Fresno State Winery Creates New Wine For
National Retailer
Trader Joe's will debut new creation and
two others wines June 21 in Valley stores
(June 20, 2007) - The award-winning Fresno
State Winery announced today the addition
of three wines at select Trader Joe's locations
around the San Joaquin Valley, including
a first: a new wine bottled especially for
the national chain.
The
new release, the Special Selection Merlot,
will be presented to Trader Joe's representatives
during a special presentation at 8:30 a.m.
on Thursday (June 21) at the Fresno store
at 5376 N. Blackstone (southeast corner
of Barstow). The store will open at 9 a.m.
for the first sales of the newly released
wines.
Also
featured will be the 2006 San Joaquin County
Pinot Gris from Duarte Vineyards, bronze-medal
winner at the 2007 San Diego Wine Competition,
and a special last-of-vintage release of
Fresno State's award winning Rhone-blend,
Eclipse. (Eclipse2, the second installment
of this award-winning product line will
be released later in the summer at Trader
Joe's).
Fresno
State has the only winery on a university
campus in the nation licensed to bottle
and sell its student-produced wines.
Trader
Joe's began carrying Fresno State's student-made
wines in its two local stores in Fresno
and Clovis in January 2005. Based on the
success of the original wine, Trader Joe's
agreed to carry three new wines.
Trader
Joe's also has expanded sales of Fresno
State wines to its retail location in Modesto
at 3250 Dale Road, said Jessup Wiley, marketing
director for the Fresno State Winery. The
other local store is in Clovis at 1077 N.
Willow (southeast corner of Nees).
"The
unique part of this new release is the Special
Selection Merlot," Wiley said. "It
is the first time that the student-winemakers
have put together a wine for a specific
retailer exclusively and we are excited
about the experience our students received
from this project."
Fresno
State winemaker John Giannini said the Special
Selection Merlot is an example of how the
academic missions of the university as well
as the College of Agricultural Sciences
and Technology and its Viticulture and Enology
Department can be carried out in partnerships
with major private retailers.
"It
is increasingly important for our students
to make many different styles of wine,"
Giannini said. "When we came up with
the idea to make a special wine for a specific
retailer we were very excited about the
educational implications this had. The education
we strive to give our students is one filled
with hands-on application and real world
situations. This project gave them exactly
this."
Student-winemakers
used Fresno State's classic award-winning
style to produce the special selection,
said Ken Fugelsang, Fresno State's Winemaster.
"This
Special Selection Merlot is a medium-bodied
wine that has abundant aromas of dark fruits,
plum, and herbs," Fugelsang said. "This
is rounded out nicely with the sweet spice
character that was brought on by aging in
American oak barrels."
In
2005, the original two Fresno State wines
stocked by Trader Joe's were the gold medal-winning
2002 Syrah and a Special Selection California
Chardonnay.
"The
relationship between Fresno State and Trader
Joe's is just another example of the exceptional
products being produced by our student-winemakers
using grapes sourced from the San Joaquin
Valley," Wiley said. "It also
exemplifies the success that Fresno State
wines are enjoying in retail markets off-campus."
Fresno
State wines have won more than 200 medals
in prestigious wine competitions, statewide,
nationally and internationally. They have
been featured in Sunset Magazine, the Los
Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle
Wine Magazine and on an ESPN telecast during
a Bulldogs football game.
For
more information on the university winery,
call 559.278.WINE.
California
State University, Fresno is the largest
institution of higher education in Central
California and has a growing reputation
as one of the West Coast's premier universities.
Founded in 1911, Fresno State has earned
national acclaim for programs in teacher-preparation,
health care, water technology, winemaking,
entrepreneurship and the Classics. Guided
by a distinguished faculty, our 22,000 students
receive the academic, practical and leadership
skills to meet the dynamic challenges of
today and the future in the global community.
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