Oprah and Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Taste Wine on Skype
Wow! Who would have ever thought that you could toast, swirl, sip, smile and drink wine with a friend while he or she is thousands of miles away? Computer technology is getting very advanced and everyone is starting to take advantage of it. Last week Oprah had a segment on her show all about Skype. Skype is a way that you can talk and have the choice to see or just hear the person you are talking to while on the computer for free. Yes, for FREE! You just need to download Skype onto your computer and have either, a built in video, or a portable one that you install on top of your computer. Once you have that installed you can talk with anyone around the world!
What Oprah did last week was she had a Skype conference call during her show with a couple flying on Virgin Atlantic Airlines and Randall Grahm owner of Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz California. The three parties sampled three Bonnie Doon wines all at the same time, and were able to see each other, discuss the wine with each other, and laugh in amazement at this new technology.
If you're not familiar with Bonny Doon Vineyard, well you've been missing out! Their first release was back in 1986. They are especially known for their good value wines and being on the forefront of screw tops and biodynamic farming. You will notice right away when you go to their website that there is a definate artsy-quirky style. Randall is a firm believer of making sure you as the consumer, understands and feels the love for each of his wines as he does by writing fantastic descriptions of each one.
Randall poured a Bonny Doon 2008 ca' del Solo Albarino described as; bright aromas of lemon blossom, white ginger and sage remind one of the pilgrim journeys along the winding paths leading to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Citrus rind, wild herbs and green almond flavors continue this Spanish interlude as the ‘08 vintage finishes long, crisp and briny. Pairs beautifully with fresh oysters camarón en cazuela or any fresh bloomy rind goat or sheep’s milk cheese.
Bonny Doon Ca' del Solo Brand Labels
After they enjoyed that wine they then poured Bonny Doon's signature wine Le Cigare Volant described as; an earthier style of Cigare than previous editions, the 2005 shows a deep ruby robe with bright purple highlights. Aromas of spiced meat, kirsch, mushrooms, a soupçon of truffle and dark chocolate make for a richly perfumed red wine. Flavors of earthy red fruit, cocoa beans and sweet spice, balanced with moderate acidity, slightly crunchy tannins and a generous, even voluptuous texture with a long, savory finish. This wine has the structure to age well and shows more French oak than is normal for us. Quite delicious, yet clearly serious and stylistically, very Old World. Ages until kids are out of the house. The last wine they poured was a dessert wine. Oprah made mention that she isn't a big dessert wine fan, she usually sticks to the red wine. They poured a Bonny Doon 2007 Le Vol des Anges (Sweet Wine of the Earth) described as; Botrytis, when it is good, is very, very good i.e., it imparts a rather distinctive quality to sweet wine - incredibly rich, unctuous, honeyed, savory mouthfeel with great persistence on the palate. This wine has a wonderfully decadent, autumnal quality and one is mostly reminded of pome fruit - pears and quince, but also sweet suggestions of white nectarine, apricot and even a hint of blood orange. In one of those odd synchronicities that seem to be the warp and woof of the Bonny Doon experience, there is also an unmistakable and extremely attractive fragrance of beeswax. Everyone enjoyed everything; Oprah especially enjoyed Le Cigare, as she is a fan of red wines.
Jacob and Brittany enjoying wine tasting at Bonny Doon
Larry and I had the opportunity to go to Bonny Doon Vineyard and check out their new tasting room this past February with our son Jacob and his girlfriend Brittany. They are open Mon/Tue 12-5:30 and Wed-Sun 12-9. You can spend a long time in the tasting room as they offer a number of different wines to sample, they have great educational posters to read around the room, they have a nice gift shop and beautiful architecture throughout. They recently opened up a cafe in the tasting room called the Cellar Door. The Cellar Door Cafe is open Wed-Sun 12-9. The executive chef is Charlie Parker who was at Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos for three years bringing it up to a Michelin two-starred restaurant. If you go, let me know what your thoughts were.
What Oprah did last week was she had a Skype conference call during her show with a couple flying on Virgin Atlantic Airlines and Randall Grahm owner of Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz California. The three parties sampled three Bonnie Doon wines all at the same time, and were able to see each other, discuss the wine with each other, and laugh in amazement at this new technology.
If you're not familiar with Bonny Doon Vineyard, well you've been missing out! Their first release was back in 1986. They are especially known for their good value wines and being on the forefront of screw tops and biodynamic farming. You will notice right away when you go to their website that there is a definate artsy-quirky style. Randall is a firm believer of making sure you as the consumer, understands and feels the love for each of his wines as he does by writing fantastic descriptions of each one.
Randall poured a Bonny Doon 2008 ca' del Solo Albarino described as; bright aromas of lemon blossom, white ginger and sage remind one of the pilgrim journeys along the winding paths leading to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Citrus rind, wild herbs and green almond flavors continue this Spanish interlude as the ‘08 vintage finishes long, crisp and briny. Pairs beautifully with fresh oysters camarón en cazuela or any fresh bloomy rind goat or sheep’s milk cheese.
Bonny Doon Ca' del Solo Brand Labels
After they enjoyed that wine they then poured Bonny Doon's signature wine Le Cigare Volant described as; an earthier style of Cigare than previous editions, the 2005 shows a deep ruby robe with bright purple highlights. Aromas of spiced meat, kirsch, mushrooms, a soupçon of truffle and dark chocolate make for a richly perfumed red wine. Flavors of earthy red fruit, cocoa beans and sweet spice, balanced with moderate acidity, slightly crunchy tannins and a generous, even voluptuous texture with a long, savory finish. This wine has the structure to age well and shows more French oak than is normal for us. Quite delicious, yet clearly serious and stylistically, very Old World. Ages until kids are out of the house. The last wine they poured was a dessert wine. Oprah made mention that she isn't a big dessert wine fan, she usually sticks to the red wine. They poured a Bonny Doon 2007 Le Vol des Anges (Sweet Wine of the Earth) described as; Botrytis, when it is good, is very, very good i.e., it imparts a rather distinctive quality to sweet wine - incredibly rich, unctuous, honeyed, savory mouthfeel with great persistence on the palate. This wine has a wonderfully decadent, autumnal quality and one is mostly reminded of pome fruit - pears and quince, but also sweet suggestions of white nectarine, apricot and even a hint of blood orange. In one of those odd synchronicities that seem to be the warp and woof of the Bonny Doon experience, there is also an unmistakable and extremely attractive fragrance of beeswax. Everyone enjoyed everything; Oprah especially enjoyed Le Cigare, as she is a fan of red wines.
Larry and I had the opportunity to go to Bonny Doon Vineyard and check out their new tasting room this past February with our son Jacob and his girlfriend Brittany. They are open Mon/Tue 12-5:30 and Wed-Sun 12-9. You can spend a long time in the tasting room as they offer a number of different wines to sample, they have great educational posters to read around the room, they have a nice gift shop and beautiful architecture throughout. They recently opened up a cafe in the tasting room called the Cellar Door. The Cellar Door Cafe is open Wed-Sun 12-9. The executive chef is Charlie Parker who was at Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos for three years bringing it up to a Michelin two-starred restaurant. If you go, let me know what your thoughts were.
Posted by Wine Travels With Lori at 5/27/2009 2:10 PM 
Categories: wine wine tasting, Oprah Winfrey, Skype, bonny doon
Tags: conference call wine wine tasting bonny doon Oprah Winfrey Skype santa cruz computer
Categories: wine wine tasting, Oprah Winfrey, Skype, bonny doon
Tags: conference call wine wine tasting bonny doon Oprah Winfrey Skype santa cruz computer
Good post, but have you thought about Oprah and Randall Grahm before?
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I am a big fan of Oprah and of Randall Grahm. I occasionally watch Oprah, admire her greatly and know that she is a big fan of red wine, especially Pinot Noir. As far as Randall Grahm goes we have been fans of Bonnie Doon and Randall for over 15 years now. We love Randall's wines, writings, his old and new tasting rooms and have been to the new tasting room in Santa Cruz twice now in the few months it's been open. Check out the picture we just took of Randall at the Wine Bloggers Conference '09 plus we have written an article or two about our experiencs there.
Bonnie Doon's Cellar Door
Bonny Doon Vineyard Opens New Tasting Room in Santa Cruz
Photo of Randal Grahm at the Wine Bloggers Conference July 2009
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