White Rocket Wine Company Releases Second Vintage of Award-Winning Silver Palm Cabernet Sauvignon

Business Wire, June 22, 2009

Elegantly Designed Wine Brand Delivers Luxurious Quality at an Affordable Price

NAPA, Calif. -- White Rocket Wine Company has introduced the follow-up to its wildly successful first vintage of Silver Palm Cabernet Sauvignon, a sumptuous blend primarily of Napa Valley and Sonoma County grapes designed exclusively for service on-premise. Silver Palm’s debut Cabernet Sauvignon, from the outstanding 2005 vintage, was launched in July, 2008 and became an instant critical and commercial success, earning a slew of accolades, including a Gold Medal at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. And the 2006 vintage is on the same track winning Gold Medals at both the Taster’s Guild International Wine Competition in April 2009 and The International Eastern Wine Competition May 2009.

The grapes for Silver Palm Cabernet Sauvignon are grown exclusively in California’s North Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA), which encompasses Napa and Sonoma valleys. Profoundly influenced by cool coastal air and fog from the Pacific Ocean, the North Coast AVA boasts a wealth of temperate microclimates ideal for the cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2006, Silver Palm’s largest lots of fruit came from Napa Valley’s famed Rutherford district and Sonoma County’s heralded Alexander Valley. An excellent vintage in California for red Bordeaux varieties, 2006 began with a wet winter and early spring, which delayed bud break and led to a late flowering of the vines. Cooler-than-normal summer temperatures extended the growing season, allowing the grapes extra time on the vine to develop intense fruit flavors balanced by fresh acidity.

Similar in style, structure and mouthfeel to Silver Palm’s award-winning 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 vintage offers complex, seductive scents of ripe blackberry, roasted coffee, dark chocolate and cinnamon. On the seamless, mouthfilling palate, the wine’s lavish dark fruit flavors are enriched by savory coffee, chocolate and vanilla tones from 12 months’ aging in 77% French and 23% American oak barrels. Its smooth, luxurious finish makes it an ideal companion to grilled and broiled red meats.

Silver Palm Cabernet Sauvignon is hand-crafted by veteran winemaker Melissa Bates, who boasts over 20 years’ experience at leading Napa and Sonoma County wineries, such as Rutherford Hill and Sebastiani. Bates leverages her longstanding relationships with leading North Coast grape growers to source small lots of fruit from the finest Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards. She uses traditional and cutting-edge artisan winemaking techniques – warm fermentations in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks; extended macerations to soften tannins; and long-term aging in French and American oak barrels – to fashion a sumptuous, seamless, ready-to-drink Cabernet Sauvignon.

“With Silver Palm, I can indulge my passion for creating a delicious, immediately enjoyable cabernet sauvignon that greatly enhances the dining experience,” Bates says. “People in the trade know that first impressions are extremely important in the enjoyment of wine, especially on-premise. Silver Palm makes an ideal first impression, both in its visual presentation on the table and in its supple, delicious first sip, which invites another sip and bite of food. It truly is a Cabernet Sauvignon to be savored on-premise.”

The superior quality of Silver Palm is matched by its stunning package, which makes a dramatic impression on the table. It features a tall antique green bottle, with deep punt, that feels wonderfully luxurious in the hand. The elegant, silk-screened label, with platinum detailing, depicts palm fronds rising from a slender ‘trunk’ comprised of the vertically aligned Silver Palm name. A premium natural cork, dressed in a shiny silver capsule, evokes the elegance and romantic ritual diners associate with the finest wines.

“The bottle wows consumers from the moment it hits the table,” says White Rocket vice-president of marketing Mark Feinberg. “It says, ‘This is a very special wine’. The look and feel is contemporary, classy and authentic, designed to appeal both to older, established wine drinkers and to younger, more experimentally-inclined consumers. The quality message is conveyed by our use of platinum detailing, which mirrors the obsessive attention to detail that Melissa Bates brings to the crafting of the wine. The fact that Silver Palm is available exclusively on-premise makes it even more special.”

“With Silver Palm, we’ve gone the extra mile to ensure maximum quality in the wine, the package and the marketing materials,” states Gary Glass, president of White Rocket Wine Company. “It’s a brand that truly confirms the old adage that beauty is in the details.”