Sterling Vineyards Selected to Be Featured Wines at 81st Annual Academy Awards(R) Governors Ball for 6th Consecutive Year

Sterling Vineyards Selected to Be Featured Wines at 81st Annual Academy Awards(R) Governors Ball for 6th Consecutive Year

Custom made wines complement Oscar(R) Celebration

NAPA, Calif., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Vineyards, the landmark Napa winery, will once again provide the featured wines of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Ball, the official party following the 81st Annual Academy Awards, to be held Sunday, February 22, 2009. This is the 6th consecutive year that Sterling Vineyards has been poured at the event. The evening's pre-show reception will also feature wines from Sterling Vineyards.

"For six years now, we have been delighted to create the wines for the most spectacular awards celebration in the world," said Mike Westrick, Vice President of Winemaking for Sterling Vineyards. "After several years of participation with our special Oscar cuvees, the Gold Standard Reserve Chardonnay and Red Carpet Reserve Cabernet, we wanted to add a very special dessert wine this year. Our limited edition 2007 Muscat Canelli, has been gorgeously packaged as a tribute to the screen goddesses of a bygone era, in a style that complements the Asian theme of the Governors Ball."

Westrick and Sterling Vineyards have created the 2007 Gold Standard Reserve Chardonnay, the fourth vintage of a very limited edition white wine, as well as the 2005 Red Carpet Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon blend that Sterling Vineyards first created five years ago for the Oscars(R). The 2007 Muscat Canelli is a new addition to the celebration. "Created just for this special night, in very limited quantities, my team and I love being able to lavish time, attention and creativity on these wines," said Westrick.

The wines will be poured to pair with an extraordinary menu created by Master Chef Wolfgang Puck, who will once again create the multi-course gala dinner for the Academy's 1,500 guests. In describing his wines, Westrick says, "The Red Carpet Reserve Cabernet shows notes of cassis, plum, blackberry and Asian spices. The Gold Standard Reserve Chardonnay offers aromas and flavors of toffee, vanilla, gala apples and Bosc pear. The Muscat Canelli is just luscious, with generous elements of apricot, honeysuckle, ginger and clove."

Only a few hundred cases of each vintage of Gold Standard Reserve Chardonnay and Red Carpet Reserve Cabernet are produced each year to celebrate the special night. Each bottle bears the winemakers' signatures and was embossed with a stylized bronze cherry blossom to complement the Governors Ball's Asian theme.

Founded in 1964, Sterling Vineyards crowns a 400-foot knoll, one mile south of the historic Napa town of Calistoga. The winery is accessible by aerial tram and offers stunning views of the surrounding wine country. For more information on Sterling Vineyards, visit www.sterlingvineyards.com.

Sterling Vineyards wines are produced by Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, which is part of Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks business.

Source: Sterling Vineyards

CONTACT: Philippa Jones of Sterling Vineyards, +1-707-299-2618

Web Site: http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/

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