Field Reports

Saluting The Honor Flight Network

Wednesday, August 6th, 2014

Have you heard of Honor Flight, a national nonprofit organization that provides tours for American veterans, escorting them to Washington D.C. to visit memorials erected in their honor? It is a remarkable effort that serves a noble cause.

For this reason, Jarhead Wine Company and our affiliated Firestone Walker Brewing Company recently committed to funding Honor Flight trips for 10 local resident veterans of World War II.

As Jarhead Wine Company proprietor Adam Firestone wrote in a recent local editorial, “These veterans, commonly referred to as ‘the greatest generation,’ answered the most phenomenal call-up in our nation’s history. The enormity of their courage and sacrifice is unequalled in the modern era. For many, it began on a peaceful Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, and for those who survived, it ended on Aug. 15, 1945. So many locals left home for the blood-soaked shores of Northern Africa and Normandy and the meat grinder in the Pacific. Still more joined the war effort in manufacturing, supply, and transportation. It was a nation engaged in a single common purpose: the life struggle of freedom against tyranny…This generation is in its twilight years, and time is precious as our World War II veterans are passing at a rate of more than 600 per day. Most of the veterans on our local Honor Flight waiting list are in their 90s. Simply put, we must act now.”

On that note, people and communities across the nation are similarly pitching in to make honor flights possible for our veterans. We encourage you to visit the Honor Flight web site and to help spread the word.


News-Press Showcases Jarhead Red

Friday, November 8th, 2013

In advance of Veterans Day, the Santa Barbara News-Press has published a feature story on Jarhead Wine Company and our support of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, which provides educational assistance to children of U.S. Marines, with special consideration given to families of fallen Marines.

In the story written by News-Press correspondent Gabe Saglie, proprietor Adam Firestone explains how Jarhead wines came to support the foundation: “In the charity world, there are a lot of transitory causes. But I wanted to back something that, at its core, was really pure and where the whole thing was completely authentic. I had really studied these guys (the foundation) — they started in 1962, they’re really lean and all dollars go to the target. And the fact it’s education-based — that funding is for a specific purpose — it sets a continuum.”

The story also delves into the origins and personal stories behind Jarhead Wine Company. Adam served in the Marine Corps for seven years, and was promoted to captain in advance of his deployment to the Persian Gulf in 1988. His son Nick is now a Marine Corps artillery officer who recently served in the South Pacific, and who is scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan. Adam’s father-in-law, Harry Colmery, was a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War.

Other military-oriented wines are included in the story as well. Saarloos & Sons produces a blend called Courage in honor of a late family member, Sergeant John Saarloos, who died in June 1944 on a European tour during World War II. Murphy-Goode Winery produces Hometown Red benefitting Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that provides programs like food assistance, eye care and moving help for veterans, their wives and their families.

Click here to view the full News-Press article.

Thanks to Gabe Saglie and the Santa Barbara News-Press for spreading the word about Jarhead Wine Company and the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.


Enlist in The Jarhead Wine Club

Tuesday, September 17th, 2013

With the holidays on the horizon, we encourage you to check out our Jarhead Wine Club.

With a gift membership, you can treat yourself or your favorite Marine to exclusive discounts on bi-annual shipments of our new releases. Shipments are sent in later May in honor of Memorial Day and in early November, just in time for the birthday of the Marine Corps on November 10.

Needless to say, the second shipment of 2013 is coming soon, so now’s the time to enlist if you are interested. There is no cost to join. As a member, you enjoy exclusive 15 percent savings on all Jarhead wine purchases, and you get to choose from several shipment levels (for amount of wine and style of wine for each shipment).

Click here to learn more and enlist today.


New Release: 2012 Jarhead Chard

Wednesday, July 10th, 2013

In the Marines, it’s not always about power. Sometimes, a little finesse is required, too…

Well, the same goes with Jarhead Wine Company. While we are known for making robust red wines like Jarhead Red and Jarhead Reserve, we also showcase our lighter side with Jarhead Chard, our lone white wine.

The new release 2012 Jarhead Chard comes from our estate vineyards in Santa Barbara County’s Santa Ynez Valley. As you may know, Santa Barbara County is recognized as one of the nation’s premier Chardonnay regions. Why? Because the valleys here run from west to east, allowing for a steady influence of cool marine air. This, in turn, creates a long growing season that enables the Chardonnay grape to achieve ripe flavors with excellent balance.

These qualities are evident in the 2012 Jarhead Chard. So join us in raising a glass to the red and white, not to mention the blue!


Here Comes Rolling Thunder

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

Look for our advertisement in Vietnam Magazine’s event guide for the Rolling Thunder motorcycle run on May 26 in Washington D.C.

The mission of Rolling Thunder is “to educate, facilitate, and never forget by means of a demonstration for service members that were abandoned after the Vietnam War. Rolling Thunder has also evolved into a display of patriotism and respect for all who defend our country.”

Below is a rendering of our advertisement.


Meet Your New Wine Club Captain

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

A new captain is now at the helm of our Jarhead Wine Club as we welcome Stacie Beall as our wine club manager (as well as our tasting room manager at our sister Curtis Winery).

Stacie is a Central Coast native who most recently worked as a hospitality manager for our affiliated Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Stacie is a U.C. Santa Barbara graduate and a big San Francisco 49ers fan. “I’m excited to meet our wine club members, and to do everything I can to make their membership experience enjoyable and rewarding,” she says. You can reach Stacie at sbeall@curtiswinery.com.

Stacie replaces Elizabeth Dadosky, who has taken a position at another winery after six years with us. To our wine club members, Elizabeth says, “Thank you for a great relationship during my tenure, it has been an honor and delight.” We could say the same to Elizabeth ourselves, and we wish her the best!

The Jarhead Wine Club is a great way to get bi-annual shipments of our current releases with exclusive savings. You can even give a gift membership to your favorite Marine!


Where’s My Jarhead?

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

The two most frequent questions we get asked on Facebook and via email are: (1) why can’t you ship wine to my state?; and (2) where can I find your wine?

We are pleased to share that we have a new answer to the latter question, and that would be the new Find Our Wines page on this web site, which can be accessed straight from our home page. This new page links to our distributor’s database, which provides geographical snapshots of local availability of Jarhead Red. We hope that you can find a bottle near you!

As for why we can’t ship to certain states, alas, that is out of our control. Some states still prohibit the direct shipping of wine from elsewhere, which means our hands are tied. Hopefully, however, the new Find Our Wines page will provide a helpful alternative for those who live in such states.

P.S. Here is the list of states that we can ship to via our Online Wine ShopCA, CO, DC, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, KS, LA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NV, NY, OH, OR, TX, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY


Jarhead Reserve Scores Gold

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

We are excited to share that our 2010 Jarhead Reserve scored a gold medal at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, while our 2010 Jarhead Red racked up a silver medal.

This competition is billed as the largest competition of American wines in the world. A public tasting of the award-winning wines will be held at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on Saturday, February 16, 2013.


Jarhead Red Served at GI Film Festival

Tuesday, January 15th, 2013

We were a proud wine sponsor of the recent GI Film Festival in Hollywood.

The GI Film Festival is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to sharing the military experience in and out of the arena of war.  The festival is the first in the nation to exclusively celebrate the successes and sacrifices of the service member through the medium of film.

Our wines were shared with attendees, and the event organizer wrote that “it made the night even more special, having a veteran run company donate to the cause!”


CC Women Marines Turn Wine into Toys

Monday, December 17th, 2012

You may recall our earlier blog post spotlighting the Central Coast Women Marines. We are now happy to post the following update sent to us by chapter president Soledad Kennedy:

“The Women Marines CA-11 made a basket for a fund-raising event using Jarhead Chard and Jarhead Red for the Marine Corps Ball, which was in support of Marine Corps League 1340’s 237th Birthday. We celebrated the birthday at the Radisson in Santa Maria on Friday November 9, 2012….As the 2012 campaign for the Toys for Tots is underway the Central Coast Women Marines CA-11 have been fundraising monies in support of the Toys for Tots program. We raffled off a basket using Jarhead Red and was able to provide funds for more needy children…Thank you for putting out a great product. Semper Fi.”

Thank you, Soledad, for your service to our country and our community!