The other night, my friend came over for dinner and, being the great friend that she is, she also brought along a bottle of wine…and not just any wine. An avid reader of this blog (thanks K!) she knows that the Surfrider Foundation is a frequent topic of conversation, so she brought a bottle of Surfrider Chardonnay!
I know…who knew they even made that?! Well, technically, Surfrider doesn’t make it. Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate winery is responsible for this delicious wine. And even better, 85% of the fruit used in the wine was grown in the Edna Valley of San Luis Obispo where I grew up!
After a glass (maybe 2…) I started researching for this post. Turns out Rosenthal has a whole line of Surfrider wines: a 2007 Surfrider Chardonnay, a 2005 Surfrider Red,a 2008 Surfrider Sauvignon Blanc, and even a 375 ml 2005 Red Dessert Wine.
I am such a wine novice that I wouldn’t feel right subjecting you all to my review of these wines, so I’ll leave it to Randy Fuller, writer of the Now and Zin wine blog:
It’s a pale straw-colored wine. The nose features a fragrant show of mainly tropical fruit and flowers. The palate is not belabored by wood, although it is 30% barrel-fermented, with five months in oak. In fact, it feels quite clean and crisp in the mouth. The fruit comes from Edna Valley, not Rosenthal’s Malibu estate, which may explain some of the minerality. I even noticed a slight effervecsence on the second day which I didn’t see in the previous night’s glass. I’m a big fan of Chardonnay with a hint of oak, but I also love a refreshingly unoaked variety. Surfrider falls somewhere in between. I’m glad I could hang five – fingers, that is – on a Surfrider Chardonnay.
___Randy Fuller, Now and Zin Wine Blog
Rosenthal supports the Surfrider Foundation by donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each bottle.
Now you don’t have to feel guilty about having that glass of wine…you’re helping to keep our oceans and beaches clean! Cheers!
If you’re going to live the beach-house lifestyle, there’s one skill you can’t do without, and that’s the ability to build a respectable sandcastle. True beach lovers know that there’s nothing more relaxing than feeling the sun on your back, the wind through your hair, and wet sand on your hands as you construct a fairy-tale castle fit for a pint-sized king.
The first step to a successful sandcastle is a good water source. You can either dig a hole down to the water table (so that it fills with water) or get yourself a big bucket of seawater. You won’t get anywhere with sand that is too dry.
Sandcastle Resource Guide