ASC Fine Wines Adds Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars to Its Portfolio

August 12, 2009, Shanghai - ASC Fine Wines (“China’s greatest fine wine importer” – Robert Parker Jr.), in line with its market leadership and growing commitment to the Greater China fine wine market, is pleased to announce the addition Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars to its Mainland China and Macau portfolio commencing September 1st, 2009.

Belonging to the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is a globally renowned, iconic winery from the Napa Valley in California, USA. The winery had previous distribution in China and Macau, but for ASC’s professionalism and strong distribution network in the country, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars has thus decided to entrust the exclusive distributorship to ASC in order to enhance its position and brand equity in the Greater China market.

“I am excited to add this prestigious 文章来源中国酒业新闻网winery to the ASC family of leading global brands. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars is not just a great Napa Valley winery, it is a world wide legacy beginning with the historic 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars will now join Chateau Ste. Michelle, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest and Erath from the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates portfolio. Our two companies began doing business together with the inception of ASC Fine Wines. This will begin another dynamic chapter in the evolution of the fine wine market in China,” says Mr. Al Portney, VP of International Sales for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars has already been represented by ASC in Hong Kong.

“Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is an important component in the ASC Hong Kong portfolio. Now we are delighted to extend this partnership into China and Macau so as to better service our customers,” says Mr. Don St. Pierre Jr, CEO of ASC Fine Wines.

Founded by Warren Winarski in 1970 and considered one of Napa Valley’s first growths, today Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is best known for its estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignons – Cask 23, S.L.V. and Fay – which are fashioned to express classic elegance, structure, and ageability, and to reflect the place in which these wines are grown.

In the first few years, the small family run winery was little known outside the Napa Valley. That changed in 1976 when Steven Spurrier, now consultant editor of Decanter magazine and a renowned wine taster, staged a blind tasting among French wine experts – known famously today as the 1976 “Judgement of Paris” tasting.

To everyone’s astonishment, the 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon took top honors, triumphing over first-growth Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Chateau Haut-Brion and other renowned wines of Bordeaux. The stunning victory launched Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars into the ranks of the world’s most noteworthy and collected Cabernet producers – a standing which the winery still very much enjoys to this day – as well as placed the Napa Valley firmly on the world’s wine map.

Thirty years later, in 2006, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution that recognized the 30th anniversary of the California victory and the historical significance of the event to the U.S. wine industry.

The following year, in 2007, a partnership between Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Marchesi Antinori proudly accepted the stewardship of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and its legacy.

Wines Available from ASC

Cask 23 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
S.L.V. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Fay Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon
Karia Chardonnay

Hawk Crest Cabernet Sauvignon
Hawk Crest Merlot
Hawk Crest Chardonnay