USA: eVineyard Closes Financing Round

eVineyard, the leading online wine retailer, today announced the close of a third round financing, led by prominent venture capital groups and a strong corporate partner. The new financing brings eVineyard's cumulative funding to over $20 million, and is anticipated to take the company to profitability in 2001.

"During these tight times when only the cream of the B2C crop are attracting financing, eVineyard has been awarded this round of venture capital from some of the most discriminating funds in the marketplace," said Larry Gerhard, president and CEO of eVineyard. "This prominent investor group has shown its confidence in our strong management team and our scaleable business model as we steadily move toward achieving profitability more rapidly than any others in our space."

"We are pleased to have such strong participation in this round of financing, which includes several new investors as well as continued support by our existing investor group," said Robert Lawson, vice president of finance for eVineyard. "We have continued to differentiate ourselves from our competition, not only through our highly effective approach to the B2C marketplace, but also with our fundraising and spending efforts. Most competitors, in contrast, have raised excessive capital, resulting in diluted shareholder value and ineffective spending."

eVineyard has raised capital only as needed and has tactically expended those funds in building a strategic network of licensed retail distribution facilities. This network has laid the solid groundwork for the company to capture over 70% of the premium wine market. "We look to see great results from the company's operations over the next few months as we enjoy the benefits of closing this round of financing during our busiest time of the year," added Lawson.

"We efficiently spent the initial capital from our first two financings to build a strong foundation," said Gerhard. "This capital round will be used to open new logistic centers in strategic markets and broaden our customer base while expanding the range of services and content available on our website."

As the only multistate licensed online wine retailer, eVineyard is in a unique position in the B2C marketplace. Working within the nation's established three-tier system for the sale of alcoholic beverages, the company affords consumers the greatest customer service, wine selection, speed of delivery and competitive pricing -- while not sacrificing its ability to build a scaleable and profitable business.

About eVineyard

The leader in the B2C wine market, eVineyard legally serves wine buyers in 25 states -- more than 70% of the United States market for off-premise premium wine sales. With its eight current logistic centers and the imminent opening of two additional centers, eVineyard will soon serve each of the country's top 10 wine markets, reaching over 75% of the market and serving 28 states. In addition, eVineyard will soon offer wine accessories to all 50 states through its recently announced marketing and fulfillment alliance with The Wine Appreciation Guild.

eVineyard offers a selection of over 5,000 domestic and imported premium wines and has exceptional features such as online education, promotions and loyalty programs, sweepstakes events, a wine club and free shipping with purchases over $25. eVineyard's superior selection and delivery capabilities have led to growth averaging more than 150% per quarter since launch. The company expects to achieve profitability in 2001.