BONNIE DOON VINEYARD

PRODUCER: BONNY DOON

GRAPE: 46% GRENACHE BLANC, 34 VERMENTINO & 20% CLAIRETTE BLANC

YEAR: 2019

WINEMAKER / OWNER

W: RANDALL GRAHM

REGION : SANTA CRUZ , CA

DRINKING WINDOW : UPTO 2024

WINE REVIEW

Every once in a while you scan the shelves of a major supermarket and think.

“I know that they buy large scale producers for the customer base but surely they they can delve into the unknown once in a while.” Sometimes that wine that you visited in that country on holiday Is available in your home country. If in any doubt please use http://www.wine-searcher.com to find out if you can !

The winemaker,Randall Grahm, did what most people do – studied something not related to wine before jumping into it ! 40 years ago he started up Bonny Doon in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Also known as ” The Rhone Ranger” as his wines reflect those varietals in the Rhone region of France.

Randall’s ethos is always give top quality grapes and minimal intervention – which is why hes probable introduced orange wines recently.

Their Le Cigare Blanc is a complex Rhone-style white blend composed of Grenache Blanc, Vermentino and Clairette Blanc grapes

APPEARANCE :

PALE LEMON

SMELL

WHITE PEACH, APRICOT, BEESWAX, LAVENDER AND QUINCE

TASTE :

WHITE PEACH, APRICOT, BEESWAX, LAVENDER AND QUINCE + PEAR AND A TOUCH OF FENNEL

FOOD PAIRING

CHICKEN / CREAMY CHICKEN DISHES

FISH

GRILLED VEGATABLES

So when all is taken into account and you have a legend in the industry producing a host of wines that are not only distinctive but also have sustainability , minimal intervention and quality at the heart of its being. All for under £20/ $25 then you have a find.

As an added bonus they also have sexy labels.

Made from 46% Grenache Blanc, 34% Vermentino and 20% Clairette Blanche.

Tesco APPROX £16 Uk – unbelievable price 🇬🇧

Dia liquor warehouse Denver APPROX $20 🇺🇸

Want to know more ?

Click on the button below to see their full range of great varietals

Bonny Doon Website

At this point you are discovering a style of wine / a grape.

See if it is for you!

Remember you are tying to :

FIND YOUR GRAPE

FIND YOUR CHAMPAGNE !

If its not for you…. move on to another grape! (there are over 10,000 of them )

Conclusion – For price and quality, you just cant beat it !

All in all a funky trendy kind of place – and one of my top 20 vineyards of choice.

What a wine.

SUSTAINABILTY

WATER AND ENERGY CONSERVATION

UPTO 10 Points

PRESERVE ECOSYSTEMS

UPTO 10 points

RESPONSABILITIES TOWARDS THE PLANET

UPTO 10 Points

BUT SHOULD INCLUDE THESE POINTS

Water Efficiency, Soil Health & Fertilization, Pest Management, Energy Efficiency, WastWastewater Management, Transportation, Packaging and Material Sourcing

Randall Grahm’s key sustainability principles in the vineyard: Integrity and differentiation

The fabulous Tom Owtram chatting to Bonny Doon’s winemaker

All producers have been asked throughly with regard to their practices and their responses have resulted in their marks out of 30. Sustainability is an important aspect of the life of the vineyard and the scoring system should reflect this.