The sunset over the shimmering Pacific will...

The sunset over the shimmering Pacific will provide the backdrop for a wine tasting tonight to promote, appropriately, environmental awareness.

The wine tasting will be presented by the South Bay environmental organization VOICE (Volunteers and Organizations Improving the Community’s Environment) and will last from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Blue Waters restaurant, King Harbor, located at 819 Harbor Drive in Redondo Beach.

Seventeen wines will be featured from California wineries, including Frey, Kendall-Jackson, Montpellier, Organic Wine Works, Robert Mondavi, Rodney Strong, Rutherford Hill, Forest Lake and Estrella River. Tasters can sample everything from Chardonnays, Sauvignon blancs and Cabernet Sauvignons to the exotic-sounding dessert wine gewurtztraminer.

Organizers plan to highlight two wineries that produce their wines organically. Sean Guthrie, part-owner of the Blue Waters restaurant and a member of VOICE, said Frey and Organic Wine Works grow their grapes and make their wine without adding sulfite or using pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.

Sulfite is naturally present in small amounts in many agricultural products but is often added as a preservative. Extra sulfite, however, can adversely affect a wine’s taste and aroma, and can cause headaches in people who are sensitive to sulfite.

In addition to the wine tasting, there will also be an auction. Auction block items, all of which have been donated by local businesses, will include gift certificates, a trip to San Francisco and a ride on the Goodyear blimp.

Admission to the wine tasting is $20. Proceeds from the wine tasting and the auction will go to VOICE.

VOICE is a nonprofit organization created in Manhattan Beach in 1989 shortly after curbside recycling collection started there. It has since recruited members from other South Bay cities. The organization’s main goal is to encourage individuals to improve the environment through such steps as recycling and composting. VOICE also sponsors community environmental events.

This year, VOICE published its first issue of Conserve and Recycle: a Beach Cities Guide to Environmental Balance, a collection of information and advice on recycling and other means of reducing waste.

According to Alison Berka of VOICE, the group plans to publish a similar guide for local businesses. The group meets on the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Joslyn Center, 1601 Valley Drive, Manhattan Beach. Meetings are open to the public.