About Us

Surfside Cellars Vineyard Surfside Cellars was born from nearly tragic series of events of the coast of San Diego, California near the end of summer, 2001. Our founders, the Armani brothers, were scuba diving near a well known shipwreck in deep water. Short of oxygen, they were making their way back to their boat when a strangely round object caught Spencer's eye (though William swears it was he who saw it first). They glided in for a closer inspection and discovered that it was a barnacle covered wooden cask. An exciting find!

William immediately began working the bung loose with his diving blade. He didn't expect to find anything inside, and they didn't bring enough oxygen tanks along for another dive that day. William pried the bung loose and blood red wine began to ooze from the hole. The brothers took one look at each other and immediately began lifting the barrel to the surface. Diving safety was forgotten in the rush to save the wine from the saltwater that was oozing in to replace the displaced wine.

That is all they remember until waking in a decompression chamber two days later. They never tasted the wine, and the cask was never found again. But the Armani brothers were too happy to be alive to let the disappointment overwhelm them. In fact, they turned it into inspiration. The brothers were discontent with their jobs, and both had a deep interest in wine. They had made wine together as a hobby for years. Before they were released from the decompression chamber, they had agreed on a plan. They would quit their jobs and found Surfside Cellars. And most crucially, they would age some of their wine deep below the ocean surface. It probably doesn't taste like the wine they discovered, but everyone who has tasted this wine is extremely grateful that they thought to try it. There is nothing else like it in the world.