Randall Grahm, winemaker extraordinaire, is delighted to announce the release of his 2022 Le Cigare Orange. Grahm calls it “utterly delicious,” and it is! And I was equally glad to taste it.
“How could it possibly jibe with the historical Bonny Doon modus,” he says of his hesitancy to make something orange. However, considering the challenge presented to him, he could not pass up “this golden-ish/orange opportunity.”
Le Cigare Orange ($18) is 40% Grenache Blanc, 40% Grenache Gris, 10% Grenache Noir and 10% Orange Muscat, with grapes sourced primarily from the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County. The wine has an unmistakable scent of peach and red wine’s textural richness and depth.
“This is neither a wine made from oranges nor something that one might smoke,” Grahm says with waggish humor. He says it refers to the curious orange color obtained when white grapes are fermented in their skins.
Grahm, confessing that he has not always believed in orange wine, says that if you experience what could be called “orange hesitancy,” then you should not be afraid to put your toes in the water and try it. He was skeptical when Andrew Nelson (co-founder of WarRoom Cellars and to whom Grahm sold Bonny Doon Vineyard in 2020 but remains as head winemaker) suggested that Bonny Doon produce an orange wine.
Nicole Walsh, a winemaker at Bonny Doon and with her own Ser Winery label, carries Bonny Doon wines in her tasting room in Aptos Village. How wonderful to have two wineries under one roof. Let the orange light shine! Try Ser Winery’s Orange Muscat while you’re there.
Ser Winery Tasting Room, 10 Parade St., Ste. B, Aptos, 831-612-6062; serwinery.com or bonnydoonvineyard.com
