Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger salutes the wines of California at Vancouver's Largest Liquor Store

BURLINGTON, ON, May 31 /CNW/ - Vancouver's 39th and Cambie liquor store
was abuzz with celebrity today as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
joined Joseph Rollo, International Director of the Wine Institute of
California, to toast the wines of California being showcased in a special
consumer promotion running May 27th-June 23rd. Wine lovers throughout British
Columbia will have an opportunity to experience California sunshine in the
glass at 50 stores across the province.
Governor Schwarzenegger, in Vancouver on a special trade mission, met
with Rollo and BCLDB officials to raise a glass to the special, in-store
promotion that will heighten the profile of the Golden State and drive
additional interest and growth in the California wine category.
Rollo said, "We are thrilled to have Governor Schwarzenegger support and
celebrate the announcement of June's promotion. He is passionate about all
things California, and in particular our wines. The Governor recognizes the
contributions of California's vintners and winegrape growers as a unique and
special part of California and we are grateful for his presence here in
British Columbia."
The BCLDB is working closely with the Wine Institute of California on
this promotion that will be held in 50 of the BCLDB's biggest stores including
20 of their Signature Stores that will feature a number of new releases
specially selected by the LDB. The "Taste California" promotion highlights
20 popular California wine brands and will bring to life the vitality,
sunshine and lifestyle that has made the Golden State so famous.
Each participating store will display colourful point-of-sale materials
and freestanding displays. In addition to store displays and advertising in
key publications, supplementary activities will be coordinated by
participating agents consisting of in-store tastings and licensee promotions.
To further round out the promotion, the Wine Institute of California is
staging a dynamic California Dreamin' food & wine event at the 39th & Cambie
store on June 2.
California wine sales are on the upswing and the category is enjoying a
tremendous resurgence in the British Columbia market. Wine sales for the
California category for the past fiscal year were up 13.4% in dollars to
$72.5 million with red wine sales up +16.7% and white wine sales up +11%. More
than 1,656 California wines are available in the B.C. market.
"Our marketing activities in the British Columbia market have been key
components in driving interest in the California category and we believe that
our efforts, especially over the past few years, are now paying off," said
Rick Slomka, Canadian Director of the Wine Institute of California. "The
stronger dollar, new, exciting products, and a terrific selection of well
priced premium wines are all contributing factors to the renewed energy in the
California wine industry."
The Wine Institute of California, established in 1934 is a trade
association of 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses dedicated
to initiating and advocating public policy to enhance the environment for the
responsible consumption and enjoyment of wine. Based in San Francisco, the
Institute has also established promotional campaigns in 20 countries around
the world to further global recognition of the California wine industry, which
holds the title of world's fourth largest wine producer.
The Canadian office coordinates a number of promotional activities every
year designed to educate and inform media, trade and consumers about the
quality and diversity of products available from the Golden State. For more
information on the Wine Institute of California, visit the Web site at
www.wineinstitute.org or www.calwine.ca


<<
A California Wine Primer

Everything you need to know about liquid sunshine in the glass

- California is America's top wine producer, making 90% of all U.S.
wine

- California is the fourth leading wine producer in the world behind
the countries of France, Italy and Spain

- California's wineries are predominantly family owned and
multi-generational

- Attracts 19.7 million tourists annually to all regions in California

- Generates wine-related tourism expenditures of $2 billion in
California

- Produces $51.8 billion in economic value for California

- Generates $125.3 billion for the U.S. economy

- Creates 309,000 jobs in California and a total 875,000 jobs
nationwide

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(based on 2005 data)
California Wine Industry Profile MKF Research LLC and Wine Institute
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Bonded Wineries 2275 Nearly all family owned
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of California Grape Growers 4,600
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Wine Exports (95% from $672 million winery revenues
California) up 391% from $137 million in 1990;

43 million (cases to 165 countries)
up 258% from 12 million cases in
1990
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winegrape Acres 522,000 (Though vineyards cover less
than 1% of the state's terrain)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Tons Harvested of
Winegrapes 3.1 million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farm Gate Value of Winegrapes $1.78 billion
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>


California Wine Facts & Figures
Wine knowledge to amuse and peruse

Good news for the waistline!

Wine is fat free and contains no cholesterol. A 4-ounce glass of table
wine has about 80-100 calories.

Just how many grapes are in that bottle of wine?

It takes about six to eight clusters, or approximately 600 to 800 wine
grapes (2.4 lbs), to make a bottle of wine.
One barrel of wine contains 740 lbs of grapes, equivalent to 59 gallons
or 24.6 cases of wine.

And how many bubbles in a bottle of bubbly?

It is theorized there are approximately 44 million bubbles in a bottle of
sparkling wine/champagne.

What's on top in 2006?

Chardonnay, with 95,000 acres, is the wine type variety with the most
acreage planted in California.
Cabernet Sauvignon was the second most planted winegrape in California
with 77,000 total acres.
Chardonnay remained the leading varietal wine, followed by Merlot, White
Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Together these four varietals made up over
half (53 percent) of the wine sales in retail stores.

Variety is the spice of life in the Golden State

Wine-type grapes are grown in 46 of California's 58 counties, covering
527,000 acres in 2006.
There are more than 107 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in California
(distinct winegrape growing areas recognized by the U.S. government), a
testament to the variety of microclimates in the state.
California wines have benefited from the unique and varied mix of
cultures that found new homes in the Golden State, from Spanish missionaries
who established the state's first vineyards and wineries beginning in 1769, to
the German, Italian and other European immigrants who founded California's
pioneer wineries, and to the farmers, researchers and entrepreneurs who helped
create the modern California wine industry.
The highest vineyard in California is the Shadow Mountain Cabernet
Sauvignon vineyard located at an elevation of 4,400 feet above sea level in
the mountains of San Diego.
California's 2,000 bricks and mortar commercial wineries are
predominantly family-owned and operated.
There are more than 60,000 registered California wine labels.

Sustainable wine practices take root

The trend in sustainable winegrowing and winemaking practices is growing
quickly in California. Vintners and growers who represent 53 percent of the
annual wine case production and one quarter (172,000 acres) of the state's
wine acreage currently participate in the Code of Sustainable Wine Growing
Practices program.

California wine is good for the bottom line

California wines accounted for 63 percent of the total 716 million
gallons - both foreign and domestic - consumed in the U.S. in 2006, or roughly
two out of every three bottles sold in the country.
California winery shipments comprised roughly $17.8 billion of the
$27.8 billion estimated retail value of all wine sold in the U.S. in 2006.
Wine is California's most valuable finished agricultural product. The
overall economic impact of the wine industry on the economy of California
exceeds $51.8 billion.
The expansion of exports of California wine over the last decade has
dramatically increased from $196 million in 1994 to $876 million in 2006.

Second only to Disneyland

Wineries and vineyards are the second most popular tourist destination in
California after Disneyland. A total of 19.6 million tourists visit the
state's wine regions each year.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on
the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca.
Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive
website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited
members of the media/



For further information: Paula Oreskovich, Praxis PR, (905) 949-8255 ext
223, paula@praxispr.ca

Source ref: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2007/31/c7643.html