Terroirist Vintner

"I actively resorted to all manner of marketing tricks … I don’t want rely on winemaking tricks anymore," says Randall Graham in a New York Times article by Eric Asimov (4/22/09). That’s quite a confession coming from Randall, who has seen huge success with Bonny Doon Vineyard: "At its peak, in 2006, Bonny Doon sold some 450,000 cases of wine, more than 5 million bottles." Since then, Randall has "sold off moneymaking labels like Big House and spun off Pacific Rim, under which he sold a lot of riesling."

All told, Randall has reduced his "lineup of 35 different wines … to around 10." He says it’s not about how many different kinds of wine he makes: "What matters," he says, "is that we make wines of originality that have a reason for being. The question is, how do you create the conditions for originality." For Randall, the answer starts with rejecting the use of things like "aroma-enhancing yeasts, enzymes and spinning cones." He explains: "You can’t make an original wine that way. You can make something clever or artful, but not great."

Randall also wasn’t particularly proud that he planted a vineyard in Soledad that requires irrigation. "Dry farming is absolutely crucial," he says. He also felt uncomfortable purchasing grapes from faraway places while preaching the importance of "terroir." So, now, he’s out to fix that by starting a vineyard from scratch, where he plans to grow vines from seeds. "You have to put your money where your mouth is," he says. "Maybe it’ll turn out great, maybe not. But I’ll have made a sincere effort to create something new and strange and different, which may be the best you can hope for in the New World."