Eli Parker of Epiphany Cellars named 2006 Andre Tchelistcheff Winemaker of the Year Parker Family Sweeps 2006 San Francisco International Wine Competition

San Francisco, CA; July 13, 2006 – The San Francisco International Wine Competition—the largest and most prestigious wine competition in America— took place at Hotel Nikko June 23-25th. The annual event received over three thousand entries from the around the world, but Fess Parker Winery and Epiphany Cellars truly stole the show. As a result of this achievement, Eli Parker, President of the Fess Parker Winery and Director of Winemaking Operations and creator of Epiphany Cellars, was distinguished as Andre Tchelistcheff Winemaker of the Year. Tchelistcheff, one of America’s most influential winemakers, came to the United States in 1938 to work for Beaulieu Vineyards. He went on to profoundly affect the winemaking industry by introducing new techniques and helped develop the infant winemaking regions of Carneros, California, Oregon, and Washington.

Forty-two wines out of the over three thousand made it to the sweepstakes and three of those were wines from Epiphany Cellars and Fess Parker Winery, both owned by the Fess Parker Family. The Fess Parker 2003 Syrah from Rodney’s Vineyard won Best Syrah, while Epiphany Cellars 2005 Grenache Blanc, Camp 4 Vineyard won Best of Show-White Wine and the 2003 Epiphany Cellars Revelation won Double Gold, making it all the way to sweepstakes for the Rhone Blend category.

When asked about this great honor, Eli Parker stated, “After 17 years it is nice to finally be an overnight success. It just goes to show you that a commitment to quality will pay off in the end. This is a real honor for me and I want to share it with my winemaking team of Blair Fox and Mikael Sigouin, they are two terrific winemaking talents. As for Epiphany Cellars, it has been a personal labor of love for me for years, a place to explore some of my favorite grape varieties in small lots. I’m honored to be recognized with an award inspired by a great winemaker, Andre Tchelistcheff.”

About Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard:
The Parker family has a lot to be proud of. Seventeen years ago, Fess Parker, famous for his role as Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett in the 1950’s, and his son Eli planted a small vineyard in Santa Barbara County. Originally intending to sell their fruit to local producers, the Fess Parker Winery subsequently expanded from its initial 5 ½ acres home property to 600 acres in several key vineyards throughout the Santa Barbara County area including Santa Rita Hills, and Santa Ynez Valley where their home and Camp 4 vineyards are located. These prestigious awards garnered by the Parkers adequately acknowledge the passion and hard work of a tight-knit family run winery.
The winery is run by Fess Parker’s son, Eli Parker as President, Director of Winery and Vineyard Operations, daughter Ashley Parker Snider as VP of Marketing and Public Relations, and son-in-law Tim Snider who is the winery’s General Manager and Vice President of Sales and Marketing. www.fessparker.com

About Epiphany Cellars:
After years of enology and viticulture classes as well as apprenticeships, Eli Parker took his fascination with winemaking outside the Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard and created Epiphany Cellars. Eli crafts his wine from the phenomenal grapes harvested throughout Santa Barbara County. Most Epiphany wines are created from a single vineyard, while other wines, such as the 2003 Revelation—Double Gold winner, are blends from three different vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley. Epiphany’s portfolio features an array of wines including Grenache Blanc, Grenache Rose, Roussanne, Pinot Gris Petite Sirah, and Grenache and Syrah Blends. www.epiphanycellars.com

About the San Francisco International Wine Competition:
The competition, established in 1981 under the direction of wine and food authority, Anthony Dias Blue, has evolved over the years to be one of the most important and comprehensive wine competitions in the world, both for the number of wines entered and the high level of expertise among the over 35 judges—this year the competition received submissions from over 1,000 wineries hailing from19 different countries. www.sfwinecomp.com

For photos and artwork please contact Lauren Davis at 415 777 9464 or ldavis@charlescomm.com or visit http://www.charlescomm.com/clients/fess_parker.html

# # #