Canandaigua Wine Launches New "CORK" Program
Trains Waitstaff on Wine Education and Service in 60 Minutes  
Master Sommelier Doug Frost and Canandaigua Wine's John Blesse 
Demonstrate That Wine Service Can Be Easy and Enjoyable

Canandaigua, NY (August 26, 2002) -- Unlocking the potential of on-premise wine sales begins with knowledgeable, trained waitstaff who are comfortable with wine. This can be a stumbling block for restaurateurs who have limited resources to devote to waitstaff wine education and training, despite the potential that wine sales have for their overall business revenues.

Coming to the aid of restaurateurs and on-premise establishments is Canandaigua Wine's new CORK program. Designed for today's fast-paced restaurant operations, CORK is compact and comprehensive with everything needed to train waitstaff about wine service. This includes information on how to sell, open and pour, taste and pair wine with food. In only 60 minutes, waitstaff can go through the entire CORK program and gain knowledge and confidence with wine sales and service.

CORK, which stands for Canandaigua On-Premise Resource & Knowledge, has served as a great tool for restaurateurs over the years. The newly revamped CORK kit includes a program book, server pocket reference card, video and searchable CD-rom. 

About the Video

A special feature of CORK is the video, narrated by Doug Frost, one of only three people worldwide who is both a Master Sommelier and Master of Wine, and Canandaigua Wine's Premium Wine Specialist Director John Blesse.

The video answers the common questions that waitstaff have and its hosts, Doug and John, play an important role as wine educators and trainers. In producing the video, Canandaigua Wine partnered with the perfect co-host in Doug Frost. Frost, author of On Wine and Uncorking Wine, has extraordinary credentials and training and a friendly, accessible personality. Besides his background in wine, Frost has written for many publications, judges wine competitions and is a sought-after guest speaker and lecturer.

"We are thrilled to have someone of Doug's caliber collaborate with us on CORK," said John Heinz, Canandaigua Wine's Vice President of National Accounts and On-premise Sales. "Doug and John do a great job explaining the basics about wine and wine service, and CORK supports restaurant training needs with a one-hour program that's easy to use. All you need is a bottle of wine, a corkscrew and the video or CD."

Video co-host John Blesse also leads Canandaigua Wine's Premium Wine Specialist team. The Premium Wine Specialists, all professionals with superior wine knowledge, support the initiatives of the premium and import wine segment as it relates to Canandaigua Wine's overall business, including on-premise sales. "Our intention was to make the video conversational and easy to relate to for servers," said John Blesse. Frost added, "Working on CORK was a great way for me to reach a lot of people who might be new to wine -- or not all that confident -- to give them the confidence they need. This program helps remove barriers to ordering, selling and serving wine."

Introducing CORK

In August, Canandaigua Wine's Premium Wine Specialists, On-premise District Managers and Sales Managers began introducing the CORK program to the company's 450-member distributor network. More information on CORK is available on-line at www.cwine.com in the "Our Brands" section or restaurateurs can learn more about this convenient wine education and selling tool by calling 1-800-474-CORK.

"CORK is well suited to a variety of on-premise venues," says John Heinz. "From content to design, CORK is ideal for casual dining where our quality wines for the enjoyment of everyday life are always a perfect fit. It will also complement wine training and education in fine dining establishments where our premium wines may be offered by the glass or bottle."

About Canandaigua Wine

Canandaigua Wine, a division of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ, STZ.B), is the second largest wine company in the United States. Canandaigua Wine satisfies millions of consumers nationwide by providing quality wines for the enjoyment of everyday life.  Canandaigua Wine produces, markets and sells more than 40 well known brands, including Alice White, Almaden Bag-in-the-Box, Arbor Mist, Columbia, Cook’s, Covey Run, Dunnewood, Inglenook, K Cider, Paul Masson Grande Amber Brandy, Talus and Vendange. Constellation is a leader in the production and marketing of beverage alcohol brands in North America and the United Kingdom and is a leading independent drinks wholesaler in the United Kingdom.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Lisa Farrell @ 585-396-7167, or Matthew Healy @ 585-396-7659, both of Canandaigua Wine Company .