Mendocino County Fish Friendly Farmers and CleanFish Partner for North American Wild...

Mendocino County Fish Friendly Farmers and CleanFish Partner for North American Wild Fisheries and Sustainable Seafood

UKIAH, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
CleanFish, one of the nation's most prominent brokers of wild
caught and sustainably farmed fish, and the Fish Friendly
Farming(C)-certified grapegrowers and winemakers of Mendocino County
have joined forces with some of the nation's most prominent chefs and
restaurateurs to celebrate North American Wild Fisheries and
sustainable seafood. Together, they will produce a series of
public-facing dinners in key metro markets to enlighten consumers
about sustainable, artisan-quality seafood.

The first vineyards to be Fish Friendly certified, in 2002, were
in Mendocino County's Russian River and Navarro River watersheds
according to Laurel Marcus, Executive Director of the California Land
Stewardship Institute, which administers the Fish Friendly Farming(C)
environmental certification program.

"Supporting an initiative that educates the public about better
fish choices while sharing some of the great fish and wine pairing
combinations is a perfect partnership," said Paige Poulos, Mendocino
Winegrape & Wine Commission spokeswoman. "Farmers in tune with their
land and the environment are more aware of what happens in the
vineyard. Quality farming leads to quality wine in the glass," she
said.

"Wild fish, like all foods, have seasons. CleanFish Alliance
producers give chefs and fish lovers the opportunity to experience
wild-caught and artisanal, sustainable fish at the peak of its
seasonality," said CleanFish founder Tim O'Shea. "At these dinners, we
are celebrating a new movement where diners can feel and taste the
difference we can all make when voting with our forks and our
wineglasses for better practices and a better future for our rivers,
lakes and seas," he said.

The series, which will include dinners in the San Francisco Bay
Area, Las Vegas, San Jose, Los Angeles, Boston and New York, among
others, commences this month with dinners by Chef Rick Moonen's RM
Seafood in Las Vegas paired with Tim Thornhill of Mendocino Wine Co.,
July 30, 7pm, $125 +tax/tip, (702) 632-9300 and Chefs Roland Passot
and Brian Berling's Tanglewood in San Jose paired with Zac Robinson of
Husch Vineyards, August 14, 7pm, $65 +tax/tip, (408) 244-0464. Chef
Peter Pahk at Silverado Resort in Napa, paired with
winemaker/winegrape grower Mary Elke of Donnelly Creek Ranch including
wines from Elke Vineyards, Roederer Estate and Breggo Cellars will be
held on a date TBD as of today. Proceeds from the dinners will benefit
non-profit groups working to support wild fisheries and promote health
and sustainability in artisanal fish farming operations.

About CleanFish

CleanFish sources and promotes top quality seafood that is safe
and sustainable. As a national seafood company, CleanFish functions as
a market champion for small-scale fishermen and artisanal fish
farmers, bringing wild-caught and sustainably farmed fish to
restaurants, retailers and seafood distributors who form the CleanFish
Alliance for Sustainable Seafood. www.cleanfish.com

About Mendocino Winegrape & Wine Commission

Mendocino Winegrape & Wine Commission is an alliance of 73
wineries and 343 winegrape growers based in Mendocino County,
California. The Commission, founded in 2006, is dedicated to sharing
knowledge of the singular attributes of the winegrapes, wines and wine
estates of Mendocino County, America's Greenest Wine Region, with a
diversity of audiences around the world. The region's Fish Friendly
Farming-certified vineyards are in both the Navarro River and Russian
River Watersheds, and include: Brutocao Vineyards, Cakebread Cellars
Anderson Valley, Cononiah Vineyard, Dark Horse Vineyard, Downey
Vineyards, Duckhorn Wine Company: Goldeneye Vineyard, Elke Vineyards:
Donnelly Creek Ranch/Witherell Creek Ranch, Ferrington Vineyard,
Fetzer Vineyards (Sundial Vineyard/Anthony's Hill), Gibson Vineyards,
Golden Vineyards (Fairbairn Ranch/Heart Arrow Ranch), Greenwood Ridge
Vineyards, Haiku Ranch, Hildreth Farms Inc (Babcock/Home Ranch/Ledford
Ranch/Robinson/Scott Williams), Husch Vineyards, James Vineyards, King
Farms, La Ribera Vineyards, Larramendy Vineyards, Light Vineyards,
McDowell Valley Vineyards, McFadden Farm (McFadden Farm/Eel River Rd),
Meyer Family Cellars, Milovina Vineyards (Parducci-Largo/Robinson
Ranch), Navarro Vineyards, Nelson and Sons Vineyards, Norgard Farms
(Twinning Ranch/Victim Vineyard), Raye's Hill Vineyard and Winery,
Ridley Vineyards, Roederer Estate Winery (Carney Ranch, Dach Pinoli
Ranch, Walraven Ranch), Ruddick Ranch Inc, Russian Wolf Vineyard,
Sanel Valley Vineyards, Schramsberg-Juster Vineyard, Summer Wind
Vineyards, Waddington Ranch Vineyards, and Yorkville Cellars.
www.mendowine.com

About California Land Stewardship & Fish Friendly Farming

The California Land Stewardship Institute (CLSI), a non-profit
organization, which operates the Fish Friendly Farming Environmental
Certification program in 5 counties and implements numerous stream
habitat restoration projects with farmers and private property owners.
The mission of CLSI is to help private landowners implement land
management practices and ecological restoration projects for the
long-term benefit of the environment. www.fishfriendlyfarming.org

PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Paige Poulos Communications
Paige Poulos or Christina Zirker, 800-497-3376
or 707-468-9886
Mendocino@paigepoulos.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008