by Christina Waters | May 17, 2009 | Home, Wine |
As the Doon Turns: The undulant evolution of the winery’s mission and focus has become as regular as the tides, and so it was a given that Randall Grahm would transform his tasting room once again.
Unveiled in a cascade of preview dinners over the past week, the Cellar Door Cafe — complete with hot new chef, new ambience and an edgy Euro dining concept — is now available as a venue for Bonny Doon Vineyard‘s wines. Softening Mark Primack’s industrial sleek with new couches, wall treatment and attractive staffers, the tasting room-in-progress now showcases a Wednesday through Sunday sit-down, prix fixe dinner created from the ultra-freshest, organic, seasonal fare by Charlie Parker.
A David “Iron Chef” Kinch protegé, Parker (at left in white shirt) sous cheffed at Kinch’s two-star Manresa, as well as Napa’s Ubuntu. He just returned from three months cooking in the Michelin-starred kitchens of Copenhagen’s Noma. Parker — as I learned a few nights ago at a 5-course press dinner in the cavernous tasting room — can conceptualize in synch with Grahm’s oenological galaxy. The menu that evening, starting with suzuki crudo , followed by sensuous confit of pork belly and smoked salmon roe, continued on into a rare beef panzanella heightened by pea shoots, favas, asparagus and garlic gremolata. A dessert of calavados-splashed almond cake (more…)
by Christina Waters | May 14, 2009 | Wine |
Why is this man standing in front of a wall of 5 gallon carboys filled with vintage 2007 grenache, syrah and assorted other Rhônesque grapes?
Find out tomorrow when I dish about the new Cellar Door dinners – ready to unfold for the discerning public on Saturday, May 16 inside the Bonny Doon Vineyard tasting room.
by Christina Waters | May 5, 2009 | Wine |
I’ll keep this simple. Corralitos – gorgeous countryside, wines dripping with terroir.
Wines from Windy Oaks (where you will probably get to sample the new Estate Terra Narro), Alfaro, Nicholson and Pleasant Valley. Vineyards, winemakers, tastes, tours, cheese and sausages, commemorative wine glass – all for $35 (in advance – at the website; $40 day of the event).
May 9, Noon to 5pm – Saturday!
Freedom Blvd to Corralitos and then follow the signs. Better yet, download a map at the website.
by Christina Waters | May 4, 2009 | Food, Home, Wine |
The kitchen of Chris Avila just continues to provide comfort to serious foodies and adventurous winos. Take the other evening, for example. Armed with a glass of four-dimensional Sangiovese, I feasted on one of those amazing scallops appetizers Soif does so well.
The trio of scallops – always perfectly golden crisp exterior with buttery tender interior – arrived on a bed of crisp baby enoki mushrooms, strewn on a rich cushion of potato risotto. A moat of transparent parsley oil circled the shellfish.
See what I mean?
Soif.
by Christina Waters | Apr 25, 2009 | Home, Wine |
That would be 2007,(at least in the Corralitos region of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA) and proof was offered of this last week at the Alfaro tasting room. Richard poured tastes of two (of his ten!) pinot noirs, for me and viticultural consultant Prudy Foxx, made from the Lester Family Vineyard pinot noir estate grapes. Foxx is the viticulturist for the grapes that went into both the 2006 (shown here) and 2007 vintages.
The difference was stunning, though both wines still have miles to go before their full resolution. 2006, from a notoriously wet year, was rounded and earthy. Spherical. Loaded with fruit. The 2007 was angular and intricate, even in its extreme youth. Refreshing and edgy, it offered a more interesting ride, showing yin and yang – muscle and sinew. Bay leaves and aged copper.
by Christina Waters | Apr 25, 2009 | Home, Wine |
You bet! And that’s just what we had last Friday at the biodynamic cafe attached to the Bonny Doon Vineyard tasting room. Fresh from the oven came the pizza du jour, a feisty creation of roasted cauliflower, wild nettles, mozzarella, ricotta and sea salt. Thin crust, done ala Romana, which is my highest compliment. Seriously terrific pizza, it was miraculous paired with Le Cigare Blanc, a white Rhone-style beauty that is currently on the tasting room flight.
Changes are afoot chez Doon, and you can expect a knock-your-socks-off unveiling of all-new menu, all-new kitchen, all-new chef at Le Cigare Volant Cafe right around May 15. Stay tuned!
And check out the recent NYTimes piece on the reinvention of Randall Grahm.
