Carruth Cellars Winery of Solana Beach, CA. has introduced a new special wine blend to pay tribute to The Lois Merrill Foundation (LMF). The bottle is a blend of Russian River Zinfandel (50%), Napa Syrah (30%), and Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (20%). It is all 2012 vintage and made from North Coast fruit.
The wine label features the LMF logo and a portion of proceeds will go to benefit the Lois Merrill Foundation.
The mission of the LMF is to help people affected by carcinoid and other rare cancers through funding research for new treatments, providing financial support for patients and their families, and promoting awareness and education.
Approximately 115,000 people are living with Carcinoid cancer in the United States today. Carcinoid cancer is extremely rare and unfortunately is often initially misdiagnosed over 90% of the time, resulting in long treatment times and delayed treatment results. Abdominal pain, flushing, diarrhea, wheezing, bloating, heart palpitation, weakness, skin rash, heartburn and weight changes are the most prevalent carcinoid/NET symptoms. For this reason, many carcinoid patients are initially misdiagnosed as having IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) or Crohn’s disease and may go untreated for several years.
Carruth Cellars has consistently supported area non-profit causes and by putting the LMF logo on these special bottles, hope that awareness of the LMF will grow. The amount of money raised from this effort will be helpful to the cause, but more important is spreading the word about The Lois Merrill Foundation and about Carcinoid Cancer in general. The Lois Merrill Foundation (LMF) is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 in honor of Lois Merrill. Lois passed away in 2006 from carcinoid cancer, a rare neuroendocrine cancer. Lois was a devoted wife, mother and school teacher whose passion for life and sincere desire to help others lives on through The LMF.
Angela Merrill of the LMF says, “Carruth Cellars has been a big supporter of the LMF over the years and we are very excited about this new wine and being able to collaborate with this great urban winery. We hope that by having our logo on every bottle, people will become more aware of the organization and, more importantly, the needs of the people we serve.”
Carruth Cellars is one of the first of a growing trend of urban wineries to come to the San Diego area. The tasting room is located on the very trendy Cedros Avenue in Solana Beach, CA just a few blocks from the ocean. Adam Carruth’s wines have been winning awards since the winery first opened in 2009. Carruth Cellars makes wine with grapes sourced from northern and central California wine country. Carruth has much love and gratitude for the growers and appellations of one of the world’s finest wine regions. All the wine is made on site and the tasting room is open to visitors.
Heather Newman of Carruth Cellars states, “This blend is made up of hand-picked barrels, considered to be the winemaker’s favorites from each varietal. The goal was to produce a big, bold, fruit heavy wine that really packed a punch, and we feel that we successfully achieved that. This being one of our all-time favorite blends thus far, we thought nothing was more appropriate then to dedicate it to one of our all-time favorite non-profits, The Lois Merrill Foundation. We feel that this strong blend is a perfect representation of the strong relationship Carruth Cellars and LMF has had over the years and we hope to bring more awareness to the cause with each bottle sold. We plan on releasing the blend sometime within the next 2 months and it will retail for $50.”
The Lois Merrill Foundation funds Medical Assistance Grants and Foundation Assistance Grants. Medical Assistance Grants provide patients in financial need with medical expense assistance. Foundation Assistance Grants provide non-profit organizations with funds to support research and education in conjunction with the goals of the foundation.
For more information on the new wine which benefits The Lois Merrill Foundation, please visit: www.CarruthCellars.com, www.TheLoisMerrillFoundation.org, or www.Carcinoid.org