Bonny Doon Goes Orange

August 22, 2023 – Have you tried the orange wine from Bonny Doon Vineyard? It’s one of the many wines that will be featured at Saturday’s Doon to Earth Orange Party, this Saturday, August 26, from 3pm until 7pm, at the Doon to Earth tasting room.

You’re invited to dress up in orange and compete for prizes, including festive shirts, sunglasses and boas. In addition to orange wine there will be orange colored foods—think wonderful summery veggies and fruits like carrots and melon and stonefruit—plus wines of other hues. 

Expect some provocative décor and costumes, perhaps a visit from the man himself who started all this Doonishness. He’s likely to be oh so orange. 

Besides the orange wines and the promise of a good party, there many good reasons to visit the Doon to Earth tasting room in Aptos. In fact, there are at least six good reasons to join the D.E.W.N. wine club, too, assuming you choose the 6-bottle option. Since the club ships twice a year, technically that’s 12 reasons.  

While the wines may sport some whimsical and sometimes bordering on the bizarre packaging, they are all made seriously and with great intent, by seriously talented winemaker Nicole Walsh, so you are in for a treat. 

As an early member of the original Bonny Doon wine club, I’d dropped it years ago when Randall Grahm sold the Pacific Rim Riesling and Big House brands, and the tasting room kept migrating and I got dizzy trying to keep track. 

All the while, though, Walsh has been making solid wines, and the good folks at The War Room have a vested interest in keeping the Bonny Doon Vineyard brand vibrant and thought-provoking, and just this side of the rocket-worn arc of the universe. 

So, when I opened the summer D.E.W.N. wine club box, I was thrilled to see that its contents included four of my favorite wines: the 2022 Le Cigare Orange, 2022 Ser Orange Muscat, 2021 Ser Pinot Noir from Rio Del Mar and 2021 Ser Cab Pfeffer. In addition, there is a Bonny Doon 2022 Pink Wine of The Earth, plus the 2021 Clairette Blanche from Arroyo Seco. That’s the oddball label of the group, with a rather prominent eye that won’t stop following you. Here’s a rundown.

2022 Bonny Doon Pink Wine of the Earth, 13.6%, $17.99 – This wild strawberry rhubarb punch of a wine is like that easygoing neighbor who always waves hello and gives you plenty of room while you’re out walking, as opposed to the neighbor that seems to make a beeline for your knees. It’s lighthearted and easy to drink and complies neatly with that sign posted on all the California Park Service trails that exhorts you to Leave No Trace. This year’s pink is comprised of 50% Cinsault, 43% Grenache, 5% Clairette Blanche and 2% Mourvedre. Every grape counts. 

2022 Clairette Blanche “Perfect Clairetty” Beeswax Vineyard, Arroyo Seco, 10.8%, $30 – Aromas of lime and limestone, white daffodils, hyacinth and peonies lead to a very clean and brisk palate dominated by green apple, limon, lemongrass and white currant. There’s a bit of basil and just a touch of not quite ripe orange in this subtle stunner, that sports a catchy eye on the label. The citrus is so refreshing, but avoids being a direct squirt of lemon into your eyeballs. This is clearly a food wine. Bring on the broiled fish and the crudo. 

2021 Ser Pinot Noir Rio Del Mar Vineyard, 14.2%, $50  – As spicy a Pinot as Walsh has ever made, this one rings all the chimes in a symphonic arrangement of the essential elements of the grape. It’s got swinging from the treetops acid, wonderful red fruit, exotic spice box aromas and flavors, and a silky, juicy elegant texture that guarantees the bottle will disappear lickety-split. It must have a hole in it. This wine is a dead ringer for pfefferneusse, a baking-spice laden German Christmas cookie that has a touch of ground pepper. 

2022 Ser Dry Orange Muscat, Paso Robles, 13%, $30 – From the Carrasco Vineyard in Paso, this is a wine that makes your nose do cartwheels of delight, this wine also does a few backflips on your palate, too. Not that it’s showy or needs applause, but because it is a cheerleader who is just pumped up about being. As in just being. Nothing wrong with that. Applaud its energy, aromatics, tingly orangeness and ability to outshine every other wine on the table without even breaking out the pompoms. 

2021 Ser Cabernet Pfeffer Wirz Vineyard, Cienega Valley, $55  – What do you serve someone who thinks all red wines taste the same (yeah, most of the red blends on the mid to bottom shelves of today’s grocery stores actually do, unless they are Rhones), and who doesn’t like a lot of tannin? Cab Pfeffer. Guaranteed to give the old schnozz a lift with its wafting white pepper and sage incense, it then goes all George Forman in a tutu in the ring, peppering your palate with punch after punch of white pepper, but with buttersoft gloves. It delivers a delicate but direct hit.

2022 Le Cigare Orange, Central Coast, 11.6%, $17.99 – This skin contact double dose of Grenache is a huge hit in the marketplace. Every store worth its salt that has a Natural Wine Selection makes this a showpiece. It is an orange wine that most everyone will like. Just enough skin contact gives it that feeling of eating peach ice cream made from whole peaches. The fruit is 52% Grenache Blanc from Beeswax and Windfall Vineyards, 42% Grenache Gris from Loma Del Rio and 6% Orange Muscat from Carrasco Vineyard.  

Orange Party: Saturday, Aug 26, 3pm until 7pm in Aptos

You don’t need to tap Elon Musk or Richard Branson for an extraterrestrial experience. Celebrate all things orange at the Bonny Doon Orange Party this Saturday at the Doon to Earth/Ser tasting room in Aptos, from 3pm until 7pm. Dress up in orange and come feast on carrot-colored foods and more from Four Calendar, paired with wines that are guaranteed to be out of this world, and potentially well into the neighboring Dooniverse. There are sure to be photo ops and laugh-inducing props, as well as music by DJ Perfa, and raffle prizes. Perhaps even a visit from an alien or two who haven’t yet received their summons to a Senate hearing. Maybe a local poet reading sonnets containing words that rhyme with orange. You never know what to expect. 

As Randall Grahm himself would say, “What could possibly go wrong?”