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David Powell and Peter Kight Announce Torbreck Partnership

Torbreck Vintners has announced that an agreement has been finalized by the partnership of David Powell and Peter Kight to buy out Torbreck's previous shareholders. Powell is the founder of Torbreck Vintners and Kight is the proprietor of Quivira Vineyards & Winery in California's Dry Creek Valley.

Powell describes the partnership as a "natural evolution" of their shared winemaking vision, environmental goals, and personal friendship.

"Pete and I are inspired by the idea that a wine should speak of both terroir and tradition," Powell says. "We are both perfectionists. This partnership will enable Torbreck to continue to create wines that command respect on the world stage." Referring to Torbreck's ongoing environmental efforts, he adds, "Pete and I are passionate about maintaining the environment and ensuring that our properties are viable for future generations. I look at this as an opportunity for us to collaborate with each other on many levels."

Peter Kight and David Powell met several years ago during a Torbreck tasting in Atlanta, GA. At that time Kight (the founder of CheckFree) was interested in acquiring a winery property in California and Powell subsequently advised him on the purchase of Quivira. Powell also recommended Steven Canter to serve as winemaker at Quivira. Canter had previously worked four vintages at Torbreck and his approach to viticulture and enology was a perfect fit for Kight's goals for Quivira.

"I have great admiration for what Dave has built in such a short timeframe at Torbreck," says Kight. "Torbreck is an established brand that has become recognized as an icon of Barossa Valley winemaking. This new partnership gives us the opportunity to enable Torbreck's distinction and renown to transcend Australia, just as I believe Quivira's Zinfandels and Rhne-varietal wines will one day transcend the Dry Creek Valley."

Despite the geographical distance between the two wineries, philosophically they are very much alike. Both wineries are ardently committed to minimizing their eco-footprint and maximizing the quality of the wine they produce. Quivira has converted to a Biodynamic growing regimen incorporating not only grapes, but also vegetables and fruit grown on the property specifically for local restaurants. Quivira is restoring the creek running through the property to ensure that salmon and trout are annually able to return to spawn.

At Torbreck, the new winery has been designed to incorporate environmentally neutral construction materials and the facility's landscaping features only local flora. Both facilities maintain their own composting and water reclamation processing and neither uses pesticides or poisons in their farming. The 55kW solar electric system that has supplied Quivira's energy needs since 2005 will be evaluated for installation at Torbreck.

Quivira and Torbreck will continue to be run separately as stand-alone entities, although communication and expertise will flow freely between the two operations.

"Having two wineries functioning in different hemispheres offers staff members of both companies the opportunity to gain valuable experience working with two crushes per year," says Kight.

Powell agrees. "The constant flow of information and education is invaluable, and our stagiers and interns have always been an important component of Torbreck's approach to furthering the wine tradition."

Torbreck Vintners embodies Dave Powell's love of the classic Barossa Valley grape varieties of Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro, and his passion for the wines of France's Rhne Valley. Since the early 1990s the winery has established a reputation as one of the leaders of the Australian artisanal wine movement. Relying on stellar vineyard sources of old vine fruit, Torbreck's goal is to produce wine that is both great Australian wine and a world-class wine establishing benchmarks for the various varieties. Torbreck wines are distributed internationally. www.torbreck.com

Quivira Vineyards and Winery is an artisan winery in the heart of Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley. Its vineyards have been Demeter certified Biodynamic and organic since 2005. Quivira is focused on producing the finest expressions of Zinfandel and Rhne varietals from its unique estate, composed of four distinct vineyards within the Dry Creek Valley AVA with over 90 acres under vine. Quivira is guided by a strong belief in the importance of vineyard management, which along with Biodynamic discipline includes a deeply-held principle of careful stewardship of the land and its creatures. Since 1988, Quivira has been actively engaged in restoring Wine Creek, the Coho salmon and Steelhead trout spawning stream that winds through the center of the estate. www.quivirawine.com.

For further information or to arrange interviews with David Powell and/or Peter Kight, contact

Dan Fredman

Dan Fredman PR

323.899 9463 tel.

dan @ danfredman.com

For information on Quivira Vineyards & Winery, please contact:

Laura Shear    

Folsom & Associates

415-978-9909 tel.

laura @ folsomandassociates.com

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