My Day With Bonny Doon

Alright.  I’m pretty late writing about this, but in my defense, I’m a very busy man. Here goes.

About two weeks ago, I was on vacation in California.  While I spent most of my trip in San Francisco, I did managed to get down to Santa Cruz for about a day and half. My partner in crime and I took this opportunity to visit the Bonny Doon production facility for a VIP tasting and a few brief lessons on biodynamic wine production. During the two or so hours of the visit, we were assisted by three highly knowledgeable tasters: Genevieve, with 2 years behind the bar, Leela, who packed 5 years of experience and Cameron, who also kept it real with 2 years. Armed with nearly ten years of tasting knowledge, we dove into the Bonny Doon portfolio.  These are the wines we tasted:

2004 Le Cigare Volant
2007 Le Cigare Volant (which had been bottled only the day before)
2007 Le Cigare Blanc
2008 Vin Gris De Cigare
2008 Ca’Del Solo Albarino
Ca’Del Solo Sangiovese (unknown vintage)
2008 Ca’Del Solo Muscat
2006 Ca’Del Solo Dolcetto
2005 Ca’Del Solo Nebbiolo

Then they broke out the interesting bottlings they do only for their Wine Club members.

2005 Bien Nacido Syrah
2005 Syrah Le Posseur
2006 Syrah Cuvee Splendide
2007 Ca’Del Solo Orange Muscat (my favorite)
2007 Angel Paille
The Vinferno (unknown vintage)

I also got to taste a brandy Bonny Doon used to make but no longer produces. Delicious.

I’m not going to lie here guys, I didn’t take any tasting notes.  I was just soaking up the vino and the stories that the tasters were telling.  For me though, this wasn’t really all about the wine, but the experience as well.  The tasting room at Bonny Doon is gorgeous, the staff is friendly and the wine is great.  I would say if ever you’re in Santa Cruz, head down there and check it out.  I know that I will be there again next time I’m in town.

-Out.

Tags: Bonny Doon, California, Red Wine, white wine
Category: The Wine Blog