25th Annual Paso Robles Wine Festival Reaches Major Milestone.

Advance Ticket Sales Soar and New Silver Pass Sells Out

PASO ROBLES, Calif. -- The 25th Annual Paso Robles Wine Festival held Saturday, May 19 in Paso Robles' downtown city park is being touted as the best festival to date. Tradition rang true at this popular marquee Paso Robles Wine Country event with 89 wineries pouring more than 250 Paso Robles wines. Music filled the air as did the scents of wine country cuisine while sun kissed wine enthusiasts strolled the open air event site for the festival's Silver Anniversary. The event also incorporated some added enhancements which included a completely enclosed event space and a new sold out Silver Pass admission ticket. Organizers are pleased with ticket sales totaling more than 5800 tickets and more than 65% sold in advance, a new pre-sale record for the 25 year old event.

"The 25th Annual Festival was a success," said Alex Villicana, co-chair of the Paso Robles Wine Festival committee and owner of Villicana Winery. "We took the changes that we incorporated last year, as well as the feedback from consumers and wineries, and improved upon them to create an event that was truly about a quality wine festival experience."

New to the Festival was the Silver Pass admission ticket, in recognition of the 25th year, which allowed 1,000 consumers the opportunity to access the tasting area one hour early for $75. "We had no idea it (Silver Pass) would prove to be so popular by selling out two weeks before the event," commented Rob Campbell-Taylor, co-chair of the Paso Robles Wine Festival committee and owner of Graveyard Vineyards.

"We had a wonderful time on Saturday. This was our 20th wine festival so we have seen the event grow and change and appreciate your attempts to deal with the growth," said Barbara Owens from Long Beach, California.

The Paso Robles Wine Festival Weekend attracts more than 20,000 consumers; many come from out of the area. Each year the hotels in Paso Robles and throughout the county are at capacity, restaurants are booked and shops are busy accommodating wine enthusiasts. The Festival serves as a key marketing tool in raising the awareness of Paso Robles as a premier wine region.

"This single marquee event is a grand showcase for Paso Robles Wine Country and attracts new and repeat visitors to the region," said Stacie Jacob, Executive Director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance. "The 25th anniversary resulted in a record amount of advance ticket sales, proving that the Wine Festival continues to grow in popularity." Wine country tourism provides a $113M impact to the Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo County economy and attracts approximately 1.3M visitors to the area annually.

The Paso Robles Wine Festival weekend is held annually on the third weekend of May. The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, with the guidance of the Paso Robles Wine Festival Committee, organizes the logistics, markets and implements the annual event. The 2008 Paso Robles Wine Festival weekend is set for May 16 - 18, 2008, with the marquee event on Saturday, May 17, 2008.

The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance represents wineries, growers and businesses in Paso Robles Wine Country. Centrally located between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along California's Central Coast, Paso Robles Wine Country is California's fastest growing wine region. It encompasses more than 26,000 vineyard acres and more than 170 wineries. For more information, visit www.pasowine.com.