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March 28, 2006
Pepperwood Grove and Smoking Loon Win Impact Hot Brand Awards for 2005
Pepperwood Grove and Smoking Loon, top performers in the Three Loose Screws 
Wine Company division of Don Sebastiani & Sons International Wine Negociants, have won Impact Hot Brand Awards for 2005 from Impact Magazine, the leading source for exclusive data on the alcoholic beverage industry in the United States and internationally.
It is the fifth time that Pepperwood Grove has won the award and the third consecutive year that Smoking Loon has been so honored.
"Recognitions such as this are a good opportunity to highlight all of the hard work our dedicated employees put in all year long," said Don Sebastiani, Jr., Marketing Director. "We're very proud to be singled out in this very competitive industry."
Only 22 domestic wines received Impact Hot Brand Awards out of a total of 70 wine and spirits winners industry-wide. To win the award, a brand must increase sales a minimum of 15% over the previous year, must have experienced double-digit growth in all three preceding years and must sell a minimum of 250,000 cases annually.
By winning honors in 2005 for Pepperwood Grove and Smoking Loon, proprietor Don Sebastiani has now won 23 Hot Brand Awards and has had at least one brand on the winning list for 14 straight years. Other brands that won while under Sebastiani's stewardship include Vendange (nine awards), Talus (four awards), and Nathanson Creek (two awards). Vendange's winning streak of nine consecutive years from 1991 through 1999 is a record for a domestic wine.
Pepperwood Grove was established in 1991 by Don Sebastiani and his brother-in-law, Roy Cecchetti. Don Sebastiani & Sons acquired Cecchetti's interest in the brand in 2003. The company reports that sales of Pepperwood Grove jumped 41% in 2005. Smoking Loon was first released in 2001, shortly after Don Sebastiani & Sons was founded. Sales of Smoking Loon were up 40% in 2005. Overall, the entire wine portfolio of the company's two divisions -- Three Loose Screws Wine Company and The Other Guys -- increased its performance by 35% in 2005, growing to 1.4 million cases.
Don Sebastiani & Sons is a family-owned wine negociant firm specializing in the marketing of upscale, but moderately priced varietal wines. Principals Don Sebastiani and sons, Donny and August, are third and fourth generation California vintners and merchants. The company is headquartered in Sonoma Valley and has a winery in the Napa Valley. Don Sebastiani & Sons markets two separate portfolios, the Three Loose Screws Wine Company and The Other Guys. Don & Sons was recently named American Winery of the Year for 2005 by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, as well as Winery of the Year for 2005 by Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, a leading wine industry consulting firm.
Contacts
Don Sebastiani & Sons
Jim Knapp, 707-933-1704 ext. 200
jknapp@donandsons.com
Source: Press Release; “Pepperwood Grove and Smoking Loon Win Impact Hot Brand Awards for 2005,” SONOMA, California, March 16, 2006
Posted by fortna at March 28, 2006 01:21 PM
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