Tag Archives: Randall Grahm

My lunch with Randall, part II

This is the second of a two-part series detailing my recent chat with Bonny Doon winemaker Randall Grahm. Part I is here.

Bonny Doon winemaker Randall Grahm and I tasted five wines during lunch at Dallas’ Blue Plate restaurant; my only regret was that we didn’t try the Vin Gris de Cigare, Grahm’s rose. It has always been one of my favorites, even at $15 or so.

The wines, as always, were interesting and different. Grahm never met a grape that he didn’t want to try and use in some way — as long as the grape wasn’t chardonnay, cabernet savignon or merlot. He’ll have none of that at Bonny Doon, where his goal is to make wines with grapes that make sense in his vineyards in his part of northern California. And those three don’t (as well as Grahm’s first love, pinot noir). What we tasted, after the jump:

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My lunch with Randall, part I

My lunch with Randall, part IThis is the first of a two-part series detailing my recent chat with Bonny Doon winemaker Randall Grahm. Part II — a look at some of Bonny Doon’s wines — is here.

The last thing Randall Grahm looks like is the California winemaker that he is. Instead, he looks more like the one-time liberal arts major at the University of California that he was.

That contradiction goes a long way toward explaining why Grahm is one of the Wine Curmudgeon ?s favorite winemakers, and why his Bonny Doon wines are some of the most interesting made in California. Grahm understands that not only is the wine business about making enough money to stay in business, but about making wine that people want to drink — and not necessarily wine that they ?re told to drink, More, after the jump.

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Winebits 187: Blog awards, screwcaps, African wine

? Wine blogger awards: The finalists for the 2011 awards, which honor the best U.S. wine blogging, have been announced. The great Randall Grahm has been nominated in two categories — best writing and winery blog, while a couple of pals of regional wine have also been nominated — Lenn Thompson at New York Cork Report and Virginia's Swirl, Sip, Snark. Given the Napa-centric, industry-dominated focus of most of the finalists, the last two are huge surprises. Either is a deserving winner. And Grahm? They should just give him the best writing honor and then retire the award.

? Hogue goes screwcap: Yet another major winery has given up on corks. Hogue Cellars in Washington state, owned by multi-national Constellation Brands, will move all of its wines, including high-end reds, to screwcaps. Said Hogue's director of winemaking: "[T]his study shows that wines aged under the right screwcap closure over five years were better preserved, aged well and were deemed the highest quality." This is huge news, given that the biggest wine producers are often the most reluctant to give up on corks. No word yet on whether the cork producers have made a snarky video that says that guys who buy Hogue wines have bad breath, pimples and no luck with girls.

? The African wine business: Mike Veseth at the Wine Economist blog reports from the annual meeting of the American Association of Wine Economists. One topic? The future of the African wine business: "South Africa ?s markets of the future are Africa and India (not Britain and the U.S.) as wine consumption rises in these regions andfavorable wine market reforms are implemented (a particular problem in India, I believe, but probably in many parts of Africa, too). Wine markets shifting to Shanghai? That ?s interesting. To Nairobi? That ?s very interesting!" I wonder how the Wine Magazines would deal with that?

Winebits 162: Pacific Rim, sommeliers, nutrition facts

? Grahm sells Pacific Rim: Randall Grahm has sold one of the last parts of his $10 wine empire, the Pacific Rim white wine brand, to the family that owns Banfi Vintners, a leading U.S. wine importer, and Italy’s Castello Banfi winery. No sale price was disclosed. Grahm, the impresario of California’s Bonny Doon, broke up his $10 wine operation in 2006, selling the Big House and Cardinal Zin labels and splitting Pacific Rim off from Bonny Doon. Pacific Rim, based in Washington state, is best known for riesling, but also does gewurtztraminer and chenin blanc.

? Not enough qualified sommeliers? That’s the opinion of top sommelier Jordan Mackay, who says demand for the wine experts in restaurants has outgrown supply. “Inexperienced sommeliers are winding up in jobs that they’re simply not ready for,” he wrote on Zester Daily Web site. This has hurt restaurant wine sales and reputations, he says, and isn’t so good for the rest of us: “And, diners, for a while, be warned that you may face young somms intent on selling you the wine they like (instead of the one you’re asking for).”

? Diageo wants serving facts on labels: Diageo, one of the world’s largest drinks company, wants the federal government to allow producers to put nutritional information, like serving size, alcohol per serving, carbohydrates and calories, on wine and spirits. The government’s alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau has been considering the Serving Fact Information proposal since 2003 — so long ago that I wrote a newspaper story about it. It has been held up by resistance from the industry, as well as a low priority in Washington. Diageo, seeing a marketing advantage, wants the TTB to let producers voluntarily include the information.