NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2006

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

AUSSIE WINE WALKABOUT HAS UH SAYING, ‘G’DAY MATES!’
Wine Tasting Event is a Passport to Five Australian Wine Regions, Benefit for College

HOUSTON, April 10, 2006—Pour a glass of Barossa Valley. Sip on Coonawarra. Breathe the bouquet of Penfolds. Each is a few steps away for “travelers” on the Aussie Wine Walkabout at the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 26. The event is part of The 2006 Grand Wine and Food Affair happening in Houston and Sugar Land that same week.

“Guests will have a wonderful opportunity to ‘visit’ five wine regions of Australia, learn about the wine-making process and sample the wines,” Kevin Simon, director of the college’s Fred Parks Wine Cellar, said. “Experts from the Melbourne-based Fosters Group will be on hand to answer any wine questions.”

The Fred Parks Wine Cellar contains an impressive collection of rare and collectible wines from the early 1900s to contemporary vintages. Founded in 1994, the cellar is a learning facility and legacy of Fred Parks, former Houston attorney and philanthropist. The wine cellar is a resource for select HRM students as a research laboratory and special projects venue under the supervision of Simon.

“Australian wines are in vogue because they have spice and character and are so value driven,” Simon said.

Walkabout guests will have a “passport” with which they will visit five Australian wine regions. As their passports are stamped, they will sample four or five wines from an Aussie wine region and enjoy canapés and
hors d’oervres prepared by HRM Executive Chef Abbas Jaffari.

Tickets to the Aussie Wine Walkabout are $65 and are available by calling 713-SIP-WINE. HRM alums and members of the Wine Society of Texas received a $10 discount.

A portion of the proceeds from this and other events of the 2006 Grand Wine and Food Affair benefit the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Visit www.thegrandwineandfoodaffair.com for more information.

For more information on the Fred Parks Wine Cellar, please visit, www.hrm.uh.edu/cnhc/winecellar/index.html.

About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.