I’ve been a fan of Randall Grahm’s ever since I saw him being interviewed by Jancis Robinson on her DVD series 2-3 years ago. I’d read about the “Rhone Ranger” long before that but never thought much about the title other than “hey, cool title”. I didn’t really know much about the MAN until I heard him speak and it was that which he spoke (THE TRUTH) that made me do some resarch way back when – aha, this cat’s the Rhone Ranger – even cooler.

If there’s a BACK TO THE FUTURE Part whatever, I’m personally going to suggest Mr. Grahm as the quirky Professor – because if there’s anyone who can tune a Citroën DS-21 to do the speed of light, I’ll put my money on this guy any day!

After buying and inhaling his book BEEN DOON SO LONG (worth every Grahm by the way) over the holidays – yes, I always inhale and I love blunts by the way, a tie we have due to the CIGAR – I thought it would be great to interview him. And since I have the site in which to publish such an interview, I got on the horn. Here are the results… enjoy!

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Wine On The Rocks – Been Doon So Long was „twenty (or so) years in the making“ – has everything been said or can we expect a second book any time soon?

Randall Grahm – Well, certainly a lot has been said. (It’s a pretty weighty tome, and does deliver a lot of words/pound.) But I am greatly looking forward to the next book, which will be written in a very different genre. (I could tell you, but I would have to etc. etc.) I am hoping that next book will be a little quicker to complete. Were it to take as long as the first book, I will be drooling and incontinent before its completion (or significantly more than I currently am.)

WOTR- How fine is the line between Randall Grahm the artist and winemaker?

RG – There is no line; there is just one person. Without being too pretentious about it (watch it there, Randall) winemaking, or more accurately, winegrowing is my spiritual practice. If I have any shot at all at becoming a slightly more grounded and “present” person, it will have to come through farming.

WOTR – In your book you mention that you went „off track“ on more than once a occasion – do you feel you’re on track now?

RG – Definitely on track now, at least as far as focus and intention, if not currently burning things up with case sales.

WOTR – In Twitter style (140 characters or less) – please sum up your view on critics & their point scores.

RG – Wine critics, not wishing to appear foolish or inconsistent (they’re human beings, after all) reify point scores. What utter folly!

WOTR – Who do you consider an inspiration (three people) in today’s wine world?

RG – Gerard Chave, Josko Gravner, Helmut Dönnhoff – three very different personages, but all making great contributions.

WOTR – If Nebbiolo is Italy’s leading grape, where does Sagrantino stand?

RG – Sagrantino is a reasonably close second; I’m still not yet persuaded that it is capable of making a wine of extraordinary finesse on its own, but perhaps if blended with other grapes can make great wines, capable of very long ageing.

WOTR – Please finish this sentence: The underdog is always…

RG – The underdog (at least this one) is convinced of the righteousness of his cause, but would happily trade a little bit of correctness for just a tad more market share.

WOTR – Is there a market/are there markets where your wines don’t find acceptance (due to screw cap)?

RG – We haven’t been terribly lucky selling our screwcap wines (all of our wines have screwcaps) in Italy, but I’m not sure that the problem is screwcaps. In general, screwcaps seem to be well accepted everywhere.

WOTR – How would you describe Biodynamic in simple terms for non-wine geeks?

RG – Biodynamics is an agricultural practice, based (somewhat extrapolated) on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. It superficially resembles organic farming in its eschewal of synthetic materials (fertilizers, pesticides), but its aim is rather different. It speaks to the creation of a farm as a truly self-sustaining organism, with an aim to developing the uniqueness of the site. (Happily for me, biodynamics seems to be a great methodology for the discovery of terroir.) The principle methodologies of biodynamics are: 1) the use of the biodynamic calendar, believing that there is a certain periodicity to nature’s rhythms and on a given day, there may be one part of the plant that has greater activity than another. 2) the use of the biodynamic preparations, which are used as form of agricultural homeopathy, stimulating a particular plant process (photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, etc.) 3) the utilization of livestock on the site as a means of enhancing fertility and bringing about a greater ecological balance, 4) the use of biodynamic compost as the principle delivery system of replacing soil fertility. In general, the aim of biodynamics is to enhance the overall health of a farm so that the plants might better meet the environmental challenges (pests, drought, etc.) they are facing.

WOTR – Ca’ del Solo was certified Biodynamic in 06 – after 3 years, are the results in the bottle very different in comparison to 5-6 years ago?

RG – The wines do seem to be exhibiting increasingly more minerality and better consistency in ripening. In candor, it is often really hard to separate out the effects of biodynamic practice from the vagaries of a particular vintage year. In general, the quality of our wines has improved dramatically, but I’m not sure if I can attribute this all to biodynamics. Some of the vineyards where we are practicing biodynamics actually fared pretty miserably this year. (But it was a tough year.)

WOTR – We Twittered last week about Emidio Pepe and his demijohns, how did you come across this producer from Abruzzo? Do you have an opinion on the region and wines in general?

RG – I ran into Pepe’s wines rather by accident, while chatting with a restaurateur in Philadephia of all places and he was gracious enough to open a number of old bottlings, which all seemed incredibly young. I don’t know the region very well, only been to visit twice, and have actually imported some lovely wine from the area, under our “Il Circo” label. In general, I very much like the Abruzzo wines as solid, dependable go-to food wines and they generally offer among the best values in Italian wine. I have attempted to grow Montepulciano in California on one occasion and will say that it is one of the strangest grape vines I have ever seen. (It does look as if it comes from Mars.) Pepe’s wines, for the record, are absolutely amazing, now, alas, breathtakingly expensive, but that is the way of the world.

WOTR – Please fill in after the “=”:

Great terroir in the wrong hands =

It of course depends on how wrong are these hands. If wrong hands are simply ham-handed, the great terroir will shine through and no harm, no foul, as they say in the NBA. If the hands are really wrong, i.e. oenvil, i.e. grossly manipulative, it will be a tragedy of great dimension.

So-so terroir in the right hands =

Yet another clever wine that will sell well, but in no way appreciably changes anything.

Great terroir in great hands =

The gods are smiling and the world is deeply enriched.

WOTR – Which CD is in your player/car at this very moment? – or -
If I were to turn on your iPod at this very moment, which song or artist would be highlighted in the play list?

RG – I do have a recently installed CD player in the trunk of my Citroën DS-21 (It was a retrofit, obviously.) I haven’t quite figured out how to turn it on, but when I do, there are some Mozart concerti ready to go.

WOTR – Merci!

RG – Je t’en prie.