Sterling Vineyards celebrates Earth Day with tree-planting partners; for Sterling, cause marketing means every day is earth day.

CALISTOGA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 1995--On April 23, 1995, a San Francisco tree-planting group called Friends of the Urban Forest will travel to Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga to celebrate Earth Day, and to reward volunteers and members with a day at one of the Napa Valley's most dramatic, and most environmentally conscious wineries.

"Sterling Vineyards has been one of our most active corporate partners," commented Clifford Janov, executive director. "Their contribution helps us continue our work to improve the quality of the urban environment through the planting of trees."

This group and similar groups around the country have enjoyed the support of Sterling for the past three years. "Cause marketing is a way for corporate good-will to reach the community," said Gary Glass, brand manager for the domestic wines of the Seagram Classics Wine Company, including Sterling Vineyards, Mumm Cuvee Napa and the Monterey Vineyard.

"We chose to support the planting of trees in cities across the country largely because it seemed a natural fit with our identity and a good thing to do."

The original "Buy a Bottle, Give a Tree" promotion was so popular that subsequent promotional and merchandising efforts built on the idea. When consumers purchase Sterling wines, and send in the neckhanger, funds are allocated to support the Sterling Tree Planting Program. To date, Sterling Vineyards has planted over 9,000 trees throughout the United States, in cities such as New York, Austin, Sacramento, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Grand Rapids.

Environmental Stewardship, Great Wine, Smart Marketing: Doing What Comes Naturally

Cause marketing proves most successful when it thematically taps into some intrinsic corporate reality. The location of Sterling Vineyards, atop a knoll at the northern end of the Napa Valley, and overlooking an expansive vista of trees as well as vines, immediately underlines the value of these natural resources.

Diamond Mountain Ranch, one of Sterling's premier vineyards, and one of the most important vineyards in the New World, is located on Diamond Mountain in the Mayacamas Range just north of the winery, a location heavily forested with redwoods, firs and other conifers.

In addition, Sterling winemaker Bill Dyer is both professionally and personally committed to the environment, something which gives the cause marketing efforts additional credibility. Dyer has instituted many sound environmental practices in his years as a winemaker, including a sophisticated erosion control program at Diamond Mountain Ranch in 1981.

Though many subsequent winters were dry, the prescient decision allowed the steep vineyard to weather the very wet and stormy winter of 1995 with minimal impact. Other environmentally-conscious programs include a protection plan for the endangered California freshwater shrimp at Huichica Creek and a preservation effort directed at the Valley Oaks and Honey Locust Trees which dot the winery grounds.

Dyer takes an equally green tack to winemaking, preferring to keep human interference with the process to a minimum. He has been a champion of native yeasts (yeasts that are naturally present in vineyards) in his vineyard-designated wines, an option not available to those who use many chemicals to control vineyard pests and molds.

Like others who work closely with the natural world, he feels a stewardship responsibility to the land. "There's a certain parallel with our livelihood as farmers of over 1,000 acres, to the role of those who plant and nurture trees in the urban environment," said Dyer. "It's a partnership I feel is very natural."

CONTACT: Balzac Communications

Mary Ann Vangrin, 800/709-7667