Feb 12, 2013 – California Fruit Wine today announced that Todd Clever – Captain of the United States Rugby team – has joined the California Fruit Wine team.

Mr. Clever, a homeowner in North County San Diego, first heard of the trend-setting winery through a friend. “A good friend of mine went to one of their monthly release parties and was raving about how fun it was and about the wine. The next time I was in town, we all went up to the winery to check it out. I thought what they were doing was really cool. I’ve lived in South Africa and New Zealand which have growing wine industries, but hadn’t heard much about making wine out of fruit other than grapes.”

What started out as a friendship, soon blossomed into a business opportunity. Twin brothers and co-founders of California Fruit Wine, Alan and Brian Haghighi, decided that it was time to bring on a partner and reached out to Clever during one of his visits back to San Diego.

“As we were considering possible partners, people we knew, Todd was one of the top people on our mind. We felt he was a good fit since he was young and a bit against-the-grain, just like us,” expressed Brian, the Chief Marketing Officer.

Clever, who now plays professional Rugby in Japan, has been working to help popularize rugby in the US in hopes of establishing an American rugby league.

“I feel like what I’ve been trying to do with rugby, these guys are trying to do with fruit wine. To introduce people to how fun, exciting, and different it is. These guys seem to be doing a really good job. I’m glad I’m now a part of the team.”

Clever will help leverage his popularity, particularly abroad, to help the winery expand into new markets. The California Fruit Wine team is also thinking about creative marketing campaigns that will include Mr. Clever as they work to change the image of wine.

California Fruit Wines are sold in various retail outlets throughout Southern California as well as in the Vista tasting room. Check the online Media Kit for more details, photos and quotes from happy customers. – http://californiafruitwine.com/press

California Fruit Wine Company is located at 1040 La Mirada Court in Vista, CA. Please contact us by phone or 858-522-WINE or on the web at http://www.californiafruitwine.com