Many people think of wine as being anything but a laid-back beverage, but that is exactly the premise behind a new label called flipflop wines. As a name that is all lowercase would suggest, these wines are quite unpretentious. David Georges, the winemaker, grew up in Southern California surfing, hiking and wearing flip-flops and his wines are meant to be a reflection of that lifestyle.
The winery produces seven different varietals that are grown on what the winemaker describes as the “Left Coast” -- six of the wines are from California and one -- a Riesling -- is from Washington. Flipflop is the newest and one of more than 20 different brands contained in the portfolio of Underdog Wine Merchants, including Cupcake Vineyards and Big House Red. Underdogs’ portfolio includes wines that are produced with grapes that not just grown in California and Washington, but from countries around the world such as France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Argentina and New Zealand.
The flipflop labels are very colorful, with each one understandingly containing a depiction of a color coordinated pair of flip-flops along with scenes from a casual lifestyle. For example, the 2010 Pinot Noir’s label is purple and contains a variety of fish, the 2010 Riesling is yellow with surfers and flowers, and the 2009 Chardonnay is orange with pineapples and hula girls. But even better, in addition to displaying the usual vintage and appellation, the label also contains a lot of great information such as the flavors that you should taste, the temperature it should be served, where the wine is situated in the range of dry to sweet and what to eat with the wine.
The suggested food pairings include comfort foods such as macaroni and cheese with Chardonnay, shredded pork tacos with the Riesling, bruschetta with Pinot Grigio and chocolate chip cookies are reserved for the Pinot Noir. One of the best things about these wines is that the suggested retail price is affordable at $7 a bottle for each of the varietals.
With an eye towards supporting charities, flipflop is partnering with Soles4Souls, a non-profit organization that provides shoes to those in need, whether it be an impoverished country or for crisis relief such as the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in 2004. Through this partnership, a pair of shoes will be distributed to a person in need for each bottle of flipflop sold in 2011.
So put on your favorite flip-flops, grab a glass of your favorite flipflop varietal and know that you just helped someone in need.
Jim Rawe, a family attorney in Bradenton, is an avid collector of fine wines. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at jimrawe@gmail.com.
