Bonny Doon Ca' Del Solo Muscat 2008

Pale yellow color with light gold highlights. Bright floral notes of honeysuckle, lilac and orange blossom bring to mind a perfumed spring garden at dusk. Ripe peach, melon and yellow apple combine with citrus zest and spearmint on the palate. The 2008 Muscat is extraordinarily fine with grilled sea bass with lime and mint butter, assorted dim sum or fried chicken with pan gravy.

Based in Santa Cruz, heartland of New Age thinking and deferred transition to adulthood, Bonny Doon Vineyard has a not-so surprising history of idealism and innovation. Founded by Randall Grahm in the bucolic hamlet of Bonny Doon, California, in 1983, we’re known for strikingly original wines made from lesser-known (though no less noble) grape varieties, the vinous Ugly Ducklings. Bonny Doon Vineyard made its mark with pioneering work with Rhône varieties, innovative production techniques, and imaginative marketing that has, truth be told, sometimes been too clever by half. Since the adoption of biodynamic farming practices in 2004 and the radical slimming down of product portfolio and case production in 2006 (with a concomitant greater degree of focus and attention to detail), the wines evince a more complex expression of varietal character, a more noticeable sense of organization, and a greater degree of life-force.