Dan's Papers - May 23, 2008 - Clean A Beach. Sip Wine. Must Be Summer!

How often do you get a chance to clean up your favorite beach, then rest on your laurels, listen to music and enjoy a wine tasting? Next Saturday you'll have the chance.

On May 31, at Ditch Plains Beach in Montauk, Barefoot Wines (a California label), and the Surfrider Foundation (a nonprofit grass roots organization) are jointly hosting a cleanup at Ditch Plains Beach, followed by a wine tasting with live music at Second House Tavern. The organizers of the "Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project" hope to attract a large crowd of volunteers and proactive environmentalists to help tidy up the beach. The group also hopes to sponsor other pro-environment work to heighten the awareness of the special care America's beaches need. Ditch Plains, one of the premier surfing beaches on the east coast, seemed like a logical location for the Rescue Project to hold such an event. In addition to beach cleanups, the Surfrider Foundation focuses on planting natural species plants at its project locations, and even rooting out foreign plants.

Surfrider has 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide. The group is part of a movement to keep America's beaches pristine, natural - while having fun doing it. As a fun loving surfing group, they sponsor events that usually have a bit of a party afterwards with music and sometimes a tasting of top quality wines. The group is of and for people who care about the oceans and beaches, and are willing to step up and take action at the grassroots level. Based on those criteria, Surfrider's partnership with Barefoot Wines was a perfect fit.

The fusion of the foundation and the winery was the vision of Davis Bynum, son of Barefoot Wines' founder, Hampton Bynum, and Michael Houlihan. The two reintroduced the Barefoot Wines brand in 1985 after it had been retired since 1973. It seems that when Hampton Bynum concentrated his efforts on his Russian River Valley Wines vineyards and label, he retired his Barefoot Wines collection only to have his son revive it 12 years later. Barefoot Wines was purchased by the E.&J. Gallo Winery in 2005 to insure financial strength in the future production of new wines for the Barefoot Wines brand. Both Barefoot Wines and parent company E.&J. Gallo Winery share a commitment to the environment.

The event is part of new national strategy, with follow-up events planned in Austin and San Francisco in July. Already, five beach cleanups were held last year - one in Miami was deemed a complete success. It included the beach cleanup and the wine tasting with music by Tristan Prettyman and G Love. The party at Second House Tavern will also include the music of Tristan Prettyman and G Love, the lead singer of G Love and the Special Sauce. The organizers are hoping for a great turnout at the cleanup and celebration. This is an excellent opportunity for friends, family, surfers and beach lovers to head out to Ditch Plains Beach and make a difference.

Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project is scheduled for Saturday, May 31, from 3-5 p.m. at Ditch Plains Beach in Montauk. The wine tasting with live music follows, at Second House Tavern, located at 161 Second House Road in Montauk from 7-9:30 p.m.