Crushpad Launches New Service Allowing Wine Enthusiasts Anywhere to Create and Sell Their Own Wines.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Crushpad has unveiled Crushpad Commerce, the world's first service dedicated to helping wine enthusiasts turn their passion for wine into a business. The service creates a ground-breaking opportunity for wine-loving entrepreneurs to apply their business savvy and foster their own wine brands wherever they live.

"Our goal was to remove the enormous capital investment and expertise required to start a winery so that our members could focus on what they want to do most -- make great wine and promote it," said Crushpad CEO, Michael Brill. "The wine industry has never been as accessible to so many. Since we started in 2004, we've seen an incredible passion for wine and equally strong business skills in our customers. Enabling them to pursue their dreams without uprooting their lives and moving to wine country is what Crushpad Commerce is all about."

The May 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on direct-to-consumer shipping is rapidly removing barriers to interstate wine commerce. It is now legal and cost-effective for boutique wineries to ship their wines directly to consumers in an increasing number of states. Crushpad Commerce leverages this shift by providing a "virtual winery," producing wines under its members' control and shipping wines directly to its members' customers.

Crushpad Commerce supports winemakers who want to produce and sell as little as 50 cases and up to thousands of cases. Members can get up and running with their own custom wines, a complete brand identity and the ability to take and fulfill orders for a fraction of what it would have previously cost.

Of Crushpad's 230 winemaking customers, 10 members from around the country have already joined Crushpad Commerce to produce and sell their own wines. Bettina Briz, a high-tech veteran in Palo Alto, California, produces and sells her San Sakana Cellars (www.sansakana.com) brand through Crushpad Commerce. "This is truly a great service. I get to focus on making the best wine possible, and marketing and selling it without having to get dragged down by compliance or sales paperwork. I just love it."

Crushpad Commerce offers a full-service winery infrastructure, including:

--High-end grapes sourced from over 20 of California's most notable vineyards

--Seasoned winemakers with high-scoring commercial track records

--A state-of-the-art, 17,000-square-foot winery

--Federal and state licensing, registration and compliance management

--Wine storage

--Brand identity and graphic design

--Web development and ecommerce integration

--Order fulfillment

--Accounting and reporting

At Crushpad, the customers are the actual winemakers sourcing the same high-quality vineyards and using the same state-of-the-art winemaking technology and equipment as professional winemakers. Crushpad's customers choose their level of participation and can be involved on site or remotely from anywhere via www.mycrushpad.com and participate in key winemaking decisions from vineyard observation and fruit processing to fermentation, aging and bottling.

About Crushpad:

Crushpad is a San Francisco-based custom winemaking facility whose customers include wine enthusiasts, professional winemakers, wine retailers and restaurateurs. Crushpad specializes in small-lot, ultra-premium wine production based on California's most notable vineyards. The company was founded in 2004 by wine industry veterans and technology industry refugees determined to liberate winemaking from its traditional stereotypes of impossible wealth, expansive chateaus and golden retrievers. For more information call 415-864-4232 or visit www.crushpadwine.com.