Last night Mary and I and our friend and Title Rep Dan Medeiros drove to Denver for a wine dinner featuring one of my heroes, Randall Graham, the legendary founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard. Randall blazed his own trail in the California wine industry during the 80's and 90's, crafting European-style wines while others were following a more commercial path. His success with Rhone varietals earned him the nickname "The Rhone Ranger", and his experimentation and willingness to entertain weird and crazy ideas have resulted in some very interesting wines.
His most successful effort has been a California version of the iconic French wine Chateauneuf du Pape. Randall named this wine Le Cigare Volant (flying saucer), in honor of a very real 1950's law passed to prohibit flying saucers from landing in or overflying the vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape.
In the 90's, I became a member of Bonny Doon's Distinctive Esoteric Wine Network (DEWN), a really fun wine club that featured Randall's experimental efforts, and I've followed his career ever since. So when we got an invite from Cru, a wine bar in Denver, for a 5 course dinner with paired Bonny Doon wines, we were definitely in.
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LIMFJORDS OYSTERS
mustard seed mignonette
paired with: 2016 Picpoul
SMOKED GALANTINE
lightly smoked chicken, cranberries, hazelnuts
paired with: 2016 Vin Gris de Cigare
CASSOULET
duck confit, pork sausage, white beans
paired with: 2012 Le Cigare Volant
ROASTED ELK LOIN CHOP
10th generation demi glaze, grain fed veal sweet breads & ratatouille
paired with: 2014 "A Proper Claret"
TARTE TATIN
apple & lavender
paired with: 2013 Vinferno
The dinner was wonderful - excellent food intelligently paired with the wines - and I got a chance to talk with Randall one on one for about 20 minutes. No one else present had a history with Bonny Doon that went back as far as mine did, so we talked about the early days and the early wines, as well as the exciting new directions that Bonny Doon will be taking in the future.
Randall has always been a visionary, and his influence on the American wine industry has been substantial. If even a small portion of his current plans and ideas find success, you will be hearing a lot more about him. Keep an eye out for Bonny Doon wines and give them a try - you won't be disappointed.
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