Let me start by saying that I can find a justification for a cocktail like nobody’s business. I am that woman, who has a cat so she doesn’t drink alone, and has an around the world clock on her phone so she knows what city justifies the cocktail hour, regardless of the local time. However, there is truly nothing better than drinking for a cause, especially a good cause. In my opinion supporting our troops, who fight for our freedom, is definitely a worthy cause.
I recently discovered Jarhead Wine, a wine that donates a portion of its proceeds to the Marine Scholarship Foundation. The Marine Scholarship Foundation provides financial assistance to the children of the United States Marines and Navy, giving special consideration to the families of fallen marines, those killed or wounded in the line of duty.
Jarhead Wine is part of the Firestone family business, founders of both Firestone Wines and Firestone Walker Brewing Company. The wine is the love child of Adam Firestone, who is the third generation of the family in wine business and also a Captain in the Marine Corp from 1984-1991. He served in both Saudia Arabia and Kuwait. When he returned, he got into the family wine business and started the brewery with his brother. Ruben Dominguez is the other partner behind Jarhead Wines. He served in the United States Marine Corp from 1979-1984 as a Sergeant who was assigned to Guantanamo Bay and Camp Pendleton. He started working at Firestone vineyard in 1995 and his wine career has flourished ever since.
The Jarhead Wine label has a red blend, a Chardonnay and a reserve label. The Chardonnay is a very light and tropical blend using grapes from Santa Ynez in Santa Barbara County. The red blend is a blend of Merlot from Paso Robles and a Petit Verdot from Santa Ynez, which is a unique blend for the region. The reserve is another specialized blend, the 2011 consisting of Cab Franc from the Curtis Estate in Santa Ynez and Petit Verdot from the same vineyard. It is aged for 18 months in French oak with 20% of the oak being new. The most recent release only had 326 cases.
The Curtis Vineyard, which is 200 acres, is also part of the Firestone family. The Firestone’s are considered the founding fathers of Santa Ynez wine. Leonard Firestone purchased a ranch in the 1970’s and started to grow grapes on the property hoping to sell the product to Northern California wineries. However, Leonard and his son Brooks decided to make their own wine, establishing Santa Barbara County’s first estate winery. The rest has been history.
Jarhead Wine is truly a passion project, and in my opinion, it is incredible to support those who do what they love and share their profits to help others. I love lending my support in the form of a good glass of wine, for a good cause and with good friends. Cheers!