585 Wine Partners Introduces Russian River Valley Wine Brand.

Picket Fence Winery Reunites Sonoma Wine Legends Don Van Staaveren and Pete Opatz

SONOMA, Calif. -- 585 Wine Partners, formed by wine industry veterans Dan Leese and Doug Walker in 2005, announced it is launching a new wine brand from Russian River Valley called Picket Fence. Picket Fence becomes the second wine brand in the Sonoma-based 585 Wine Partners' portfolio, joining the fast-growing Red Truck Wines brand. Last week, the company announced it had changed its name from Axiom Wine Company to 585 Wine Partners to better reflect its business strategy which relies on key partnerships to build and sustain its brands.

"It has been a long-term vision of ours to make wines from the Russian River Valley appellation," commented Leese, President of 585 Wine Partners. "Some of the world's most renowned producers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir source grapes from this prized appellation. Simply put, if you're making Burgundian varietals in California, Russian River is the place to be."

Picket Fence is introducing a 2005 Russian River Chardonnay ($18-20 suggested retail) and a 2005 Russian River Pinot Noir ($28-30 suggested retail) nationally starting February 2007. The project reunites two Sonoma County wine legends, vineyard manager Pete Opatz and winemaker Don Van Staaveren, who in the last three decades have grown and made some of Sonoma County's most highly acclaimed wines. Opatz, a past president of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association, held vineyard management positions at several wine companies including Chateau St. Jean and Allied Domecq before assuming his current position as viticulturist for Vino Farms. Van Staaveren has made critically-acclaimed wines for Chateau St. Jean and Artesa Winery & Vineyards and is currently winemaker for a small luxury winery in Sonoma.

"This is the Sonoma County dream team," said Walker, 585 Wine Partners' Chief Operating Officer, who worked with both Opatz and Van Staaveren when he was president of Chateau St. Jean in the mid-1990's. "Pete and Don are masters in their respective fields, they both have a long history of making wines from Russian River, and they have a synergistic relationship that works perfectly for Picket Fence."

Produced in limited amounts, Picket Fence Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are sourced from a number of Russian River vineyards with which Picket Fence Winery has developed long term agreements. The grapes for both 2005 wines were hand-harvested in the cool late night/early morning hours to retain their crisp, natural acidity. The wines were made in a medium-bodied, richly textured style using approximately 50% new French oak for balanced flavor and added structure. The name Picket Fence was chosen to evoke the graceful, familiar image of picket fences stretching across the American and Sonoma landscape - expressing the significance of place as well as family and friends.

"This is exactly what consumers of luxury Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are looking for: lush, richly flavored wines that display plenty of fruit balanced with oak and acidity in a style that exemplifies the Russian River," said Leese. "This pedigree, this kind of quality, and our ability to offer the wines at this price, makes them a great opportunity for the trade to offer their customers."

585 Wine Partners was formed by wine industry veterans Dan Leese and Doug Walker in 2005 with the purchase of the Red Truck Wines brand from Fred and Nancy Cline of Cline Vineyards. The company has since introduced several single-varietal wines to Red Truck and White Truck brands, as well as Pink Truck, a pink wine blend of Zinfandel, Grenache and Mourvedre. The company is located at 585 First Street West in Sonoma, California.