Bonny Doon Vineyards

Randall Grahm purchased property in the Santa Cruz Mountains in an area known as Bonny Doon intent on producing the Great American Pinot Noir. The GAPN proved to be systematically elusive but he was greatly encouraged by experimental batches of Rhône varieties. The late great Bonny Doon Estate Vineyard (1981 – 1994) was eventually planted to syrah, roussanne, marsanne and viognier and produced achingly beautiful wines.   In 1986 Bonny Doon Vineyard released the inaugural vintage (1984) of Le Cigare Volant, an homage to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Since early 2004, Bonny Doon Vineyards has practice strict adherence to Biodynamic viticultural practices.  They believe these practices give the wines the best opportunity to produce the most distinctive and interesting wines.  The intent of the biodynamic practice is to wake up the plants, so that they might become more tuned in to their surroundings.  A biodynamic grower is linked to his farm in a much more intimate way, as the biodynamic proposition is really as much about transforming the farmer as it is the farm.