Dear Feastlings,
In 1989, Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard graced the cover of the Wine Spectator in full Clayton Moore regalia as the original Rhône Ranger, with a horse in tow and the whole nine yards.
As it happened, Randall, whom some of you have met either at a dinner we did with him here a few years back, or during the pandemic when he joined us a couple of times on Zoom to talk wine with us all, knew what was up before a lot of other winemakers did, and is credited, along with a few others, for planting Rhône varietals as if he were the Johnny Appleseed of the region, and the Rangers were born. California, it turns out, gets along quite nicely with Syrah and Grenache, Viognier and Clairette, Cinsault and a host of other varietals that originate from the region. While he still makes wine under his Cigare Volant label and has a SERIOUS grape-growing project in the works- we like his wines and his sense of humor. With Zoom in our rear-view mirror, though, we won’t have him with us this Saturday, but we will have our friend Mike Galkin with four Rhône-style wines from Randall, Kris Curran, who’s also joined us on Zoom, and Curt Schalchlin, who’s joined us both on Zoom and in person at Feast. It’s a great opportunity to experience the varietals of the Rhône slathered with the terroir of the Central Coast.
Join us on Saturday, February 11, at 2:00 pm, but call us at (520) 326-9363 to make sure we save you a seat. The tasting runs $15 plus tax and tip.
You can see the tasting order and pricing here.
Rhône Rangers
2021 Curran Grenache Blanc, Santa Barbara County
2021 Bonny Doon Vineyard “Vin Gris De Cigare” (Cinsault/Grenache/Grenache Blanc/Clairette Blanc,) Central Coast
2020 Groundwork Syrah, Central Coast
2019 Sans Liege “The Offering” (Grenache/Syrah/Mourvèdre,) Central Coast