Tackitt Family Vineyards featured as top wine for a cause
–Tackitt Family Vineyards of San Miguel was recently recognized as one of the “Best wines for a cause” by Fox News. The honor came for Tackitt’s EOD Cellars label which benefits wounded warriors.
After retiring as a Navy bomb disposal expert in 2008, winemaker Leon Tackitt planted vines near Paso Robles on California’s Central Coast. Meanwhile, Tackitt’s Navy buddy, Ken Falke, had started two Virginia-based nonprofits working to help wounded warriors.
Tackitt’s first bottling for a cause, EOD Cellars, launched in 2010 with profits going to Falke’s EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Warrior Foundation. The pair embarked on a second project last year after Falke helped open the Boulder Crest Retreat, the nation’s first privately funded rural wellness center for wounded warriors, in rural Northern Virginia. Tackitt’s Boulder Crest Cabernet is now in its second vintage.
So far, Tackitt has contributed roughly $50,000 to the EOD Warrior Foundation, and he is working to ramp up national distribution for the Boulder Crest label (which has earned around $2,000 for the retreat in its first year).
Such a great group of people, and their annual bottling event for this vintage is so much fun! Be sure to check it out in 2016!
Such a great group of people, and their annual bottling event for this vintage is so much fun! Be sure to check it out in 2016!