Wine Industry Report

Also Named #1 in Annual Restaurant Poll

Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, the import that revolutionized the American wine market over the past quarter-century, has been recognized again by Impact magazine as a “Hot Brand” for 2005. Imported by Paterno Wines International, Santa Margherita first received “Hot Brand” status from the magazine in 2000.

The Impact honor is just the latest confirmation of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio’s standing as an icon in the wine world. Earlier this month, Wine & Spirits named it the No. 1 imported wine sold in the nation’s leading restaurants for the 11th consecutive year. Wine & Spirits also ranked Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio ninth overall in its “Restaurant Top 50,” which includes both domestic and imported wines.

The Impact “Hot Brands” awards, presented in the March 2006 issue by publisher Marvin Shanken, gives wine trade professionals, retailers and restaurateurs a snapshot of market trends in the wine industry, with its list of the top selling, “hottest” brands each year.

Pinot Grigio was an unknown varietal in the United States in the late 1970s, when Paterno Wines International Chairman Anthony J. Terlato was in Italy, searching as usual for the “next great Italian wine.” In the small town of Portoguaro in the Alto Adige region, Terlato visited a restaurant in a local inn and ordered all 18 bottles of Pinot Grigio on the wine list. Interested in what Terlato was up to, the Inn’s proprietor joined him. Together, they tasted the wines with a variety of foods and agreed the best wine at the table was Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.

As is the nature of small-town life in Italy, the inn’s proprietor knew the owners of Santa Margherita. The next day Terlato met with Santa Margherita’s president, Count Marzotto. By the end of dinner that evening, Paterno Wines International (then Paterno Imports) was the sole importer for Santa Margherita. Back in the United States, Terlato made Santa Margherita a mainstay on wine lists in the nation’s finest restaurants and earned the title “Father of Pinot Grigio.”

“It’s exciting for us to once again receive ‘Hot Brand’ status from Impact,” said Terlato. “Our company was founded on the principle that quality is the only thing that endures. As one of our flagship brands Santa Margherita shares this philosophy and wine lovers here in the U.S. can taste the difference.”

Paterno Wines International, The Experts in Luxury Wine, has a global portfolio of more than 40 brands from a host of world-class wine producers. Paterno presently markets more than one out of eight bottles of wine over $14 sold in America. Paterno is the flagship company of the Terlato Wine Group, the parent company of several independent businesses specializing in the marketing and production of exceptional wines. Owned and operated by the Terlato family, the Group also includes the family’s winery investments and partnerships in some of the world’s most esteemed wine regions, including: Napa Valley; Sonoma County; Santa Barbara County; Victoria, Australia; and the Rhone Valley.