The 20th Annual Palm Beach Old Mal Log Rally will return in 2016, with thanks to the generous support of Naked Wines as a major sponsor. The official date has now been locked in for Saturday 12th November. Pete English, President PBLB, Inc. is thrilled to extend the invite to the Naked Wines’ surfing winemakers. With many of the great Australian wine regions located close to the ocean, due to the important maritime influences of afternoon sea breezes on growing high quality grapes; it isn’t surprising that so many winemakers in the Naked Wines line up are avid surfers. Joining the surf festival for the first time is independent winemaker James-Paul Marin, “When I was told about the spirit, style and location of the event, I wanted to be part of the competition even though I have never ridden a board over 8ft with less than three fins. I look forward to hanging ten, dropping the knee and doing a few soul arches”. Surfing has always been a large part of James’ life and has been a big influence on his winemaking journey. “I remember driving down the South Coast of South Australia on our family holidays and driving through McLaren Vale on the way to the beach. It is where I grew up, learnt to surf and spent a lot of my misspent youth hanging out”. “I wanted to be as close to the surf as possible and did my first vintage when I was 18 at Scarpantoni Estates in McLaren Vale”. This experience accumulated in being part of the winemaking team to win the Jimmy Watson Trophy in 2006. “I competed at the club and state level and like all grommets; I had aspirations of becoming a pro surfer. However it wasn’t to be and in the end it was winemaking that enabled me to surf around the world”. “I was employed as an Aussie ‘flying winemaker’ to travel around the world, follow the summer sun and work as a consultant providing viticulture and winemaking advice throughout the world’s wine regions”. “I would travel the world following an ‘endless summer’ (vintage) and take any opportunity to do a layover in the pacific, head down the west coast of France, Spain or Portugal while in Europe, surf the NZ coast or pull into Margaret River while back in OZ”. Naked Wines has developed a successful crowd funded model and online platform to sell wine made by independent Australian winemakers. The winemaker’s production is supported by Naked Wines by funds provided by members of the public (Angels) who have the opportunity to buy these wines at a discounted price when released. James is launching two wines from his new wine company Handcrafted Enfant Terrible; a 2015 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay and a 2013 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon in September. When asked why he is pursuing Naked Wines to fund his new wine company, he replied: “The capital required to support a fast growing wine company is quite significant and with my previous wine company I pursued venture capital to fund it. In the end my investors pressured me to take a winemaking path different from what I set out to achieve. So when I decided to walked away, I walked away from everything.” “So this time, with Handcrafted Enfant Terrible and the angels giving me a second chance, I am pursuing my passion for making the wines I want to make and I know people want to drink. I am not going to be pigeon holed to a particular region, commercial style and hitting a price point to achieve a shelf listing.” “It is time to put all I have learned by employing innovative winemaking techniques while exploring Australia's cool climate regions and varieties. Handcrafted Enfant Terrible is a range of wines that express the true characteristics of each variety and the region”.