moose media :: moose art :: praise for the moose

For Immediate Release: September 8, 2005

NEW BRAND FROM
CANANDAIGUA OFFERS UNMOOSETAKABLY GOOD WINES

Wine lovers likely to fall head over hooves for 3 blind moose

Canandaigua, NY - Three hip-looking moose in dark shades sip wine in an intimate barrel room. An episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famoose? No, it's the label of a new wine brand from Canandaigua Wine Company: 3 blind moose.

The charismatic moosters of wine begin appearing this month on store shelves, offering adventurous wine consumers three moosively appealing, super-premium California wines - Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon - packaged with a dash of whimsy. All three are vintage-dated blends of choice grapes from California's Central Coast and Lodi winegrowing regions and have a suggested retail price of $9.99 per 750 ml bottle.

3 blind moose joins the rapidly growing 'non-traditional' segment of the U.S. wine market, which now represents over 25% of all super-premium table wine sales. These 'adventure' wines appeal especially to 25-to-34-year-old wine consumers attracted to brands with memorable names and labels - brands that make wine fun rather than stuffy. Such consumers increasingly are embracing wine as part of their lifestyle, significantly boosting per capita wine consumption in the U.S.

"The wine industry has discovered that 25-to-34-year-olds are actually more willing than 35-to-54-year-olds to pay premium and super-premium wine prices," says Canandaigua Vice-President of Marketing Gary Glass. "However, they eschew traditional wine pomp and formality in favor of brands that take a casual, gently irreverent approach to wine. These consumers are a natural audience for 3 blind moose."

Canandaigua Marketing Director Mark Feinberg also has good reasons to believe wine shoppers will vamoose with the moose. Feinberg supervised research that demonstrated strong enthusiasm for 3 blind moose among non-traditional wine consumers. "People repeatedly described the name and label as 'fun,' 'clever,' 'memorable,' 'new' and 'different'" he says. "They loved the label's bright, bold yellow color, its casual, approachable personality, and its evocation of the camaraderie wine engenders among friends, which really is what 3 blind moose is all about."

Of course, a clever brand name and package go for naught if the wine in the bottle doesn't meet the high standards of today's discerning super-premium wine consumers. 3 blind moose Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are fresh, smooth, fruit-forward wines styled to complement the diverse range of casual cuisines favored by those consumers. They're great values in the hot $8-$10 price category.

America's leading retailers apparently agree. 3 blind moose wines have been authorized by major retail chains such as Food Lion, Safeway (northern California), Fred Meyer, Kroger (Virginia), Beverages & More, Hannaford's, Schnucks, Dierbeg's, Bashas (Arizona), Meijer and Harris Teeter.

"We've got delicious wine in the bottle, a memorable brand name, and a crowd-pleasing label," muses Mark Feinberg. "I'm betting my snazziest dark shades that wine lovers fall head over hooves for 3 blind moose."

Canandaigua Wine Company is the popular-priced and premium wine producer of Constellation Wines U.S., which is part of Constellation Wines, the world's largest wine business, an operating division of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B) ("CBI"). Constellation Wines U.S. encompasses three of CBI's U.S. wine businesses: Canandaigua Wine Company, Pacific Wine Partners, and North Lake Wines. Leading brands include Alice White, Arbor Mist, Cook's, Covey Run, Inglenook, Robert Mondavi Private Selection, Talus Collection, Vendange, and Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi.