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Celebrity Cellarmaster Wins Prestigious Wine Award
FORT LAUDERDALE, January 25, 2005. Hospitality Brands, Inc. (HBI), a leading provider of brand extensions for cruise lines, hotels and airlines, announced today that Cellarmaster Selection, Celebrity Cruises' proprietary wine, has been awarded Gold and Silver medals at the American Wine Society Commercial Wine Competition. The Society awarded the Celebrity Cellarmaster Selection 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County a gold medal and the 2002 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley a silver medal at their annual event, the first time a wine produced by a cruise line has won a wine competition. Hospitality Brands provides marketing support for the program.
The American Wine Society is devoted to educating people on all aspects of wine. Its members include wine novices, experts, grape growers, amateur and professional winemakers, chefs, wine appreciators, wine educators, restaurateurs and members of the general public who want to learn more about wine and gastronomy.
Even before it received this award, Celebrity Cruises Cellarmaster Selection set a number of milestones for the cruise and travel industries. Celebrity designed and crafted Cellarmaster Selection from the ground up, rather than private-labeling an existing wine. The cruise line spent almost ten months working with wine production experts Custom Wine Alliance of Sonoma County before it was satisfied that the Cellarmaster Selection wines met its own exacting standards and the discriminating palates of its guests. As a result, Celebrity is able to enter its wine in competitions, which is rarely the case when wine is simply "private labeled".
In another cruise industry "first", consumers can purchase the award-winning Cellarmaster Selection online at www.celebrityvineyards.com. Orders are delivered directly to the purchaser's doorstep where permitted by law.
"Celebrity has won countless awards for its extraordinary cuisine and extensive wine selection," said Celebrity's Vice President of Food and Beverage Services Othmar Hehli. "Now, we have taken our commitment to exceptional food and wine to a new level by introducing our own award-winning wines."
"This award validates our belief that wine is a natural extension of the cruise experience," notes David Gould, Executive Vice President of HBI. "Celebrity can be justifiably proud of its achievement, and we are proud they chose us to market this wine to consumers at sea and ashore."
About Celebrity
Celebrity Cruises is the industry's highest rated premium cruise brand with a taste of luxury. The cruise line has 10 ships in its fleet, which sails in Alaska, Bermuda, California, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal and South America. In addition, Celebrity Xpeditions offer exotic travel experiences in the Galapagos Islands, the Arctic, and Antarctica. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1-800-437-3111, or visit the Celebrity web site at www.celebrity.com.
About Hospitality Brands
Hospitality Brands, a division of Hospitality Brands Inc., develops and implements brand extension strategies for cruise lines and hospitality companies. Brand extension programs include proprietary wine, co-branded beds (in conjunction with Sealy, Inc.) and online stores. Hospitality Brands provides its partners with turn-key services, including marketing, Internet and toll-free telephone ordering, warehousing, shipping and customer service. Hospitality Brands was founded by travel industry veterans and brings a unique customer service focus to its programs, strengthening the relationship between its partners and their guests while generating substantial incremental revenues.
For more information, contact David Gould at 954.421.0525 or at davidg@hospitalitybrands.com.
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