Terlato Adds Mischief and Mayhem to Luxury Portfolio

TWI to Market Wines of Young, Dynamic Burgundy Negociant

LAKE BLUFF, Ill., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- William A. Terlato, President and Chief Executive Officer of Terlato Wines International, today announced an exclusive, long-term marketing agreement with Mischief and Mayhem, adding the iconoclastic Burgundy producer to the company's industry-leading luxury portfolio.

Mischief and Mayhem is a partnership between Burgundy-based wine negociant Michael L. Ragg and Michael Twelftree, of the renowned Australian winery Two Hands. In 2005, the longtime friends with a shared passion for Burgundy set out to produce world-class wines from the classic home of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, intended for a new generation of wine lovers.

"Mischief and Mayhem has broken new ground with visionary marketing and packaging, demystifying for consumers what has traditionally been an extremely complex region," Terlato said. "They share our recognition that a significant and growing number of consumers -- no less passionate than previous generations of wine lovers -- want to experience great wines in a simple and approachable fashion."

To that end, all Mischief and Mayhem wines highlight the grape variety of the wine on the front label, display a contemporary graphic style and use a back label written in English detailing vineyard sites, vine ages and winemaking protocol. In its short history, the wines have received outstanding critical acclaim from media and the public alike.

"If we can produce great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Burgundy, yet at the same time provide guidance and information that makes the wines a little easier to select, understand and enjoy," Ragg said, "then Mischief and Mayhem will be doing what we intended it to do."

Mischief and Mayhem makes wines from a broad range of vineyard sites throughout the Cote d'Or and Chablis, giving it the flexibility to focus on the vineyards and grapes that have performed best in a given year. The portfolio includes core value wines as well as Premier and Grand Cru wines. The wines will be sold through Terlato's Premier Selections division.

Between them Ragg and Twelftree bring more than three decades of combined tasting experience to the Mischief and Mayhem selection process, experience gained throughout the wine world with Ragg's many years dealing with the classic wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhone and Port, and Twelftree's continuing duties making the Two Hands wines.

"We respect the tradition and history of this great region, but it is time for the Old World to acknowledge that history is just that -- history," Twelftree said. "How often do you hear people in wine stores scared off by French labeling? Too often, in my experience. By utilizing modern, relevant packaging and producing a range of classic but approachable wines we are opening up the region to a new generation of consumers."

Ragg lives in Aloxe-Corton with his wife, Fiona, and Twelftree makes frequent visits to the region. Throughout the growing season the men walk all of the vineyards from which they source fruit, checking on vineyard health and vine development. They taste hundreds of base wines from barrel every year and the selections for Mischief and Mayhem are determined against rigorous criteria, governed throughout by quality and value. In addition, all Mischief and Mayhem wines must be terroir-specific, reflecting the true characteristics of their respective vineyard sites.

"The Terlato family is the perfect U.S. partner for Mischief and Mayhem," Ragg said. "They understand the market is dynamic and evolving and that a brand like ours has an opportunity to reach a public that might never have purchased wine from Burgundy."

Terlato Wines International has a global portfolio of more than 40 brands from a host of world-class wine producers and presently markets more than one out of eight bottles of wine over $14 sold in America. Terlato, with more 90+ ratings than any wine company in the world, is the flagship company of the Terlato Wine Group, the parent company of several independent businesses specializing in the marketing and production of exceptional wines. Owned and operated by the Terlato family, the Group also includes the family's winery investments and partnerships in some of the world's most esteemed wine regions, including: Napa Valley; Sonoma County; Santa Barbara County; Victoria, Australia; France's Rhone Valley; and Somontano in Spain.

The Terlato Wines International portfolio of brands includes: Napa Valley: Brandlin, Chimney Rock, Cuvaison Estate Wines, Luke Donald Collection, Markham Vineyards, Rutherford Hill, Tangley Oaks and Terlato Family Vineyards; Sonoma County: Alderbrook, Hanna, Rochioli and Terlato Family Vineyards; Santa Barbara County: Sanford and Tangley Oaks; California Appellation: Glass Mountain and Seven Daughters; Oregon: Argyle and Sokol Blosser; Italy: Baglio di Pianetto, Ca' del Bosco, Ca' Marcanda (Gaja Toscana), Florio Martinez Marsala, Gaja, Il Poggione, Kettmeir, Santa Margherita, Tiramisu, Torresella and Distillatori Nonino (Grappa); France: Champagne Bollinger, M. Chapoutier, Chateau des Laurets (Rothschild), Domaine Chanson, Domaine Louis Moreau, Josmeyer, Langlois-Chateau and Mischief and Mayhem; Australia: Branson Coach House, Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier, Domaine Tournon and Two Hands; Argentina: Tamari; Canada: Peller Estates Icewine; Greece: Boutari; New Zealand: Wairau River; South Africa: Cirrus, Guardian Peak, Engelbrecht-Els, Ernie Els Signature and Rust En Vrede; Spain: Olvena; Switzerland: Xellent Swiss Vodka. For more information, visit http://www.terlatowines.com/.

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Source: Terlato Wines International

CONTACT: Mary Anne Sullivan, +1-201-659-4712, ext. 402,
sullivanma@terlatowines.com, or Pete Danko, +1-503-432-8693,
dankop@terlatowines.com, both of Terlato Wines International

Web site: http://www.terlatowines.com/

2008-04-15 19:40:29 0336896 PRNEWSWIRE