corks

Winemakers & Wineries

Randall Graham of Bonny Doon


Randall began his rebellion against the dominance of Cabernet and Chardonnay in California winemaking, what he called the “Cabo- and Chardocentric Paradigm.” California had a mediterreanean climate, and should grow mediterreanean varitieties of grapes: Rhone varietals, Italian varietals, Spanish varietals and so on.

 

“Like Columbus who sought a trade route to Asia, I set sail in 1979 for the Great American Pinot Noir, foundered on the shoals of astringency and finesselessness and ended up running aground in the utterly unexpected New World of Rhône and Italian varietals. If there is a tragic flaw at Bonny Doon, it is no doubt, excessive eclecticism. We are experimenting with scores of meridional varieties in the hopes of discovering which grape varietals will marry well with the growing conditions that obtain in our Santa Cruz Mountain and Monterey vineyards.

 

The salient and recurring winemaking themes of Bonny Doon Vineyard/Ca’ del Solo are:

 

  1. Having as much fun with the wine as the relevant governmental agencies will allow.
  2. Producing wines and wine labels that will scintillate the sensibilities of the most jaded imbiber.
  3. Retaining as much of the natural qualities of the grapes (especially fragrance) through careful handling and minimal cellar treatment. Limpidity for its own sake, is eschewed.
  4. Paying particularly close attention to the chestnut that wine is produced in the vineyard. We try to enact the appropriate cultural practices that will lead to the fullest expression of the character of the varietal. I consider myself a champion of the strange and the heterodox, of the ugly duckling grape varietals whose very existence is threatened by the dominant Cabo- and Chardocentric paradigm.”


“Ca’ del Solo is an imaginary kingdom located somewhere near the Soledad-Piemonte border whose inhabitants speak a grammatically unique dialect. [There actually is a vineyard of Italianate varietals planted in Soledad, located just behind the California Men’s Correctional Facility.] Ca’ del Solo is an enological kingdom in exile, temporarily quartered at Bonny Doon Vineyard. It’s inhabitants are continually going ‘solo,’ embarking upon projects that are sometimes risky, sometimes wrong-headed, but always according to their own lights. Ca’ del Solo is a work in progress and in the coming years, one might expect a proliferation of eclectic Italian varietals from this domaine.” --Randall Grahm

 

 

Jim Law of Linden Vineyards
(from the winery's website)

 

Linden Vineyards is a 5,000 case winery and vineyard situated on the Virginia Blue Ridge, 65 miles west of Washington, D.C. Jim Law, with family help, purchased what was then an abandoned hardscrabble farm in 1983. Jim Law is the owner/winemaker of Linden Vineyards. An Ohio native, he was raised in the 1960's and 1970's by parents who loved to share their passion for food and wine. Study in Europe and two years teaching agriculture as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire (Congo) led to the desire to grow grapes. Jim's first vineyard job was in Indiana where he traded work for a place to live. He then got a real job in Ohio at Chalet Debonne where he learned the nuts and bolts of grape growing and cellar work. In 1981 Jim was hired to start a winery in the Shenandoah Valley where he fell in love with the area and viticultural possibilities. In the mid 1980's while establishing Linden Vineyards he consulted for other wineries and taught winegrowing at local Community Colleges. He is currently obsessed with growing great wine and happiest in vineyard. When not in the vineyard he enjoys cooking, eating in France, and writing for trade publications.

"In 1981, as a young winemaker, I took a job in Virginia. The vision of unlimited possibilities and a few good wines eventually lured me to set my roots on an abandoned hardscrabble farm on the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Much has changed since those early pioneer days, but the excitement of winegrowing in an evolving region stays just as strong. Over the years I have joined in partnership with other like minded winegrowers. Our job is to express the forces of earth, weather and vine in the bottle. All the grapes used to make Linden wines are grown in the mountains surrounding the winery. As winegrowers we are primarily interested in how each vineyard site is expressed in the glass. Place is more important than grape variety. Our white wines have subtle minerality, verve and vibrant acidity. Our red wines show earth, depth and structure. Our wines age quite well and we often release them many years past vintage."

 

 

Check out Jim's wine writing here.

 

Read the C-VILLE Weekly wine columnist's account of a night spent drinking Linden wines with Jim here.