Wine Road Goes Green-er Summer 2008

FOR:              RUSSIAN RIVER WINE ROAD            FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                        Beth Costa, Executive Director                   

498 Moore Lane, Suite B/ P.O. Box 46

Healdsburg, CA 95488

www.wineroad.com

CONTACT: WAGSTAFF WORLDWIDE

                        Ashley E. Rodgers

                        323.871.1151 ext. 119 office

RUSSIAN RIVER WINE ROAD IS ‘GREENING’ UP ITS ACT!

The vintners association announces new protocols  

to lessen its ecological footprint

(Healdsburg, CA; July 16, 2008)—Change is afoot at the Russian River Wine Road with the announcement of plans to significantly reduce its environmental impact. The waste accumulated preparing for and during its three annual events—Winter Wineland, Barrel Tasting, and A Wine and Food Affair—amounts to over 100k plastic bottles and 80k printed invitations, and over the next year it will be reduced to none.

Starting on November 1, 2008 with A Wine and Food Affair, the organization will implement the following waste reduction program in an effort to minimize the use of plastic and paper. First, it will reduce plastics consumption by providing Calistoga drinking water from refillable, large format water containers where guests can dispense water directly into their reusable wine glass included in the ticket price. “We’re looking at our surroundings and trying to see ways that we can make sure our environmental impact is positive. Our members are longtime stewards of this land and we feel our events should reflect their ideologies and our shared belief in conservation,” says Beth Costa, Executive Director, Russian River Wine Road.  These water containers are reusable and will be returned to Calistoga at the close of the event, reducing its refuse by over 100k plastic water bottles per year.

To reduce paper consumption, it will no longer print and mail special event invitations to its database which will significantly reduce the amount of paper consumed in sending out print invitations.  Instead, it will use its web site and various online avenues to contact its guest’s, soliciting attendees and responses through e-invitations.  It also will no longer print and mail tickets to its events throughout the year; guests can simply order their tickets online and print an electronic ticket. Detailed event programs will be available at www.wineroad.com in a PDF format, which can be printed out in advance or guests can pick up a copy upon arrival.

About the Russian River Wine Road

The Russian River Wine Road is an association of 150 wineries and 50 lodgings throughout the Alexander, Dry Creek, Russian River, Chalk Hill, and Green valleys in Northwest Sonoma County, a stunning landscape dotted with wineries and picturesque towns. The grandeur of the Pacific Ocean and towering redwoods lead you inland along quiet country roads only one hour north of San Francisco. And…there is always something going on along the “Wine Road” with year-round winery events, exciting new releases of wine and much more. For more information or to request a free map contact Beth Costa at 800.723.6336 or email info@wineroad.com. Please visit the website at www.wineroad.com.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT WAGSTAFF WORLDWIDE AT 323.871.1151