Contact: Dan Gustafson Phone: 707.224.1668 Artesa Releases First Reserve Wines Napa, California - June 1, 2000 - Nine months after its inaugural release of wine, Artesa Vineyards and Winery has released its first reserve wines – a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Carneros Chardonnay and Carneros Pinot Noir – all from the 1998 vintage. "Our reserve wines are the result of a barrel-by-barrel selection of the richest, most complex lots from the vintage," said Don Van Staaveren, vice president of production and winemaker. "We look not only for the most intense lots, but also for the most integrated, seamless wines, in what we refer to as 'high balance.' Our winemaking practice is to treat every lot we make as reserve quality; we make our selection only a few weeks before bottling." The Reserve Pinot Noir consists of 22 barrels of wine made from two of the nine Pinot Noir blocks on Artesa's 173-acre estate vineyard in Napa Carneros. There were 500 cases made, representing less than ten percent of the winery's total Pinot Noir production from the vintage. The wine spent 14 months in half new, half used French oak. Suggested retail price is $38 per 750ml bottle. "Our first reserve was selected from our estate, but it could have come from anywhere that we source Pinot Noir grapes, including the Russian River Valley and Santa Barbara County," explained Van Staaveren. "For our 1998 reserve, one vineyard block has a steep eastern exposure, while the other is on rocky bench land. Yields were right at two tons per acre." The Reserve Chardonnay also came from two blocks of estate vines, the majority from a block planted in 1990 with an Old Wente Chardonnay selection, the balance UC clone 4 Chardonnay from vines along a ridge with a southern exposure. Five hundred cases were produced, ten percent of Artesa's total Chardonnay production. The reserve was barrel-fermented and aged sur lie in two-thirds new, one-third used French oak for 14 months, and it underwent malolactic fermentation. Suggested retail price is $30 per 750ml bottle. The Reserve Sauvignon Blanc was selected primarily from two blocks within one of Napa Valley's oldest Sauvignon Blanc vineyards, located in Oakville and planted in the mid-1960's. Yields were less than three tons per acre, and the wine was barrel-fermented and aged sur lie in half new, half used French oak for over a year. Suggested retail price is $20 per 750ml bottle. Artesa's reserve wines are packaged in heavy glass with bold, minimalist labels consisting of the winery name and a gold sculpted figure set in a copper triangle bordered by iron and bronze. "Designer Ken Winston developed our original label using elements of the winery's architecture and sculpture," said Michael Kenton, president. "For our reserve program, Ken further refined the package to create a dramatic icon." Artesa, formerly Codorníu Napa, opened in 1991 as a sparkling wine house, but shifted focus to ultra-premium still wine production with the 1997 vintage. Artesa connotes "hand-crafted" in Catalan, the language of Barcelona and the winery's founder, Codorníu of Spain, the 450-year-old, family-owned sparkling wine giant. Codorníu owns several other still wine facilities, including Raimat, the largest single winemaking estate in Europe, Masia Bach, an historic Penedès property, and Bodegas Bilbainas, last of the original Rioja houses, purchased by Codorníu in 1997 and totally renovated. More recently, Codorníu bought 150 acres of vineyard in Spain's Ribero del Duero and acquired over 750 acres in the Mendoza province of Argentina, where it will plant new vineyards and construct a winery. Artesa released just over 8,000 cases of wine from the 1997 vintage in September, 1999, and sold out in six months. Two 1998 Chardonnays, from Carneros and Napa Valley, and three 1998 Pinot Noirs – Carneros, Russian River Valley and Santa Barbara County – were released in April, 2000. Artesa produces small lots of ultra-premium wine from outstanding vineyards in the foremost appellations for each variety.