FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Susan Laine

202-728-7199, slaine@WomenHeart.org

Jesse Fisher

(415) 346-2929, jesse@calhounwine.com

Clos du Bois and WomenHeart Launch Toast To Women Campaign Kickoff on National Wear Red Day February 6, 2009

February 3, 2009, Washington, D.C.—As part of American Heart Month in February 2009, WomenHeart and Clos du Bois Winery have announced they will join millions of women nationwide in celebrating National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 6, 2009, by launching the Toast To Women campaign and its Web site www.ToastToWomen.com. ToastToWomen.com is a year-long promotion designed to raise awareness of women and heart disease by encouraging consumers across the country to send a free, customized e-card to the special women in their lives. 

For every e-card sent from ToastToWomen.com, Clos du Bois will generously donate $1 to WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, for a total of up to $100,000. ToastToWomen.com wine glass “skirts”, bottle “neckers” and tent cards will also raise awareness of women’s heart disease in restaurants and retail locations across the country where permitted.  

National Wear Red Day activities are in partnership with The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

"We are so grateful to have generous partners like Clos du Bois Winery that share our organization’s commitment to helping women take charge of their heart health,” said Lisa M. Tate, CEO of WomenHeart. “We hope the ToastToWomen.com campaign will encourage women across the country to embrace a heart healthy lifestyle and educate themselves about the foods proven to promote heart health and prevent heart disease.” Studies have shown that women who drink moderate amounts of red wine have a lower incidence of heart disease.

“We see National Wear Red Day as the perfect time to launch our year-long campaign to raise funds and awareness for women and heart disease,” said Brand Manager Jaymie Schoenberg of Clos du Bois. “As part of that nationwide effort, Clos du Bois invites friends and family across America to log on to ToastToWomen.com and help support this important cause by sending your personal sentiments via a free e-card to the special women in their lives.”

About WomenHeart

WomenHeart is the nations’ only national organization solely dedicated to advancing women’s heart health through advocacy, community education and patient support. A nonprofit advocacy organization, WomenHeart is a community of women heart patients and their families, health care providers, advocates and consumers committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives. For more information about WomenHeart, visit www.womenheart.org.

About Clos du Bois

Clos du Bois is distributed by VineOne, headquartered in San Francisco, CA. VineOne is the premium and super premium wine division of Constellation Wines U.S. (CWUS), the largest wine company in the U.S. based upon sales dollar value. CWUS encompasses three wine businesses: VineOne, Icon Estates, and Centerra Wine Company. The portfolio includes such brands as Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, Robert Mondavi Private Selection, Blackstone, Robert Mondavi Winery, Simi, Estancia and Wild Horse. CWUS is an operating division of Constellation Brands, Inc., a leading international producer and marketer of beverage alcohol in the wine, spirits and imported beer categories.

About The Heart Truth

The Heart Truth launched the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease in 2002 to deliver an urgent wakeup call to American women.  A simple Red Dress works as a visual red alert to get the message heard loud and clear:  "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear—It's the #1 Killer of Women." National Wear Red Day is an annual event held on the first Friday in February, and a time when people across the country wear red to unite in the national movement to give women a personal and urgent wakeup call about their risk of heart disease.  Everyone can participate in this life-saving awareness movement by showing off a favorite red dress, shirt, or tie, or by wearing the Red Dress Pin (available at www.heartruth.gov).

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