Sonoma County, CA Wine Country, June 12, 2005 – WINE BOOT CAMP® challenges recruits to dive into wine by rolling up their sleeves and plunging into winegrowing and winemaking. A 12-hour intense wine-encounter, WINE BOOT CAMP® begins in the vineyard tending vines and ends in the winery blending and bottling.

WINE BOOT CAMP® 2005 will conduct a harvest mission in the Dry Creek Valley appellation of Sonoma County on September 24, 2005. Wine lovers will work hands-on in the vineyards harvesting grapes at Forth Vineyards under the guidance of owners, Jann and Gerry Forth. The mission will continue with a fabulous cellar experience at Peterson Winery under the tutelage of owner and winemaker Fred Peterson. Recruits will have the opportunity to blend a bottle of wine from the wonderful wines in barrel at Peterson Winery. Wine workshops and tastings of outstanding wines are an integral part of the program.

Conducted by AFFAIRS of the VINE, WINE BOOT CAMP® is a challenge to the senses, awareness, and understanding of fine wines. An intensive, highly enjoyable one-day training program, WINE BOOT CAMP® provides the experience and knowledge needed to become totally confident in the appreciation and enjoyment of fine wine. Business associates and friends will marvel at the leadership of “Camp” graduates as they storm the wine lists of America and the world.

DRY CREEK VALLEY

Dry Creek Valley 's history of grape growing and winemaking is among the longest in California. The region's national reputation for wine may be modern, but the roots of Dry Creek Valley quality go back more than 125 years, to the first vineyard established in 1870. Dry Creek Valley was among the first regions to receive formal recognition as an American Viticultural Area in 1983, enabling local wineries to put the Dry Creek Valley appellation on their labels. Nearly 6,000 acres of vineyards now carpet the valley, providing exceptional fruit to more than 25 wineries. Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc continue to be the region's best known wines, but Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc from Dry Creek Valley have each established reputations for distinctive quality.

The beauty of Dry Creek Valley is unmistakable. Lush vineyards extend from the valley floor to the hills and the blend of climate, soil and exposure produces grapes of stellar quality and character.

FORTH VINEYARDS

Jann and Gerry Forth are loving and passionate about their vineyard and about life. Listening to them describe the vineyard experience is poetry. “Year after year the vineyard around us celebrates the timeless cycle of life . . . the glories of the harvest, the silent mysteries of dormancy, the wonder of regeneration. Each day we observe and participate in this life . . . carefully watching, nurturing, guiding, waiting . . . all in the patient search for balance, in the quiet hope of perfection.

What we do or do not do as we work among the vines and in the cellar become palpable, perceptible in all that we produce. And it is the blending of these labors with the elements that surround us . . . the brilliant starry nights and frosted mornings, the driving rainstorms and summer sunrises, the soft morning fog melting into sun-washed afternoons . . . that gives expression to each vintage, each bottle, and each experience.

As you pull the cork and pour the wine, as you cradle the ruby glass in your hand and recall what the year of vintage held for you, as you breathe the fragrance and taste the nectar . . . you become a participant with us. Together we become partners in this intimate and wondrous journey . . . fellow partakers of the beauty, the joy, the mystery of wine.”

As Jann tells the story, “The seduction began over twenty years ago . . . a rare week for the two of us to spend time together unwinding and exploring . . . driving whenever, wherever, as far as our time would allow. This nomadic trek would lead us, as if by way of destiny, to California wine country.

Our early morning walks in nearby vineyards seemed harmless enough. But the flirtation had begun. As the years passed, we found ourselves returning again and again to this idyllic place, yielding, in particular, to the alluring call of the Dry Creek Valley.

As the relationship grew into romance, we happened upon a rare piece of property—a broken down old ranch with just the right combination of rough, rocky soil and sunshine to produce magnificent red wines. Resistance was futile. It was love at first sight.

And so, to the farewell serenade of ‘Green Acres’ by our city friends, Gerry traded in his board seat for a tractor seat and I exchanged Ann Taylor suits for overalls.

We had found a land of promise . . . or it found us. And together we share its gifts with you.”

Forth Vineyards is comprised of ten acres of sun-washed, rolling hills on in the Dry Creek Valley. Six acres of Cabernet vines are divided into three main blocks bearing the names of the Forth children--Rebecca, Joshua and Benjamin.

Rebecca’s Vineyard consists of rough, rocky, sun-washed terraces which, in spite of the struggle they face, produce exquisite, complex fruit. Low yields and small berries assure deep color and exotic, intense flavors.

Joshua’s Vineyard is situated in the center of the Cabernet blocks, most fitting for the middle child. And like a middle child, it is a sweet and easy rolling piece of land, with well-behaved vines that consistently produce luscious, evenly ripened clusters that bring depth and character to the blend.

Benjamin’s Vineyard is located on an opposite hillside with a combination of hot, dry spaces where the vines must fight for what they need, and deeply rooted, well-watered vines that march to the beat of their own drum when it comes to ripening. In the drier areas, the fruit offers a bright, sweet timbre, while the more verdant vines produce a range of deep, mysterious flavors.

Like children, each block of Cabernet is unique unto itself. The fruit from each vineyard is harvested and often fermented and barreled separately, providing the Forth’s with extraordinary components for creating the final blend.

La Rousse Vineyard (“the redhead” aka Jann) is the name of the Syrah vineyard. The Syrah vines, unlike the meticulous Cabernet, have a tendency to grow in a rather wild and exuberant manner, hence, Gerry’s choice of a name for this vineyard. It should be noted that the Syrah it produces is deep and dark, rich and spicy and all-around dynamite! So what if these vines have a mind of their own! It’s the delectable outcome in the bottle that counts!

PETERSON WINERY

Peterson Winery is located in the Dry Creek Valley, in the northwest region of Sonoma County just off Lytton Springs Road, north of Healdsburg, California. You will recognize Peterson Winery by the large red barn at the end of a vineyard-lined road.

Peterson Winery grew out of the vineyards that now supply them with grapes. That may seem unusual, but Fred Peterson is not just in winemaking but it is also in grape growing. Fred refers to himself as a winegrower. For Fred, making great wine is about the grapes -- where and how they were grown, what the weather conditions were and how the vineyards were managed during the growing season.

Peterson came to Dry Creek Valley in 1983, working with partner, Bill Hambrecht, to find and develop world-class vineyard properties. They were excited to be able to select ideal vineyard locations and then plant the appropriate grape variety and clone for that growing region. Once the vineyards came into production, they had amazing fruit being produced in their Dry Creek Valley vineyards. The next step was a natural one. As Fred says, “He wanted to make wine from the fruits of my labor. (Sorry about the pun, it was too good to pass up.)”

In 1987, all the pieces fell into place and Peterson Winery was born. Peterson Winery now produces 4000 cases annually, mostly in small lots.

The grapes for Peterson wines are grown in small, traditionally farmed vineyards primarily in the Dry Creek Valley. Though each vintage varies from year to year due to weather factors, the vineyard locations remain the same. And since all Peterson wines originate from the same small plantings, there is a true consistency of place that is reflected in their wines.

Fred is a winemaker extraordinaire producing beautifully balanced wines. His goal for Peterson Winery and himself is a simple one, he explains, “To craft better and better wines each year. I think that each year the experience of the proceeding vintages gives us more confidence and more insight. I am pleased with the wines we are producing, but I know that as vines mature and our knowledge continues to grow, we can craft better and better wines every year.”

Fred’s Philosophy: Making great wines is all about balance. It starts in the vineyards, where we try to achieve a balance from bud break in the spring until the grapes are picked in the fall. Balancing the canopy, the crop load, the sun exposure, the hang time and a few hundred other details of managing a vineyard.

Once the grapes are picked, it is then the winemaker ’s responsibility to continue the balancing act in the cellar. You also need to consider all the variables that Mother Nature gave us during the growing season because they affect the grape s and the approach to winemaking for that vintage. If you keep a good handle on the growing conditions of the season, you have fewer preconceived notions of what the grapes should taste like because you’ve already been dealing with all the realities of that vintage.

With the winemaking underway, now the balance becomes questions like how much oak to achieve the proper intensity in the wine or what type of oak best enhances the flavors in this wine.

At Peterson Winery we practice the philosophy of Zero Manipulation. Our definition of Zero Manipulation is using the gentlest winemaking techniques possible to maximize flavors, aromatics and the original essence of the wine. The less you do in the course of a wine ’s tenure in the cellar, the more of that essence you’ll have to bottle. Every time you do something to a wine, you take out a little of what you started with.

Great wine has to be about place. Place in wine is only achieved if the bottled wine reflects where the grapes were grown. When you taste a Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel or a Bradford Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and you know where that wine originated, then the essence of place has been captured. My goal is that every vintage captures that sense of place in every wine we produce.

Continuity is important to Peterson Winery too. The staff has worked together for a long time. James worked at the winery for seven years before he was given the title of Assistant Winemaker but he’s working out just fine. He earned his title and could undoubtedly get a job at any number of wineries but James Peterson is going to continue to work with his dad.

The cost of WINE BOOT CAMP® includes all seminars and educational materials, lunch in the vineyard, dinner paired with appropriate wines, extensive wine tasting, a bottle of wine created by the recruit, transportation to all food and wine events, a WINE BOOT CAMP®” cap, and an “I Survived WINE BOOT CAMP®” T-shirt. Enlistment is $395 per person. Raw recruits and wine generals alike may attend WINE BOOT CAMP®. To enlist in WINE BOOT CAMP® contact Major Drady at 707-874-1975 or camp@affairsofthevine.com.

Enlist Today!!!

For additional information visit www.WineBootCamp.com

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696 Elliott Lane ~ Sebastopol, California 95472

Tel: 707-874-1975 ~ Fax: 707-874-9226 ~ camp@affairsofthevine.com ~ www.affairsofthevine.com