KYLE KNOX'S BARREL BLEND

Kyle Knox with his "Barrel Blend."

I love it when surfers are entrepreneurial. I mean - it only makes sense. Whether negotiating shifty winds, tides, or swell directions, we’re required to make the most of situations. Naturally, we should have the same industrious intuition when it comes to combining passion with commerce.

That’s just what Imperial Beach charger, Kyle Knox, has done with one of his greatest passions: wine. While the combination of a discerning sommelier and an easy-going surfer may seem counterintuitive, his latest endeavor, called “The Barrel Blend” makes perfect sense.

“It’s a blend of merlot, cabernet and a little bit of syrah,” says Knox. “I collaborated with the Hill family, who operate out of Napa. They’re a boutique wine, so their bottles typically go from twenty to thirty or fifty dollars, but this is sort of their bastard wine, made from the excess juices so it sells for a little cheaper. Basically, we wanted to make the best twenty dollar bottle of wine you could buy.”

Although I am by no means a wine connoisseur, complimenting a steak dinner with a glass of Knox’s barrel blend left the palate happy as a clam.

“I’m a huge wino,” says Knox. “It’s so funny. You’d never guess it; it’s not like I only drink wine, but with a nice dinner it’s definitely the way to go.”

And if you’re not into wine, it’s almost worth it just to have wine bottle with a sick barrel shot on it. I’ll cheers to that.