke has visited 34 wineries and plans to visit the rest in the state by the end of the
year.

For more information on Pennsylvania wines and wineries, recipe ideas and other information,
visit the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Program's website at
www.pennsylvaniawine.com.

Mark Hofmann can be reached at mhofmann@tribweb.com or (724) 626-3539.

Screw Tops Gain Acceptance Worldwide

By Frank J. Prial for The New York Times

Two years ago, the announcement that a well-known winery, or a little-known winery for that
matter, was switching to screw caps for its bottles was news.

Winemakers were divided on the subject. "Right on," said the younger vintners. "Waste of time,"
said older and presumably wiser types. Or "Money down the drain." Or, more often, "The
consumer will never accept it."

No longer. Acceptance of screw-on tops for wine bottles — by both winemakers and consumers
— has been astonishing. From Burgundy to Beaujolais, from Spain to South Africa, winemakers
are switching from corks. No one seems to have an accurate count of how many wineries are
using aluminum tops, but people in the industry agree that the number is in the hundreds.

Corked wine — wine that has been spoiled because of a bad cork — is a serious problem in the
wine business. It affects even the fine old chateaus. Many years ago, I spent a weekend at
Château Lafite-Rothschild, tasting very old wines from its cellar. Later, the staff acknowledged
that it had had to open many more of the priceless bottles than we tasted, mostly because of
faulty corks.

James Laube, an editor of Wine Spectator magazine, reported two years ago on a tasting of elite
1991 California cabernets in which nearly 15 percent of the wines were spoiled by bad corks.

Some of the problem is physical: as corks age, some dry out and crumble.

Others were poor fits to begin with and allowed too much air into the bottle, oxidizing the wine.
But the contamination derives principally from trichloranisole, or TCA, a substance formed by the
action of chlorine on cork bark or wood.

Traditionally, corks were bleached in a chlorine solution as part of the manufacturing. Other
substances have been used but, despite major efforts by the cork industry and regular
announcements that the problem had been eliminated, it persists. Winemakers estimate that up
to 5% of all bottled wine is contaminated by TCA. Cork producers say the figure is much lower.

The industry was hardly unfamiliar with screw tops. For years, jug wines and cheap fortified wines
had been closed with them. Some years ago, when the E. & J. Gallo Winery switched from
screw tops to corks for its famous Hearty Burgundy, it was an unmistakable sign that the wine
had increased in stature.

Most objections to screw-top wine bottles appear to be directed at restaurants, where their
presence has more to do with image and prestige than in the home.
This is certainly true of expensive wines. But restaurateurs who have used screw tops on
moderate-price wines say they have encountered little objection from customers. And anyone
who has used the bottles at home — or who has taken screw-top wines on a picnic — quickly
sees how convenient they are.

A small Napa Valley winery called PlumpJack broke the ice, so to speak, in 1997, offering a
$135 cabernet with a screw top. Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz followed, first putting
screw tops on 80,000 cases of its moderate-price wines and later moving to bottle all of its wines,
including its top of the line Cigare Volant, with screw tops.

Among the other California wineries that have switched wholly or in part to screw caps are
Beringer Blass, Calera, Sonoma-Cutrer, Murphy-Goode, the Napa Wine Company,
Whitehall Lane, Robert Pepi, R. H. Phillips and E. & J. Gallo, which is using metal caps for its
huge Turning Leaf line. Fetzer Vineyards uses screw caps on wines it exports to Europe. In
Oregon, WillaKenzie and the Argyle winery in Dundee are using screw caps.

Hogue Cellars in Washington is to switch to screw caps next year for its 450,000 case annual
production. Hogue and R. H. Phillips are owned by Vincor International, a Canadian company.
Vincor also owns Kim Crawford Wines in New Zealand, which has been using screw caps
exclusively since 2001. In both New Zealand and Australia, it is estimated that 40 percent of all
wineries — about 200 — use screw tops.

Specially treated corks and plastic corks have met with little enthusiasm in the wine business.
The best-known screw cap, with a long seal covering the bottle's opening, is the Stelvin, made
by Pechiney Capsules of France. Pechiney has a factory in California.

The Stelvin was first developed in the 1970's for Swiss wines, which are said to be sensitive to
TCA. Since then, the market for Stelvins has expanded to include Australia, New Zealand,
Argentina and Chile, as well as the United States.

Customers in France include Michel Laroche, who bottles a premier cru Chablis under screw
caps, Yvon Mau in Bordeaux, Domaine Blanck and Georges Lorentz in Alsace and the
Domaine de la Baume in the Languedoc. Fortant de France, one of the best-known Languedoc
wines, is now bottled with screw caps.

Even Bodegas Torres in Spain, a major cork-producing country, uses Stelvins on some of its
white wines.

Tesco, the largest wine retailer in Britain, has more than 100 screw-capped wines in its stores
and expects more. Georges Duboeuf, the largest of the Beaujolais producers, ships some of his
wines to Tesco in screw tops.

Switzerland, too, sells Duboeuf Beaujolais in screw tops, but Mr. Duboeuf said last week that he
produces only about 30,000 cases with screw tops. While the market for his screw tops is
increasing, he said, he is also using plastic corks.

They are, he said, entirely satisfactory and will probably be a more important replacement for cork
than the metal caps.

Most producers have been hesitant to use screw caps on wines destined to age. Ironically, they
are the wines that probably need them most because even corks not tainted with TCA dry out
over time and fail to keep delicate old wines safe from air.

But 98 percent of all wine is drunk within six months after its purchase. I am willing to predict that
within a decade, 75 percent or more of these wines will be sold with metal caps.
Sabate's New Cork-Based Wine Closures Treated for TCA Extraction Get Positive Reviews
in Australia

Napa, CA - In a twist of opinion over the latest developments in wine closures, Sabate's new
technical corks treated with a TCA-extraction process are winning positive reviews and
recognition in Australia as well as excellent results in tests conducted by the Australian Wine
Research Institute (AWRI). This turn of events is particularly significant in that Australia owns a
reputation as a leading region in the trial and endorsement of new and less traditional wine
packaging and marketing techniques.

As part of a new and independent study, the AWRI, a world leader in wine closure studies, began
testing Sabate's new closures in October 2002 along with a range of other closures and closure
types. A screw cap was used as the "control." The three Sabate closures tested were all technical
closures manufactured with cork granules treated with the Supercritical CO2 extraction process
the company calls "Diamond." (The closures all had varying permeability from one another,
named in the test as P0, P1 and P2.)

According to Sabate USA President Eric Mercier, after 18 months of testing, the overall results
were excellent on all enological and organoleptic parameters, and the new Diamond closures
obtained even better results than the screw cap in terms of Free and Total SO2, and in terms of
descriptors linked to wine reduction. There was no TCA observed in this test nor did any samples
approach what might be termed as "corked" wine. (Editors please note that a more detailed,
technical summary of the 18-month test results are available upon request.)

Long-time Australian cork critic and columnist Tim White, writing in The Australian & New
Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker (March '04), cited Diamond's AWRI results as well as trials
conducted in the U.K. -- "no perceived TCA characters, no oxidation, no whiff from the
polyurethane binding agent, no nothing, except fruit freshness and fruit retention" -- to explain his
subsequent interest. White reported the results of his own blind tastings of Diamond-stopped
Marinda Park Vineyard '03 Sauvignon Blanc and Rose as "nothing short of amazing." His tastings
continued with Murray Darling Collection of 2003 Viognier, Lagrein, Tempranillo and with a 2002
Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot from Hanging Rock (under the closure for eight months). He reported
that all "the wines opened up identically (to his previous experience) and with no trace of taint or
oxidation...another positive showing for Diamond." White also reported similar findings and
impressions from other Australian winemakers currently in trials with Diamond.

White concludes his piece by saying "Eleven years of writing about wine and finally something
positive to say about cork. Great Scott! If this really is a cure for cork taint, what can I obsess
about for the next decade?"

Sabate, which had planned to begin industrial production of treated corks upon completion of its
own dedicated facilities in 2005, is now temporarily producing small batches of closures using the
identical technology under its own strict supervision.

"This is a solution that our 'New World' markets have been demanding, and we are doing our best
to provide a timely response," said Mercier.

The technology, developed jointly by Sabate in France and the Supercritical Fluids Laboratory of
the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), is designed to selectively remove from raw cork
material certain chemical compounds, including chloroanisoles (2,4,6 Trichloroanisole and its
precursors), that can contribute to undesirable sensory deviations in bottled wines before
converting the raw material into a range of cork closure products.

Sabate's new 27,000 sq. ft. cork treatment facility is under construction in San Vicente De
Alcantara, Province of Extremadura, Spain. The new plant will treat up to 2,500 tons of raw cork
annually. The plant is expected to be fully operational mid-2005 and will expand as demand
grows for the specially treated closures.

Sabate USA was founded in 1995 and is based in Napa, California. The company is a subsidiary
of France-based Sabate S.A.S., the closure division of OENEO, a global leader in supplying
value-added products to winemakers worldwide. Founded in 1939, Sabate ranks as the world's
second largest supplier of cork wine closures and is engaged in all wine-producing countries. In
addition to natural corks, sparkling wine corks and cork-based stoppers for liquor and spirits,
Sabate is now embarked on pursuing a full line of wine closure solutions.

VINEXPO AMERICAS Arrives in U.S. in Time to Satisfy Public's Strong Thirst for Wine
Knowledge

Chicago, IL - U.S. professionals whose daily jobs touch the wine and spirits industry are officially
invited to register to attend the leading industry event -- one that overflows with international
flavor. This June 20-22, 2004, about 440 wine and spirits producers and companies hailing from
approximately 20 countries around the world and more than 10,000 North American trade
professionals will gather in Chicago for three days during the second bi-annual VINEXPO
AMERICAS exhibition. The show attracts a wide range of Americans in diverse professions
including: importers, wholesalers, sommeliers, retailers and professionals from hotels,
restaurants, bars, specialty wine and duty-free stores.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and Bordeaux mayor and
member of the French Parliament Mr. Alain Juppe, recently announced they will attend a special
opening ceremony on the second day of VINEXPO AMERICAS, June 21, at 11 a.m.

Though VINEXPO AMERICAS is only open to industry professionals, consumers nationwide who
are thirsty for wine and spirits knowledge will benefit from the June event. According to a recent
study* of wine drinkers conducted by Harris Interactive for VINEXPO AMERICAS, 48 percent of
respondents report that they are not confident when it comes to choosing a quality bottle of wine
and half (50 percent) rely on recommendations when choosing a bottle of wine to serve to friends
and family. Since consumers rely on industry professionals to share their recommendations and
knowledge, it is crucial professionals attend VINEXPO AMERICAS to stay on top of the latest
industry trends and news.

Education is at the heart of VINEXPO AMERICAS, as is evident in the many Forum events
available to stimulate the industry's growth and encourage professionals to serve consumers
better.

The Forum

One of the most intriguing seminars offered at the Forum will address the hot topic of the position
of French wines in the U.S. market. Famed wine expert Robert Parker will lead the seminar,
along with other major industry players including, Michel Rolland, Jean-Michel Cazes and
Jean-Marie Chadronnier. They will attempt to answer three important questions: Are French
wines still the point of reference for the industry? Do French wines adjust to the changing
markets in North America? What is the position of French wines compared to their competitors in
these markets?

Additional Debate Topics:

Current Trends in the International and U.S. Wine and Spirits Markets and the Outlook to 2007 -
hosted by the UK-based wine and spirits database, IWSR/GDR
How to Manage Hedging in the Wine and Spirits Industry - hosted by representatives from Credit
Lyonnais New York and Morgan Chase, who will present their analysis on and solutions for the
current internationalized wine and spirits market

State Liquor Boards' Policies in North America - hosted by representatives from the Canadian
Liquor Board (LCBO), who will discuss challenges and innovations facing the Canadian provinces
and 18 U.S. states with laws on purchasing relations, merchandising and tax policies

Innovation Meets Enduring Quality: The New Face of French Wines in the 21st Century - hosted
by SOPEXA USA

Seminars Dedicated to Sommeliers and Restaurateurs:

• The Art of Blind Tasting and The Purpose of Sommelier Competitions - hosted by the
American Sommelier Association

• How to Develop a Wine List and How to Taste and Select Wines at Any Price - hosted by
Sante magazine

Tastings:

• 9th Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe Challenge - (One of the largest tastings at the
exhibition where, for the first time in the U.S., 55 Grand Crus Classes will be tasted and
judged by a select group of journalists and producers) - hosted by Syndicat Viticole de
Saint Emilion

• Burgundy Wines Grand Tasting - (For the first time in the U.S., local growers will guide a
tasting of wines from 44 villages in Burgundy) -hosted by Burgundy wine producers

• Grands Crus of Bordeaux Grand Tasting; Vintage 2001 - (A tasting of 57 Grand Crus
vintages, led by Bordeaux winery owners or representatives) - hosted by the Union des
Grands Crus de Bordeaux

• New Austrian Wines: Looking for an Importer and Hot Austrian Wines:

• Grand Wines Available in the U.S. - hosted by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board

• Rhone Valley Exclusive: Vacqueyras and Ventoux Wines - hosted by Inter-Rhones

• Expression of Merlot on the Right Bank of Bordeaux - hosted by Cercle Rive Droite des
Grands Vins de Bordeaux

Unique Blending Stories:

• Clos de los Siete - Tastings of wine produced as the result of a "blend" of Bordeaux
know-how and Argentinean grape varieties, produced by Michel Rolland

• Essence de Dourthe - Tastings of wine made with grapes grown on a selection of the
very best soils in the Dourthe Estates, these masterpieces showcase the unique blends
of grape varieties and talents

Tastings and Seminars of Remy Amerique:

• Louis XIII of Remy Martin: The Ultimate Spirit

 • Contemporary Cocktails: A Twist on the Classics - Featuring Remy Red and Remy
Martin VSOP Cognac

• Highland Park: A Journey to the Edge of Scotland - Whisky tasting

• Champagne Piper Heidsieck: A Retrospective of our Greatest Styles and Vintages -

Celebrated wine maker, Regis Camus, will lead a retrospective tasting of innovative and
respected champagnes

• Champagne Charles Heidsieck: A Library Tasting of Rare Selections from the

Oenotheque - Winemaker Regis Camus will lead guests through a selection of
extraordinarily rare wines he hand-picked from the 2,000-year-old Gallo Roman chalk
cellars in Reims

The Winemakers And Visitors

VINEXPO AMERICAS offers the widest range of wine and spirits products ever assembled in the
U.S., with exhibitors hailing from worldwide wine-producing regions including Spain, Greece, UK,
Chile, Italy, Mexico, USA, France, South Africa, etc. Exhibitor highlights include:

• E&J Gallo -- who will be introducing a new French wine in the US, Red Bicyclette -
Jackson Wine Estates, Remy Amerique (US); Louis Latour, Champagne Taittinger
(France); Instituto Espanol de Comercio Exterior (Spain); Prochile (Chile); Regional
Development of Victoria (Australia); Yarden Golan Heights Winery (Israel); Wine of
South Africa and many more.

• Industry professionals from well-known wine and spirits organizations in the US and
Canada have pre-registered to attend, including Noble Estates Wine and Spirits (wine
and spirits agent) (Ontario); Sam's wine and spirits (retailer), The Everest Restaurant
(Chicago); Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (Pennsylvania); Culinary Institute of
America, Kobrand Corporation (importer), Waldorf Astoria (hotel/ restaurant), Palm
Bay Imports (importer), W.J. Deutsch & Sons LTD (importer) (New York) and many
more.

For visitor and press pre-registration and hotel information, the complete schedule for The Forum
and the list of exhibitors, visit http://www.vinexpo.com.

For more information, contact Nathalie Bloch Marlet at nblochmarlet@vinexpo.fr.

New Book Offers Guide To Promoting Wine And Wineries

Napa Valley, CA - A broad guide to wine public relations, "Spinning the Bottle: Case Histories,
Tactics and Stories of Wine Public Relations," was published this month by Harvey Posert
and Paul Franson (HPPR, 224 pages, $39.95).

From Blue Nun to Two-Buck Chuck, the book contains 50 examples by wine professionals who
share their successes -- and a few failures -- with wine industry and public relations professionals
and students.

It covers the evolution of Gallo's public relations program, Australia's assault on the American
market and many spokesperson programs. "Spinning the Bottle" contains discussions of
community relations, tasting rooms, food and wine programs and such marketing successes as
Opus One and "Build a Better Burger." Domestic and international programs for regions and
specific wine varieties are included.
The editors are well-known authorities in the field. Posert led public relations programs for the
California Wine Institute, American Vintners Association and the Robert Mondavi Winery,
and his work for Charles Shaw Winery (“Two Buck Chuck”) was recognized as one of 2003's top
marketing stories by Advertising Age.

Franson founded and managed a major California PR agency and now writes about wine as a
freelancer.

To order in California, send a check for $45 (including sales tax, handling and postage) to HPPR,
1140 Victoria Lane, St. Helena CA 94574; $42 for other states; or visit the website,
www.spinningthebottle.com. It is also available from the Wine Appreciation Guild toll free 800
231-WINE or at any wine hardware store and on-line at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com.

(Spinning the Bottle: Case Histories, Tactics and Stories of Wine Public Relations; HPPR, edited
by Harvey Posert and Paul Franson; 224 pages, 6"x9", ISBN#0-9747566-0-1; Publication date
February 2004.)

Note to reviewers: For a review copy, please contact Harvey Posert at (707) 963-2685, fax (707)
967-8376 or e-mail posert@napanet.net.

SPIRITS INDUSTRY NEWS

Absolut Vodka Celebrates 25th Anniversary In US

One Billion Bottles Produced Over Last Quarter Century

New York, NY – This week, Absolut Vodka celebrates its 25th anniversary of the first order
made in the US on April 20, 1979. Over those 25 years, 1 billion bottles of the vodka have been
produced. As the billionth bottle enters New York today, the company says it marks a special
moment.

"Absolut Vodka established the premium vodka segment when introduced in 1979," said Carl
Horton, president and CEO, Absolut Spirits Company, Inc. "In the beginning, people were
skeptical if a Swedish vodka could succeed, but 25 years and a billion bottles later Absolut is the
third largest spirits brand and is sold in 126 markets."
The first order of Absolut was made by Carillon Imports for 700 cases. The first product from this
order was delivered to a wholesaler in Boston. New York was next, and by 1985 the vodka was
number one among imported vodkas in the US.

Absolut is produced using continuous distillation developed by Lars Olsson Smith in 1879.
Continuous distillation distills the vodka hundreds of times to ensure its smoothness.

The company says the vodka has retained its quality for more than a quarter century through One
Source. One Source means Ahus in southern Sweden. Every drop of the 1 billion bottles has
been produced there using hearty winter wheat and water from the Absolut well.

Absolut's award-winning advertising campaign has revolutionized marketing within the spirits
category. The brand's use of art and fashion has elevated it to iconic status. To date, the bottle
has been the centerpiece of over 1,000 advertisements, many of which were inspired by the work
of over 400 artists and fashion designers. The Absolut Art Collection in New York City houses the
artwork and designs from Andy Warhol and Keith Haring to David Cameron, Stella McCartney
and Tom Ford. To celebrate the 25th Anniversary, the billionth bottle will join these priceless
works of art in the collection.

To commemorate the billionth bottle as a measure of Absolut success, the bottle has been
crowned with a gold cap in place of its signature silver cap. Additionally, the label was modified to
celebrate its origin and date of birth. The label states "This bottle, no. 1,000,000,000 left the
Absolut plant on March 16, 2004. It was distilled from grain grown in the rich fields of southern
Sweden. It has been produced at the famous old distilleries near Ahus in accordance with more
than 400 years of Swedish tradition. Absolut Vodka was launched in 1979."

Study Boosts Lawsuits Over Alcohol Ads

By Marguerite Higgins for The Washington Times

Washington, DC - A study targeting the effect of the alcohol industry's television advertising on
youth is adding fuel to lawsuits blaming underage drinking on the $116 billion industry.

Several class-action lawsuits, touted as the next tobacco litigation, have been filed recently
against alcoholic-beverage companies, such as Coors Brewing Co, Bacardi & Co. Ltd. and
Heineken NV, saying they market to underage consumers.

One lawsuit, seeking class-action status, was filed in the Superior Court of the District of
Columbia in November by Ayman Hakki, a plastic surgeon. Another was filed last week by a
Reno, NV-mother against Coors for advertising to underage drinkers.

The companies have denied the accusations, adding that they invest millions of dollars in
programs combating underage drinking.

But the study, released yesterday by Georgetown University's Center on Alcohol Marketing and
Youth, said the industry spent more than $990 million on television ads in 2002 that were
watched by viewers ranging from 12 to 20.

Teens were more likely than adults on a per capita basis to have seen 66,218 of the ads in 2002,
a 30 percent increase from 2001, the study said.

Total alcohol ads on network, local and cable television increased 39 percent from the previous
year to 289,381 ads in 2002, the study said.
Ads for distilled spirits and low-alcohol alternatives such as Smirnoff Ice drove up the 2002 ad
boom.

Washington public-health advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest said the study
gives credence to lawsuits holding the alcohol industry liable for underage drinking.

"This study is another nail in the coffin," said George Hacker, director for the group's alcohol
policies project. Mr. Hacker called the alcohol suits "gate openers" for a flood of litigation similar
to tobacco lawsuits that resulted in a $246 billion settlement.

David Jernigan, research director at the center and an author of the study, said the top 15
television shows for teens, such as "That '70s Show" and "Fear Factor," in 2002 and the Olympic
Games ran alcohol ads.

Six of the shows, five on the WB and one on Fox, had youthful audiences, Mr. Jernigan said,
adding that underage viewers had greater exposure to beer and ale ads than they had for ones
selling soda.

But the Beer Institute, a Washington trade group, said the Georgetown study revealed that 90
percent of the total audience for television shows with alcohol ads were 21 or older.

"Most importantly, numerous independent studies have found no significant link between
advertising and underage drinking," said President Jeff Becker. He emphasized that parents
have the most influence on a child's decision to drink.

The Georgetown University group, which started monitoring the ads in 2002, is tracking the
number of alcohol ads viewed by youngsters in 2003. The center will release results in five to six
months, Mr. Jernigan said.

He expected the 2003 numbers to be slightly lower, primarily because the Olympic Games were
not held that year.

More young people drink alcohol than use other drugs or smoke tobacco, costing the nation $53
billion a year, according to the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences.

Allied Domecq First-Half Profit Falls as Dollar Drops

Bristol, England - Allied Domecq Plc, the maker of Malibu rum and owner of Dunkin' Donuts,
said fiscal first-half profit dropped 9.2 percent because of the dollar's decline against the pound
and slower demand for liquor outside the U.S.

Net income at the world's second-biggest liquor maker fell to 167 million pounds ($296 million), or
15.5 pence a share, in the six months through February from 184 million pounds, or 17.1 pence,
a year earlier. Currency movements wiped 13 million pounds off pretax earnings and 38 million
pounds from sales.

Slower economic growth is crimping demand for spirits in Europe, Chief Executive Officer Philip
Bowman, 51, said in an interview. Allied Domecq, based in Bristol, England, and larger British
competitor Diageo Plc are focusing on growth in the U.S., where consumers are favoring
whiskey, wine, and cocktails over beer, to make up for slacker liquor consumption elsewhere.

“Continental Europe has been very bad for every company in spirits,'”said Olivier Lebrun, an
analyst at Natexis in Paris. “I think Allied's strategy is working in the U.S.”
Shares of Allied Domecq dropped 8.5 pence, or 1.8 percent, to 456.25 pence at 12:35 p.m. in
London. They have gained 5.9 percent this year, more than Diageo's 5 percent advance and the
1.3 percent climb by the U.K. benchmark FTSE 100 Index.

Acquisitions

Allied Domecq, which also owns the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream chain, said six-month sales fell 2
percent to 1.7 billion pounds as the dollar's decline against the pound overshadowed the benefits
of previous expansion. The U.S. currency slid 16 percent against sterling in the period,
Bloomberg data shows.

Bowman in 2000 led Allied Domecq on a 1.8 billion-pound spree to buy premium wine and liquor
brands in New Zealand, Europe and the U.S. after Diageo joined with France's Pernod Ricard
SA to buy the former Seagram Co.'s drinks business for $8 billion.

Allied Domecq is now concentrating on marketing its new brands, though the CEO said today he
wouldn't rule out buying a small wine company in Australia. The company last year lost a six-
week takeover battle for Peter Lehmann Wines Ltd. to Hess Group AG, a smaller Swiss
business.

Bowman increased first-half spending to advertise Allied Domecq's wines by 12 percent and to
market its main spirits brands by 10 percent as the company competes with Diageo for sales in
the U.S. That helped volumes of its nine biggest brands -- Ballantine's, Beefeater, Canadian
Club, Courvosier, Kahlua, Maker's Mark, Malibu, Sauza and Tia Maria -- climb 6 percent.

No Low-Carb Ads Planned

Diageo said this week it would start advertising Smirnoff vodka as having zero carbohydrates in
U.S. magazines including Rolling Stone and Cosmopolitan to lure American drinkers following
diets such as the one made famous by the late Dr. Robert Atkins. As much as 11 percent of
America's adult population may follow low- carbohydrate diets, an Opinion Dynamics poll has
showed.

“We have no plans to follow in its footsteps” by marketing some brands as having no
carbohydrates, Bowman said. “The numbers in the industry show we are gaining market share
and outperforming competitors in North America.”

Sales of the company's Stolichnaya vodka climbed 15 percent in the U.S. over the first half.
Sauza sales rose 17 percent, making it the fastest-growing tequila brand in the U.S., as a
marketing campaign featuring the slogan “Get Lost” Lure more consumers.

U.S. shipments of liquor rose 3 percent in 2003, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United
States has estimated, and have been growing faster than those of beer since 1997. U.S. beer
shipments fell 1 percent last year, analysts have said.

New Drinkers

Liquor's share of the U.S. alcoholic-beverage market climbed to 30.4 percent from 29.7 percent
last year, while beer slid to 53.3 percent from 54.4 percent, the spirits council estimated. More
people in the U.S., whose economy is the world's biggest, will reach the legal drinking age in the
next five years than at any time in the last 30 years.

Allied Domecq, like Diageo, is adding sales teams and strengthening ties with distributors in the
U.S. to exploit rising demand there for spirits and wine as growth slows in continental Europe,
Mexico and South Korea.
The company's shipments climbed 5 percent in North America, compared to 2 percent growth in
Europe, no growth in Latin America and a 3 percent decline in volumes in Asia.

The U.S. economy is expected to grow by 4.6 percent this year, the fastest pace of expansion in
two decades, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. The European Commission this
month trimmed its 2004 forecast for economic growth in the dozen countries that share the euro
to 1.7 percent from 1.8 percent.

Recovery in Spain

“If you look across most of Europe, demand for distilled beverages is in decline,” Bowman said.

The beverage company's first-half pretax earnings before one- time items rose 6 percent to 266
million pounds. Allied Domecq was expected to earn 267.5 million pounds on that basis,
according to the median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Earnings rose 10 percent in Europe after shipments recovered in Spain from last year, when it
booked a charge for reduced orders as wholesalers cut inventories. A 14 percent gain in volumes
of Ballatine's scotch and an 18 percent increase in shipments of Beefeater gin have fueled the
revival of Allied Domecq's sales in Spain, the company said.

Ballantine's is the ninth-largest liquor brand in the world, with two bottles of the scotch sold every
second, Allied Domecq's Web site shows. Beefeater, created in 1820 by pharmacist James
Burrough, is the world's largest brand of premium imported gin.

Allied Domecq posted a 5.2 percent gain in sales at Dunkin' Donuts outlets in the U.S. open at
least a year after it introduced new lines of latte, cappuccino and espresso in 1,800 stores on the
East Coast to help it compete with Starbucks Corp.

The company plans to pay a dividend of 5.83 pence a share, up 10 percent from year earlier. Net
debt fell to 2.12 billion pounds by Feb. 29 from 2.41 billion pounds.

More Rating Movement For Allied Domecq

By just-drinks.com editorial team

Allied Domecq’s rating has been upped ahead of tomorrow’s results release. Yesterday, JP
Morgan raised its rating for AD to “overweight” from “underweight”.
In a research note, JP Morgan said: “Improved trading momentum appears intact. We have
become more positive on the group's prospects in the US and on its overall portfolio/cash flow.

“Recent data suggests that Allied's top 10 brands are growing strongly. We consider that at least
nine of the brands are growing, and that the overall volume increase in H1 for these key brands
should exceed six percent. This trend in momentum looks set to continue,” it added.

Brown-Forman Initiated With "Neutral Weight"

New York, NY - Analyst Jeffrey G Kanter of Prudential Financial initiates coverage of Brown-
Forman Corporation with a “neutral weight” rating. The target price is set to $52.

In a research note published on April 16, the analyst mentions that the company’s management
team and the growth outlook for its Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort brands are impressive.
Brown-Forman’s stock is overvalued currently, Prudential Financial states.

Metropolitan New York Chapter of WAABI

Join Now And Meet Industry Leaders
http://www.metro-ny-waabi.org/
Nearly 60 Years of Service to the Industry with over 4,000 Members.

WAABI is supported by the major corporations such as

Allied-Domecq; Bacardi USA; Jim Beam Brands Co; Brown-Forman
Beverage Co; Caravelle Wine Selections; The Century Council;
Charmer Industries; Coors Brewing Company; Diageo; DISCUS;
Magnolia Marketing; National Beer Wholesalers Association;
National Distributing Company; Pernod-Ricard; Phillips Beverage Company;
Sazerac Company; Skyy Spirits, Wirtz Beverage Group, and many others.

Would You Please Support Us and Join WAABI?

Contact Jodi Sloan at jslone@bevmedia.com
or Diane Leech at dleech@mshanken.com

Canadian Club Presents Milestone Case to CC Retail Champion

Santa Rosa, CA - Canadian Club whisky recently delivered its 300 millionth case to the largest
independent retail buyer of Canadian Club in California, Bob Gong of G&G Market, Santa Rosa.
Since his immigration to the United States from China, Gong has sold an estimated 40,000 cases
from his two independent grocery stores. G&G market has also been recognized as the largest
Canadian Club retailer in the nation!!

Canadian Club executives, including Dan Tullio, Brand Heritage Director for Canadian Club,
were on hand to award the 300 millionth special edition case of Canadian Club to G&G Market
and Mr. Gong, sent directly from the Walkerville distillery. “Allied Domecq salutes Mr. Gong’s
support and wishes him continued success in being a true brand ambassador for our beloved
Canadian Club brand. The pride and passion that Mr. Gong exudes is what has led Canadian
Club to its 300 millionth case mark,” said Tullio.

The 300 millionth milestone for Canadian Club coincides with rising consumer and trade demand
for high-quality whiskies. Over the past 12 months, consumption of super-premium Canadian
Whiskys increased by 6.5 percent, according to A.C. Nielsen data. Canadian Club has been
enjoying steady growth for the last 12 months, and according to Nielsen, brand consumption is
growing at 9.6 percent over the past 26 weeks, making the brand a primary growth driver for the
Canadian Whisky category.

For more information, contact Layton Meng at (703) 744-7823, or by email at

lmeng@qorvis.com.

Porta's Challenge Of The Chivas Life

By William Lyons

Christian Porta knows full well the size of the job ahead of him - to rejuvenate and grow sales of
some of Scotland’s most recognizable and successful products, without diluting any of their
traditional image and appeal. At the same time, he must fight his corner in possibly the most
competitive sector of the drinks industry amid growing government interference in the way the
products are sold.

There lies the challenge of running Chivas Brothers - the venerable Scotch whisky house now
owned by Pernod Ricard - which controls a stable of top brand names, but which some analysts
argue have been starting to cry out for a modern facelift.

Chairman and chief executive of Chivas for the past three months, Porta is no stranger to the
industry and is under no illusion about the scale of the job and its sensitivities.

It is two years since the £5.7 billion carve up of Seagrams, which catapulted the French drinks
giant into being Scotland’s third-largest whisky group behind Diageo and Allied Domecq, after it
bought the Chivas stable for £2.2bn.

He refuses to criticize what went on in the past - "one has to be very careful when we are talking
about previous ownership" - but simply says that things are going to change now he’s in control.
"Scotch whisky is very important, I would say it now comes above everything else in our
portfolio," he says.

Pernod now holds £2.14bn-worth of whisky brands and an 11 per cent market share. As well as
Chivas Regal, it bought single malts Glenlivet, Glen Grant, Glen Keith, Longmorn, Strathisla
and Benriach, all owned by Chivas Brothers. It also took over the 100 Pipers blend, plus the
export market whisky Something Special, which it added to its three existing brands - Clan
Campbell, Aberlour and Edradour.

For Porta, who hails from Strasbourg but who has already cut his teeth in the whisky industry as
managing director of Campbell Distillers, the challenge of running Pernod’s Scotch whisky
business has come at an opportune time.

"The Chivas Regal brand was declining in the late nineties," he says. "Our mission is to get it
back to where it should be - a leading producer in the Scotch whisky market."

One of the ways he plans to do this is by hitting the market with a £28 million marketing drive,
"revitalizing the brand", which aims to push sales to four million cases from 2.9 million by 2007.
The company’s advertising agency, TBWA, has created five press adverts and two TV
commercials under the tagline "The Chivas Life", which will focus on Pernod’s target markets -
the US, Japan, Spain, France, Italy, Mexico and China.

Porta says the new look will be "fresher, more eye-catching", putting huge emphasis on the
brand’s rich heritage.

He is also hoping that drive will help sales in the Glenlivet, which grew by 7 per cent last year to
just under 400,000 cases a year, at the expense of the industry leader, William Grant’s
Glenfiddich, which sells more than 775,000 cases.

"There is no doubt the Glenlivet is a brand that is growing, but we also have big ambitions for it,"
he says.

"It has performed very well in the US, but it doesn’t have a strong position in Europe. Because of
our European heritage, this is a priority and we are working towards an accelerated development
plan for the Glenlivet across the continent."

The 41-year-old Frenchman, who studied at business school in Paris before joining Pernod as an
internal auditor to become head of financial services and later finance director, sees Europe as
his obvious priority, but also plans a hard push into Asia.

"That is becoming increasingly important, in particular Japan, Korea and China where there is a
growing trend towards single malt - there is clearly growth potential."

Porta has an excellent pedigree for the job. Until last year, he ran Orlando Wyndham, Pernod’s
Australian wine business. Similar in size to Chivas, it was also one of that country’s most
successful wine brand exporters, selling 30 million bottles of Jacob’s Creek to Britons every
year.

At Wyndham, he was also responsible for the group’s spirits marketing activity and for growing
high street sales of Jacob’s Creek and Wyndham Estate wines - an experience he believes put
him in fine stead for the Chivas job.

"The wine industry is not vastly different to the spirits industry. Like Chivas, I was responsible for
the full operational cycle from production through to the international marketing of some of the
world’s most high-profile brands. So there are lots of experiences and commonality between the
two industries."

However, whatever he learned from the wine industry could not prepare him for the Chancellor’s
shock decision to introduce strip stamps in an effort to counter growing fraud in the spirits
industry.

It was a decision, that the normally unflappable Porta admits, left him stunned.

"It was a shock because two years ago there was an emphatic statement from the Chancellor’s
team that this was wrong."

Like many of his industry peers, Porta trots out all the arguments, that it is a hugely damaging
and retrograde step for the industry. He gives the example of America, where they did have strip
stamps but abandoned them in the mid-Eighties, after finding that they have a negligible value in
showing evidence of compliance with the law and payment of excise taxes.

But, like the Scotch Whisky Association, he does not offer any solution except for continued
discussion with the Treasury - but, interestingly, he particularly echoes William Grant’s fears, that
the aesthetic value of the product will be diminished by strip stamps. "We spend a lot of money
on packaging and design for a product we market as a prestige luxury item. If you put some ugly,
white strip stamp on it, it will damage its appearance."

Porta will not be drawn into speculation that the drinks industry has reached a point where
consolidation is imminent.

With Diageo more than four times the size of second-placed Allied Domecq, the industry rumor
mill has been rife with speculation that Pernod is eyeing up Bacardi, merging with Allied
Domecq or even acquiring Brown-Foreman.

"At the moment, we have plenty to do within Chivas we are all focusing on that," he said.

Good News On US Trading Is A Tonic For Diageo

By Michael Jivkov

London, England - Diageo was easily the best blue chip performer this week as analysts from
Credit Suisse First Boston returned from meetings with one of the group's major distributors in
America, and reported that business is booming for the company across the Atlantic. It was
thanks to such comments that shares in Diageo, the world's biggest drinks group, jumped 31p to
766.5p.

It is about time Diageo's stock picked up. It has lagged behind Allied Domecq's by 5 per cent
and Pernod Ricard's by 10 per cent since the start of the year and, in CSFB's view, this is due to
a lack of newsflow on Diageo's Next Generation Growth (NGG) program. Analysts at the Swiss
broker went to investigate how it is proceeding in the US and came back with positive findings.

They met with Peerless, a key Diageo wholesaler in the state of New York. "Peerless said that
Diageo's NGG program is delivering significant benefits," reported the broker. According to the
wholesaler, the program is delivering a higher frequency of sales calls, more targeted marketing
execution, reduced complexity and improved customer service levels. This has combined to
improve the profitability of Diageo's brands. In terms of volumes, Peerless reported significant
volume increases in some of the group's key brands during 2003 including a 12 per cent rise of
Baileys and a 10 per cent jump in volumes of Johnnie Walker Red.
CSFB believes that as this strong performance at the group becomes increasingly evident,
Diageo shares can only gain ground. The Swiss broker set an 840p price target on the stock.

Diageo and Moet Hennessy Agree to Restructure Their Relationship in the United States

Stamford, CT - Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks company, and Moet Hennessy, the
wines and spirits division of LVMH, the world's leading luxury goods company, announced today
that they have agreed to restructure their joint venture arrangements in the United States with
effect from July 1, 2004.

The international joint venture agreement between Diageo and Moet Hennessy is represented in
the US by Schieffelin & Somerset, a New York based 50/50 cost-sharing joint venture between
the subsidiaries of the two companies, established in 1987.

Over the past two years, Diageo and Schieffelin & Somerset have successfully implemented their
Next Generation Growth (NGG) distributor realignment strategy in the US, and their brands are
now sold through dedicated sales forces in their common strategic distributors in most states.
This strategy has created a platform for the strong growth of both companies 'brands and now
forms the basis of the relationship between Diageo and Moet Hennessy in the US.

Both companies believe that the best way forward is for the Diageo brands currently managed by
Schieffelin & Somerset to be managed by Diageo North America, and for Schieffelin & Somerset
to become a company dedicated to the brands of Moet Hennessy, Marnier Lapostolle and
Ruffino. These brands include: Hennessy, Moet & Chandon, Dom Perignon, Grand Marnier,
Domaine Chandon, Ruffino and Casa Lapastolle.

'With strong volume growth in cognac and champagne, and the acquisition of a shareholding in
Millennium Imports, Moet Hennessy has become a significant player in the US, with close to
$1Bn in revenues,' said Christophe Navarre, CEO of Moet Hennessy. 'This will enable
Schieffelin & Somerset (which will be renamed Schieffelin) to build its luxury brands, and add
new brands to its portfolio, while simplifying the management of the company.'

'The new Schieffelin company will continue to be led by John Esposito and his strong executive
team,' continued Navarre.

Diageo will move the management of its brands into its existing North American operation,
significantly simplifying the management of its full range of products and strengthening its
interface with its distributors.

'This marks the natural next step in the evolution of both Diageo's and Moet Hennessy's
businesses,' said Ivan Menezes, President and CEO of Diageo North America. 'By transferring to
Diageo North America the management of the Schieffelin & Somerset brands owned by Diageo,
we will be able to significantly increase our focus, manage them with less complexity and
strengthen our relationships with our distributors.'

Diageo North America will assume responsibility for the following brands: Johnnie Walker,
Tanqueray, Tanqueray No. TEN, Ciroc, J&B, Buchanan's, Pinch, Cardhu and The Six
Classic Malts of Scotland - Talisker, Lagavulin, Oban, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie,
Cragganmore.

Diageo makes spirit, wine and beer products sold in nearly 200 countries around the world.
These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Jose Cuervo,
Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, and Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.
For more information, visit their website at www.diageo.com, or contact Gary Galanis at (203)
359-7193.

Metropolitan New York Chapter of WAABI

Celebrates Cinco de Mayo With Charity Auction

Métrazur Balcony – Grand Central Station

New York City - Round up your friends and join us on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) for a fun-
filled fiesta as we celebrate Mexico’s historic victory with premium crafted Spirits from our
Southern neighbor. Bring your thirst for knowledge and Mexican spirits as we offer
unlimited samples of Tequilas, Liqueurs, Mezcals and other Mexican Spirits. Themed
entertainment and cuisine from renowned chef Charlie Palmer will deliver hours of
laughter, margaritas, gastronomical delights, and of course, the best of Mexican Spirits.
What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than with industry celebrities, authors, master
mixologists, and master distillers, who will be sharing their “Tales of Agave.” Come learn
about how Mexican spirits are produced, tasted, and served as you mingle with industry
gurus and masters of mixology. Dale DeGroff, President of King Cocktail, will be serving
up some of his Award-Winning Cocktails. F. Paul Pacult, President of Spirit Journal, will be
autographing his work, American Still Life. Gary Regan, President of Ardent Spirits, will be
autographing his book, The Joy of Mixology. Robert Plotkin, President of Bar Media, will
be autographing his book, Toma! Margaritas! The Original Guide to Margaritas and
Tequila. As you can see, some big names will be on hand to educate, enliven, and impress
you with their extensive knowledge in the fields of Mixology and fine Spirits.
Be captured by the Spirit of Cinco de Mayo. You might also wish to participate in a Silent
Auction held by the New York Metro WAABI organization, which sponsors dozens of
charities. Feel good about indulging, as part of the proceeds from this event will be donated
to the Sky Ranch Foundation.
The mood is set for the Cinco de Mayo Spirits of Mexico fiesta. A live Marriachi band will
be playing authentic Mexican music as you savor and sample the astonishing array of tapas
Charlie Palmer will be serving up and dozens of the finest Mexican Spirits. It will be a night
to (hazily) remember, so be sure to order tickets by visiting www.spiritsofmexico.com.
Advance tickets are $50 while tickets at the door are $60 and not guaranteed (cash only
please). And by the way: The first 300 tickets sold will receive a FREE goodie bag loaded
with shot glasses and other fun giveaways courtesy of our participating spirits sponsors.

Diageo Launches Zero Carb Print Campaign Featuring Smirnoff Vodka, Crown Royal,
Johnnie Walker, and Tanqueray

Stamford, CT - Diageo North America has developed a new print campaign that aims to educate
consumers about the zero carb content of Diageo's Smirnoff vodka, Crown Royal, Johnnie
Walker and Tanqueray brands. Created by Grey advertising, the campaign illustrates the fact
that these spirits brands have zero carbs by playing off the word "Nothing." The ads will be
appearing in the May and June issues of a variety of national publications including: Advocate,
Business Week, Cosmopolitan, ESPN, Esquire, FHM, GQ, Jane, Men's Journal, Nylon, Out,
Playboy, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, Time Out New York, US Weekly, Vibe and Wired.

Three executions were designed to grab consumers' attention with simple and direct statements.
The tagline, "When you're counting carbs, Smirnoff vodka, Crown Royal, Johnnie Walker and
Tanqueray gin all have none" is consistent throughout all executions of the campaign.
Additionally, a "Cheers to Zero Carbs" logo is featured in the lower right corner of each ad, along
with a social responsibility statement and a reference to a Diageo's website, zerocarbparties.com.

"A recent survey showed that 63% of consumers are unaware that Smirnoff vodka, Crown Royal,
Johnnie Walker and Tanqueray actually have zero carbs, when enjoyed on the rocks or with zero
carb mixers," said Barry Sheridan, Marketing Director. "We are in the unique position to educate
carb conscious consumers about several brands at one time and we believe this campaign
persuasively conveys that message."

The first execution, called "Mmmm. Nothing," features an empty cocktail glass adorned with a
"zero carb" branded stirrer. The empty cocktail glass paired with the ad's tagline infers the
consumer's satisfaction with the zero carb cocktail, while at the same time explaining what zero
carb spirits lack in carbs they make up for in taste.

"Whole Lot of Nothing," the second execution, speaks to consumers everywhere by featuring a
number of universal phrases for "zero" to illustrate the fact that these spirits have zero carbs.

The third execution, called "Literally Nothing," addresses the saturation of low carb and zero carb
products in the market today. The tagline infers that Diageo's zero carb spirits speak for
themselves, which is what makes them appealing to consumers living a low carb lifestyle.

"The strength of this campaign comes not only from the recent popularity of the low carb lifestyle,
but from our product's individual brand awareness. All four brands combined together strengthens
our zero carb message and allows us to reach a number of different audiences," said Sheridan.
"This campaign also marks the first time Diageo has displayed a portion of our spirits portfolio in
one creative campaign."

Brown-Forman Master Distiller Retires

Louisville, KY - Brown-Forman's master distiller has called it quits after 39 years and 430,000
barrels of bourbon.

Lincoln Henderson was recognized at a small retirement ceremony outside the company's
headquarters on Friday.

Henderson, 65, joined Brown-Forman Corp. in 1964 as a grain chemist. During his career, he
saw the fall of brown spirits like bourbon, straight whiskeys and blends in favor of vodka and gin,
and saw them rise again as popular - and profitable - premium small-batch brands.

Henderson was the company's designated "master distiller," his official title director of whiskey
development and maturation. His job: to taste bourbons and mingle spirits from various barrels to
match the flavor profiles of Brown-Forman brands.

"Lincoln's been the face of Brown-Forman and its products over many years," said Wayne Rose,
brand director for Woodford Reserve bourbon.

Out of all the bourbon he's tasted, one sample stands out, Henderson said. It was from a clutch of
five barrels of Old Forester accidentally left to age eight years instead of the usual five.

"It was as dark as coffee," he said, and tasted a lot like coffee, too. "I thought it was wonderful."

Henderson's successor is Chris Morris, a Louisville native who has spent most of his working life
promoting Brown-Forman and its brands.
Henderson said he plans to take a month or two off, then return part time to promote Woodford
Reserve, a brand the helped launch.

Liquid International Premium Spirits Appoints Brands To Shaw-Ross International

Miramar, FL - Shaw-Ross International Importers has been appointed by Liquid International

st
Premium Spirits to represent their portfolio of super premium products as of May 1 , 2004.
These include Sol Díos Tequila, NapaSaki Saké, Liquid Ice Vodka, and Kensington London
Dry Gin.

Sol Díos, a single barrel and handcrafted tequila made from 100% pure blue Agave. NapaSaki
Saké, a Super-Premium specialty saké created from unique Akitakomachi rice. Liquid Ice Vodka,
a premium vodka that is the only certified completely organic vodka in the United States.
Kensington London Dry Gin, an extraordinary gin that delivers flavor so exceptional that it has
attracted both loyal gin drinkers as well as traditional Scotch drinkers. Liquid International
Premium Spirits, known for its breakthrough unique packaging will distribute these products
exclusively through Shaw-Ross.

Combining the marketing skills of Shaw-Ross with the creativity of Liquid International Premium
Spirits is sure to deliver some powerful results for the brands. "We have gone to great lengths to
deliver outstanding product and packaging concepts to the marketplace and feel this triumphant
merging of branding and artistry will bring our brand objectives to the next level,” stated Avery
Goldberg, President of Liquid International Premium Spirits. George DiBenedetto, Managing
Director for Shaw-Ross noted, "Liquid International Premium Spirits brings a unique passion and
originality to the spirits category. The quality of their products, combined with their trademark
packaging gives us the opportunity to take them to the next level.”

Shaw-Ross International Importers, based in Miramar, Florida, is a full-service import, marketing

and sales company representing a wide range of quality spirits and wines. Shaw-Ross represents
Aguardiente Cristal, Blue Nun, Brugal Rum, Cardenal Mendoza, Cella, Flor de Caña Rums,
Forty Creek Whiskey, Frïs Vodka, Gaetano Cordials and Liquores, Jessup Cellars,
Lombardo Marsala, Marqués de Riscal, McPherson Wines, Pisco Capel, Raynal Brandy,
Romate Sherries, Ron Viejo de Caldas, Strega Liquore, Tosti Asti, Viña San Pedro, White
Horse Scotch, and many other fine products.

For more information, contact Kim Greenfield at (954) 923-7700, ext. 256.

Magnolia Marketing Company Announces Organizational Changes In Louisiana

New Orleans, LA - Greg Lucia, formerly President of N. Goldring Corporation in Pensacola,

Florida, has been named President of Magnolia Marketing Company-Louisiana. Greg
graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and joined the E & J Gallo Winery working
in several states in increasing management responsibilities in Florida, North Carolina and
Louisiana. He joined Republic Beverage Company in 1997 as Sales Manager and was
promoted to Vice President of N. Goldring in 1998. Most recently, Greg served as President of
that organization.

Concurrent with this appointment, Tom Cole, formerly President of Magnolia Marketing
Company-Louisiana, is named Chief Operating Officer of the Goldring family wholesale
companies. The Goldring family currently does business in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
Midori Mobile Tour Moves To Boston

The Midori “It Girl” Mobile Tour is now moving to Boston. Earlier participants of the contest to
become the next Midori “It Girl” have been posted to the competition’s website, www.Midori-It-
Girl.com. The participant who receives the most online votes will vie for the opportunity to
compete against the winners in the remaining 7 cities on the tour to win the grand prize – an all
expenses paid trip to New York City for a full photo shoot with a professional photographer and a
visit with top modeling agencies.

Tour Schedule

April 19 - May 9 Boston

May 10 - May 30 Philadelphia
May 31 - June 20 Pittsburgh
June 21 - July 11 Detroit
July 12 - August 1 Chicago
August 2 - August 22 San Francisco
August 23 - September 12 Los Angeles

For more information, contact Layton Meng at (703) 744-7823, or by email at

lmeng@qorvis.com.

Remy Amerique & ScentAir Technologies Unveil New Scent Sampling

Santa Barbara, CA - Scented isles allure consumers to sample Mount Gay’s new flavored vanilla
and mango rums. For the launch of Mount Gay Rum’s new flavored vanilla and mango rum,
Remy Amerique has selected several liquor retailers nationwide to debut a revolutionary new
scent dispensing system by ScentAir Technologies, Santa Barbara, CA.

The new scent devices create the fresh aroma of Mount Gay’s new flavored rum as part of a
Point-Of-Purchase, On The Shelf, In-Isle, and Scented In-Store Demo display. As consumers
walk by the display, a motion sensor emits the vanilla or mango scents, which were developed
specifically to match the true Madagascar Vanilla and Mexican Mango in the Mount Gay
Flavored rums.
“Remy is extremely excited to add ScentAir’s scent sampling technology as a unique marketing
tool for the liquor industry,” says Nicolas Guillant, brand manager of Mount Gay Rum.
“Introducing this cutting edge scent technology is Remy’s way of allowing customers to
experience Remy’s products, before actually tasting them. The aroma increases curiosity and the
desire to taste the product.”

“ScentAir not only creates enticing aromas, it helps sell product,” says Forrest Fleming, ScentAir
chief executive officer. “Tests results with ScentAir have shown that adding a food scent
increases sales by as much as 50%. Now brand marketers can use scent to sample new
products, increases sales, build brand equity, as well as enhance the retail environment,” adds
Fleming.

ScentAir Technologies, the leader in providing scent marketing and scent sampling for retail/
brand applications, offers patented scent systems proven to increase category/brand sales and
enhance the appeal of retail environments.

Remy Sales Hit By Weak First Half

By just-drinks.com editorial staff

French wine and spirits group Rémy Cointreau recorded an 11.2% fall in full-year turnover today,
as it was hit by currency rates. However, the company said that a stronger fourth quarter was
evidence of an improvement.

The company said that on a like-for-like basis it recorded growth of 1.5% on turnover of €888m.
The fourth quarter saw an acceleration in organic growth to 4.8%, which the company said:
“Confirmed the progressive improvement in sales evidenced throughout the year.”

But Remy said that the second six months of the year could not compensate for the weakness
that occurred in Spring 2003. ”The ongoing efforts on the organization and on supporting its
brands should guarantee continuing organic growth for Rémy Cointreau in the medium term,” it
said.

In Cognac certain European markets remained difficult, but the company said it continued to
achieve a good sales performance in the US and China for its premium cognacs. The 5.7%
st
growth achieved in the first six months to March 31 was within the group's strategy for sustained
growth in the medium term.

In liqueurs, a strong recovery in the third quarter was followed by record growth in the fourth
quarter, increasing by 7.3%. Cointreau increased by 6% with good growth in the US and Japan.
Passoa achieved a 20% increase in sales, doing particularly well in France.

In spirits there was strong growth in vodkas, up 12.4% for Bols vodka, and a good performance
by Mount Gay rum and Metaxa, which, together with the beginning of a recovery in the Dutch
market, led to growth of 13% in the fourth quarter.

In Champagne, international sales of Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck remained strong,

with a favorable product/market mix, leading to underlying champagnes sales, rising 1.4% in
2003/04.

Republic Beverage Buys R.C. Stephens & Associates And Abby Road Fine Wine

Dallas, Texas - Republic Beverage Company, the partnership between the Goldring and
Block families, has announced its second venture in the State of Oklahoma. Craig Stephens,
President of R. C. Stephens & Associates and Abbey Road Fine Wine brokerages, and Tom
Cole, Chief Operating Officer of Republic Beverage, announced Republic's agreement to acquire
the Stephens' brokerage businesses.

Craig Stephens will continue with Republic through the transition period and has agreed to work
on premium wine development throughout the Block/Goldring network.

Republic Beverage, earlier this year, announced a joint venture with Best Brands of Oklahoma.
The Stephens acquisition will further strengthen and stabilize the new company with the addition
of its spirits and wine suppliers. The Block and Goldring family of companies combined are one
of the largest wholesalers in the country distributing in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, Florida and Oklahoma.

ScentAir Technologies Integrates Scent Systems with X3D Technologies

Offering A New 3D “Scentsory” Advertising Medium For In-store Digital Signage Networks

Chicago, IL – Follow your nose to ScentAir Technologies booth #3871 at the FMI (Food
Marketing Institute) May 2 – 4 at McCormick’s Place, Chicago, IL. ScentAir will display new-
patented scent systems emitting fabulous food scents as a new medium for brand marketers and
retailers to promote category and brands. ScentAir together with X3D Technologies, a 3D digital
signage company, will show for the first time, their 3D advertising display with ScentAir, an
integrated three-dimensional flat-panel screen with scent. The system will emit the unique scent
of certain brands as consumers watch commercials in a three-dimensional format. Scented
products include brands such as Dash fabric softener, Meijer Chocolate, Pepsi, and Herbal
Essence Shampoo. This patented scent technology emits an understated scent in a clean,
controllable manner across a 200 square foot area in front of the 3D advertising display.
“Advertisers have wanted a glasses-free 3D visual advertising medium with scent for years,” says
Myles Owens, X3D chief executive officer. “With the integration of X3D technology and
ScentAir, this is now a reality.”

“This allows brand marketers to advertise and sample the scent of their product in-store without
having to open the package,” says Forrest Fleming, ScentAir chief executive officer. “Scent
samples new products without tasting, increases brand and category sales, and enhances the
retail environment,” adds Fleming.
ScentAir Technologies, the leader in providing scent marketing and scent sampling for
retail/brand applications, offers patented scent systems proven to increase category/brand sales
and enhance the appeal of retail environments. These systems release high quality scent in a
subtle, clean and controllable way, without the use of sprays, aerosols or heated oils.

X3D Technologies Corp. is the world’s leading glasses-free 3D technology company, and is
focused on developing, marketing and licensing unparalleled autostereoscopic technology and
content production to the advertising, PC and broadcast industries. The company’s patented 3D
software and hardware technologies help influence purchase decisions by enabling consumers to
see holographic-like 3D images of brand products. Images project up to several feet in front of the
screen, and can be seen at 120-degree peripheries by the naked eye. Product offerings include
customized and repurposed content, and comprehensive, turnkey solutions designed to meet
business objectives. Offices are located in New York, N.Y; Los Angeles, CA; Jena, Germany;
Paris, France and Tokyo, Japan.

For more information, contact Nancy Belzer at (212) 497-2621.

TFWA Launches Stylish New Website

Recognizing the vital role played by the worldwide web as a tool for data capture, product
promotion and international communications, Tax Free World Association has completely
redesigned its website to make it more attractive and easier to use.

The new style site at www.tfwa.com is very accessible, extremely informative and highly effective.
It presents in clear jargon-free text the core activities of TFWA: exhibitions, conferences, research
and corporate development with direct links to related services.

Jean-Marc Caubet, Marketing Director: “Working with our Internet providers Preferences we
have completely changed the look and feel of the website. It is bright, clean and so easy to use.
We set out to establish www.tfwa.com as the primary source of information for anyone interested
in visiting one of the TFWA events or in finding out about the Association. We are delighted with
the result. But we won’t stop there, further services and projects will be put in place in the near
future.”

In ‘Association’ there is a brief background to TFWA, details of membership benefits, contact

details for members of management and advisory committees, and hyperlinks to key people in
the organization.

TFWA Asia Pacific and TFWA World Exhibition are clearly described in ‘Exhibitions’ with details
of programs, exhibitors, leisure activities, a marketing kit and application forms for online pre-
registration.

Under ‘Conferences’ are full details of the annual business conferences that open the two
flagship events and of the GATE ONE conference, which debuts in Singapore this year. There
are also details and keynote speeches from the successful Middle East Duty Free Conference,
which TFWA manages on behalf of MEDFA.

In the ‘Research’ area are brief outlines of the ongoing industry research program being
conducted by TFWA including reports on the Japanese consumer, European consumer behavior
and an analysis of the Asia-Pacific markets. Members of TFWA are sent copies of the research
papers as a matter of course; surfers on the website are offered the opportunity to purchase
copies.

The password-controlled ‘Members’ section provides TFWA Members with access to industry
reports, TFWA documents, Management Committee agendas, and a series of membership
benefits including discounts on travel retail publications, hotels, car hire and other services. In
addition to their printed copy, the Members also have the opportunity, in this dedicated area, to
download on PDF the research reports, which are 100% managed by TFWA. They can also
download an order form for the other reports produced in conjunction with third parties.

Journalists are invited to consult the ‘Press Office’ section where they will find material to
download such as press releases, corporate logos, TFWA event images, TFWA Board and staff
photographs, as well as a press pre-registration form for TFWA events.

Alcohol Ads Seen By Underage "Increasing"

By just-drinks.com editorial team

The US drinks industry, currently under attack from a number of lawsuits claiming it targets
underage drinkers with its advertising, has been dealt another blow, with the release of a report
this week.

Georgetown University's Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth has said this week that the
alcoholic drinks industry spent more than US$990m on television ads in 2002 that were watched
by viewers ranging from 12 to 20.

The number of alcohol ads on network, local and cable television in the US increased to 289,381
in 2002, up 39% from 2001.

More worrying for the industry though was that the study argued that children and young adults
aged between 12 and 20, below the legal drinking age of 21, were more likely than adults to have
seen 66,218 of the ads - a 30% increase over 2001.

"This dramatic increase in alcohol ads seen by our children in 2002 suggests the problem got
worse," said Jim O'Hara, executive director of the Center. "While a step in the right direction, the
industry's new marketing codes lag far behind its aggressive marketing practices."

In one US report yesterday, Washington public-health advocacy group Center for Science in the
Public Interest said the study gives credence to lawsuits holding the alcohol industry liable for
underage drinking.
"This study is another nail in the coffin," said George Hacker, director for the group's alcohol
policies project. Hacker called the alcohol suits "gate openers" for a flood of litigation similar to
tobacco lawsuits that resulted in a $246 billion settlement.

Please send all new product news, marketing campaigns, executive personnel changes, financial updates, on-premise
and retail activity press releases as a WORD document directly to editor@bwsnewsletter.com.

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