North Lake Wines Branches out with Foolish Oak; New Super-Premium Brand Offers Wine Lovers the Best of Washington State.

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. -- North Lake Wines, a Constellation Wines U.S. company, is introducing a new line of super-premium varietal wines from Washington State. With the playful name Foolish Oak - honoring Washington's strong, beautiful oak tree - the wines confirm Washington's emergence as a world-class winegrowing region.

Now boasting over 300 wineries and 30,000 vineyard acres, the Evergreen State ranks as the second-largest wine producing region in the United States, after California, and rivals the Golden State in across-the-board wine quality. As Wine Spectator noted in an October, 2004 article, "Washington wines are getting better with every vintage . . . ."

As a result, savvy wine consumers increasingly are seeking out Washington's top wines - Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot - which grew 17% in sales in 2004.(1)

Foolish Oak Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon are produced from the highest quality vineyards in the Columbia Valley, Washington's premier wine appellation, which lies east of the Cascade Mountain Range. Rich and elegant, they deliver unmatched quality for a suggested retail price of $12.99.

"The Cascades divide Washington into distinct western and eastern regions," says Foolish Oak winemaker Ray McKee. "Western Washington is wet, with about 50 inches of annual rainfall, but eastern Washington, which contains almost all the state's wine grapes, is desert-like, with only 8 inches of rain annually. Our climate of warm days and cool nights, combined with our dry, volcanic soils, produces grapes with rich fruit flavors and lively acidity."

Foolish Oak wines showcase the talented hand of McKee, a veteran of the Washington wine industry who possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the state's vineyards and grape varieties. An avid wine connoisseur and collector, McKee is a passionate student of the world's great wine regions, enabling him to craft wines that embody the best of the Old and New Worlds while expressing the unique attributes of Washington State.

Befitting their superb quality, Foolish Oak wines come in a beautiful package featuring a tapered glass bottle with a deep punted bottom and a warm, elegant, gold-foiled label.

"Foolish Oak wines exemplify the appealing flavors of Washington State," McKee says. "We're confident they'll cultivate deep roots among discerning fine wine consumers."

Foolish Oak is made by North Lake Wines, the classic wine producer of Constellation Wines U.S., which is part of Constellation Wines, the world's largest wine business, an operating division of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)(NYSE:STZ.B) ("CBI"). Constellation Wines U.S. encompasses three of CBI's U.S. wine businesses: Canandaigua Wine Company, Pacific Wine Partners, and North Lake Wines. Leading brands for North Lake Wines include Dunnewood, Farallon, Marcus James, Paul Masson table wines, Taylor California Cellars, and Vina Santa Carolina.

(1) Total U.S. Food and Drug for the period ending January 23, 2005.