Parallel Wine: The Taste of Skiing

ST. HELENA, CA, OCTOBER 2006…Fine wine and skiing have always been a great pairing for après ski and that combination has truly come to life with Parallel Wines (www.parallelwines.com). How about the gift of a surprise ski trip accompanied by a bottle of 2004 Parallel Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley – or perhaps just the wine itself to remind a dear one of great days on the slopes? Even if they’re not a skiing enthusiast, Parallel will still impress the most fussy gift recipient.

With this second release in time for the holidays, Parallel Wine is a Philippe Melka crafted Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with a distinctive, ski track design on its award-winning label (by CF Napa). Parallel Wine was conceived by close friends from Park City, who have been ski buddies for the past twenty years. The partners of Parallel Wines introduced their inaugural wine in 2005.

The second release, a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, will be officially introduced by Philippe Melka and the Parallel partners – Val and Steve Chin, Toni and Mike Doilney, Ann and Mac MacQuoid, and Paula and Joe Sargetakis - on November 9, 2006 in their hometown of Park City. Preview tastings have been featured at a number of fall fundraisers for the US Ski and Snowboard Association (www.ussa.org), which Parallel enthusiastically supports as well as the Family Winemakers Tasting in California.

Parallel Winemaker Philippe Melka, Food & Wine magazine’s 2005 Winemaker of the Year, describes the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley: “The wine exhibits a deep red cherry color. It has a flamboyant nose combines primary aromas of black raspberry, cassis, flint and vanilla. Suave and sweet, the mouthfeel is impressive with very good concentration of red fruits, currant and plum. The various flavors are well integrated together framed by good acidity. The wine has great backbone and will age very well.”

Parallel’s 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is priced at $48.50 per 750 ml bottle. Melka and vineyard manager Jim Barbour – generally known for their higher priced offerings - have collaborated on a Parallel wine that is both affordable and available to the general public. According to Melka, “This wine is distinctive and reflects a sense of harmony and sophistication.”

Parallel Wines are currently available in the partner’s home state of Utah and the Intermountain West, where it’s sold in ski area wine shops, restaurants and resorts, as well as in fine wine shops and restaurants in California, New Jersey, and New York. Parallel is also available online for shipment where legal at www.parallelwines.com. To sign up for the mailing lists, to learn more about Parallel and where to find it, visit www.parallelwines.com.

Editors contact Kimberly Charles of Charles Communications Associates at (415) 701 9463 or
kcharles@charlescomm.com or Susan Holden Walsh, Charles Communications/Colorado at (303) 449.2526 or sholdenwalsh@charlescomm.com. Photos are available upon request.

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