Chalone Wine Group Purchases Notable Rutherford Bench Vineyard in Napa Valley.

Business Editors

NAPA VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 2, 2000

Chalone  Wine Group (Nasdaq:CHLN) (CWG) President and CEO Thomas B. Selfridge announced the purchase of an historic cabernet sauvignon vineyard in Napa Valley's notable Rutherford Bench.

The company's new 57-acre vineyard, locally known as the Hewitt Ranch, is a neighbor to vineyards of well-known cabernet sauvignon wines, such as Georges de Latour Private Reserve from Beaulieu Vineyards, Rubicon from Niebaum-Coppola and Cabernet Bosche from Freemark Abbey.

The company purchased the Hewitt Ranch, a 69-acre property that includes a private home surrounded by 57 acres of cabernet sauvignon vineyard, from the William A. Hewitt Trust.

&uot;This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to purchase a vineyard of this distinction,&uot; said Selfridge. &uot;This vineyard has produced some of the finest cabernets in the Napa Valley.&uot;

Selfridge had the opportunity to produce cabernet sauvignon wines from the Hewitt Vineyard, as well as other Rutherford district vineyards, while he was at Beaulieu Vineyard. From 1973 to 1983, Selfridge was BV's winemaker and studied under the world-renowned Russian winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff. Selfridge later became BV's president before leaving the company in 1990.

According to Selfridge, CWG had been scouting Napa Valley for a cabernet sauvignon vineyard for some time and waited until finding one that merited a luxury-priced single vineyard bottling. The as-yet-unnamed single vineyard cabernet wine from the new property is expected to debut in 2004 with an initial release of 3,000 cases. The 57-acre vineyard is anticipated to ultimately produce up to 20,000 cases of luxury quality wine.

Andy Beckstoffer, a Napa Valley grower and president of the Rutherford Dust Society, said that Rutherford cabernet sauvignon vineyards with the soil and location of the Hewitt Ranch are coveted and seldom change hands.

&uot;This is truly a special treasure. Chalone Wine Group's acquisition of this vineyard squarely puts them at the highest level of making Napa cabernet from this prized region,&uot; Beckstoffer commented.

The Hewitt Ranch is located within the benchland of the Rutherford appellation. The Rutherford AVA, a prized growing region for cabernet sauvignon, stretches about six square miles and is defined by a gentle foothill slope that begins just north of the village of Rutherford and runs south to the northern border of Oakville. Rutherford soils are dominated by Franciscan marine sedimentary materials with some volcanic deposits that are reflected in the wine's distinct character fondly referred to as &uot;Rutherford dust.&uot; Andre Tchelistcheff is noted for having said, &uot;It takes Rutherford dust to grow great cabernet.&uot;

&uot;Our mission is to absolutely make the best wines possible from the soils of leading wine-growing regions. Adding the Hewitt Ranch to our family of estate wineries is in keeping with that philosophy,&uot; said Selfridge.

Chalone Wine Group's co-founder and wine industry pioneer, the late Dick Graff, put his passion for classic Burgundian varietals -- chardonnay and pinot noir -- into practice in the late 1960s while he was winemaker at Chalone Vineyard. Selfridge embraces this passion as he positions CWG as a leading producer of Bordeaux varietals.

&uot;In contrast to the rugged volcanic hillside of Carmenet Winery's prestigious Moon Mountain estate, we are now broadening our Bordeaux portfolio to Napa in the notable Rutherford Bench,&uot; said Selfrifdge. Since purchasing Carmenet in 1982, CWG has added Washington state wineries, Canoe Ridge Vineyard and Sagelands, to strengthen the company's Bordeaux varietal portfolio.

The purchase of the Hewitt Ranch influences CWG's shift from a predominately white wine house to a red wine house. Two years ago, white wines made up 70 percent of the company's production, but by 2003, they will be upstaged by red wines which are projected to compose two-thirds of the company's production.

Chalone Wine Group, Ltd. (Nasdaq:CHLN), &uot;the Company,&uot; is a Napa-based company specializing in premium white and red varietal wines. In California, the Company owns and operates Chalone Vineyard(R) in Monterey County, Acacia(TM) Winery in the Carneros District of Napa County and Carmenet(R) Vineyard in Sonoma 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 Central Coast appellation under the brand name Echelon Vineyards(TM). In the state of Washington, the Company owns and operates Sagelands Winery(TM) (formerly Staton Hills) and is a 50.5 percent managing partner in 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.