My husband loves Bonny Doon wines and we were glad to meet our good friends – Virginia and Homayan and their two children, Zhara and Philip at Bonny Doon’s winemaker (Randall Grahm) Santa Cruz restaurant, Le Cigare Volant.

We started the evening with a quartino of Bonny Doon’s Vin Gris de Rose 2010.  Wine maker Randall Grahm has been a driving force in wine in the Santa Cruz Region since he opened Bonny Doon in 1984. To commemorate the release of the 25th vintage of his Le Cigare Volant wine, he decided to rename the cafe adjacent to his tasting room in Downtown Santa Cruz.  He’s serious enough to make well made, well grown and well cared for wine, but not snobby or overly concerned with it in a Robert Parker kind of way.  In fact, Randall Grahm is the anti-Parker. 

Perhaps best known for Cardinal Zin and Big House Red, Grahm has since sold off these brands and parcels of Bonny Doon and concentrates now on Cigare Volant – his Rhone varietals in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  He redefines the “Rhone Rangers” varietal to say the least.

The Vin Gris de Rose is made up of grenache, roussanne, grenache blanc and mourvedre.  It has pleasing aromas of strawberry, flowers, and watermelon. The predominant flavors are apple, some citrus, and watermelon but it is not overly sweet and balanced with great minerality and acidity. It ends with a dry excellent finish. This is an extremely drinkable wine with perfect balance. It is so crisp and fresh that you could almost guzzle this one on a hot day!  I guzzled my glass the few bites of charcoal-grilled octopus salad and baby potatoes that I shared with Virginia.

We brought a bottle of Pride Merlot Sonoma/Napa 2002.  Like so many things of great beauty, the 2002 Merlot lots were shy in their infancy, evolving slowly before strutting their stuff and blowing everyone away with their power and grace. Now? 10 years later?  Wow! This cuvee reveals thoroughly ripe blackberry aromas and flavors with a seductively rich mid palate. Tronçais oak cooperage contributes a balanced oak profile reminiscent of roasted espresso beans. 100% Merlot, the 2002 Merlot is blended from twelve individually vinified lots culled from vineyard blocks spanning on their mountaintop estate; which borders Napa and Sonoma sides of the mountain.  It is truly elegant with wonderfully sweet black cherry fruit intermixed with a hint of mocha, white chocolate, and some background sappy wood notes, its beautiful integration of acidity and tannin make for an elegant, polished, and stunning Merlot to drink over the next decade.  We thoroughly enjoyed this wine with my 38 North Seared Breast of Duck with pan roasted plum, freewheelin’ lettuce roll and ginger dressing.

We laughed throughout the whole evening at Le Cigare Volant and everyone seemed to also be very happy with their appetizers and entrees.  I was convienced that we would get booted from the restaurant due to all the laughter and rukus we were causing, but thank god it was getting late and the restaurant was just about to shut down.  We continued the party at Virigina and Homayan’s beautiful beachfront home by the wharf and played card games till the wee hours in the morning!  It was great night with great friends!

Congratulations to Philip from graduating Hilton Head High in Southern Carolina and who is starting at University of Arizona this coming fall!  Congratulations to Zhara who is now approaching her junior year at University of Arizona! Congratulations to Randall Grahm for his 25^th anniversary of Le Cigare Volant vintage wine!  And of course… congratulations to my honey-bunny who won the “May I” card game at 4 in the morning!!  Perfect night for all celebrants!