PrintThe Rhone Rangers Ride Again
EnlargeCalifornia may be best known for red varietals like cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, and zinfandel, but some of the more fanatical winemakers are devoted to crafting wines from those grapes traditionally used in France’s Rhone Valley, mostly grenache, syrah, and mourvédre. These rebellious vintners call themselves the Rhone Rangers, a loose organization of 200 wineries in California, Washington, Oregon, and New York led by Bob Lindquist of Qupé and Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon.
Grahm, who is considered by his peers to be a great winemaker—and a goofball, nicknamed the “Willy Wonka of the wine world”—makes stunningly good syrah blends with names like Le Cigare Volant and Old Telegram. He is also the author of a new collection of oenophilian poems and essays called Been Doon So Long (University of California Press), a “vinthology” that includes a hilarious take-off on Dante’s Divine Comedy—in terza rima!—called “the Vinferno” by Al Dente Allegory.
Like Grahm’s lighthearted verse, Rhone Rangers wines are brighter, sunnier versions of the European originals, wines like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côte Rôtie, and Hermitage, along with white wines like Viognier. To taste some for yourself, check out the Smithsonian’s Sustainable Seafood Conference at the National Museum of Natural History June 10–12 (the Rhone Rangers are the exclusive wine sponsor) or the Pacific Northwest Grand Tasting July 13–14 at Pier 66 in Seattle. For a tasting at home, try some of my other favorite West Coast members with wonderfully evocative names, like Spellbound, Shane, Blue Moon, Dusted Valley, Donkey & Goat, and Snoqualmie.
FYI: www.rhonerangers.org.
