Official Vintage Declared in Portugal's Douro Valley; Symington Family Estates Declares 2003 Vintage Ports.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In the contact information, the phone number should read 415-346-2929 (sted 415-356-2929).

The corrected release reads:

OFFICIAL VINTAGE DECLARED IN PORTUGAL'S DOURO VALLEY; SYMINGTON FAMILY ESTATES DECLARES 2003 VINTAGE PORTS

The Symington Family Estates, an Oporto, Portugal-based wine company renowned for its Vintage Ports, officially declares the 2003 vintage. All six of its established Port houses, W. & J. Graham's, Dow's, Smith Woodhouse, Quinta do Vesuvio, Warre's and Gould Campbell, will offer a very limited amount of 2003 Vintage Port, which will become available in the United States this summer.

Rupert Symington, Joint Managing Director comments, "We are fortunate that the 2003 harvest produced wines of the highest caliber. It was an optimal viticultural year in the Douro Valley, with unusually heavy rains in the winter and a hot, arid summer. The winter rainfall enhanced our underground water reserves and allowed for full and even ripening later in the year."

The Douro Valley was not affected by the abnormally high temperatures throughout much of Europe in the summer of 2003. "Hot, arid summers are the norm in the Douro, but thankfully, the heat was not excessive. We had excellent weather during the harvest, which lasted from mid-September to early October. Our grape yields were quite low, so our quantities are limited, but the wines are especially flavorful," says Symington.

Vintage Port is a rare wine -- less than 2% of Port is awarded this distinction. In Portugal, a vintage is declared only when the harvested grapes and resulting wines are exceptional. On average, this occurs about three times per decade. The last official declaration was in 2002 for the highly praised 2000 Vintage.

Declared Vintage Ports must be submitted for approval to the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP), the governing body for the Douro wine industry, which determines whether or not a house may declare. This determination is typically made about 18 months after the harvest.

The Symington Family name has been associated with the finest Ports for over a century. Andrew J. Symington, the company's founder, acquired Warre & Co. at the turn of the 20th century and became a partner in Dow's in 1912. Today, with over 2,500 acres of vineyards, the Symington Family is the largest landholder in the Douro Valley. Management of the company has been passed down through four generations making Symington Family Estates the oldest family-owned Port shipper company.

Premium Port Wines, Inc., is the United States importer for Oporto-based Symington Family Estates. Its portfolio includes the following selection of wines: Ports from Graham's, Dow's, Smith Woodhouse, and Quinta do Vesuvio; Madeiras from Blandy's, Leacock, and Cossart Gordon; and four leading Douro table wines, Chryseia and Post Scriptum from Prats & Symington, a joint project by the Symington family with Bruno Prats of Bordeaux fame, and Quinta de Roriz Reserva and Prazo de Roriz, from a joint venture with Joao van Zeller, which also produces a boutique Vintage Port. Premium Port Wines is the only specialized importer and marketer for Port, Madeira, and Douro table wine in the U.S. For more information on the company and its brands, please visit www.premiumport.com and www.symington.com. For more information on Vintage Port, please visit www.thevintageportsite.com or http://www.ivp.pt/index.asp.