Chalone Wine Group Convenes the Biggest -- and Most Fun -- Shareholders' Meeting in the US on a Remote California Mountain.

Business & Food/Wine Editors

NAPA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2001

Each year about 1,500 food and wine lovers from across the country gather for one day in the remote Gavilan Mountain Range, 1,500 feet above California's Salinas Valley. A site so isolated, water has to be pumped up almost eight miles from its source. These travelers are drawn together to this spot for an unusual marriage of wine, food and finance.

On May 19, 2001 this site will host Chalone Wine Group's 32nd Annual Shareholders' Celebration, a day of fine food and great wine that's been called the biggest -- and most fun -- shareholders' meeting in the U.S. The Chalone Wine Group (Nasdaq:CHLN) has more than 13,000 shareholders.

"Each year we return to the Mother Church of the Chalone Wine Group -- Chalone Vineyard," explains President and CEO Tom Selfridge. "This is where our cofounder, Dick Graff, made his first vintage in 1966 in a converted chicken coop and where the company held its first shareholders' meeting in 1969."

Attendees can sample wines from all of Chalone Wine Group's properties plus this year try barrel samples from CWG's as yet unnamed and unreleased new Napa Valley Red Wine Program. All the winemakers and staff are on hand to answer questions and discuss what's new. And, it's not just about wine; the Celebration has become a fine dining event. This year's menu includes Hog Island oysters, Salinas Valley Celestial salad, marinated Castroville artichoke salad, Angus beefsteak roulade, herb-poached medallions of local salmon, and more.

The Chalone Wine Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Chalone Wine Group, also holds live and silent auctions to benefit the Richard H. Graff Scholarship Fund, which gives money to students pursuing a career in food and wine. Bidders can win packages such as "Be Your Own Winemaker," luncheons and tours at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild in Bordeaux, France or Monte Xanic Winery in Baja, Mexico plus rare bottles of wine.

For more information about attending this unique Shareholder's Celebration, contact Shareholder Services at 707-254-4250.

Editors note: digital images of last year's Celebration are available.

The Chalone Wine Group, Ltd. (the "Company") is a Napa-based company specializing in premium red and white varietal wines. In California, the Company owns and operates Acacia(TM) Winery in the Carneros District of Napa County, Carmenet(R) Vineyard in Sonoma County, Chalone Vineyard(R) in Monterey County, and the Jade Mountain brand in Napa County. In conjunction with its 50 percent joint-venture partner, Paragon Vineyard Co., the Company also owns and operates Edna Valley Vineyard(R) in San Luis Obispo County. Additionally, the Company produces and markets wines of the Central Coast appellation under the brand name Echelon Vineyards. In the state of Washington, the Company owns and operates Sagelands Vineyard(TM) and Canoe Ridge Vineyard(R). In the Bordeaux region of France, the Company owns 23.5 percent of the fourth-growth estate of Chateau Duhart-Milon, in partnership with Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) which owns the other 76.5 percent.