Randall Grahm
Been Doon So Long
A Randall Grahm Vinthology
$34.95, £24.95 hardcover
9780520259560
Available Now
336 pages, 8-1/2 x 10 inches, 26 color illustrations, 35 line illustrations
October 2009, Available worldwide
Also in: Winemaking
October 2009, Available worldwide
Also in: Winemaking
This eclectic collection at last brings to a wide audience the irreverent, zany voice of Randall Grahm, visionary California winemaker and founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard. An iconoclastic send-up of the wine industry and a celebration of unsung grape varieties, the book features, among other things, Grahm's hilarious literary parodies--Joyce, Kafka, Pynchon, Salinger, and others--together with song lyrics, other snarky satires, poems, lectures, and more. Subtle undertones of gravitas with faint suggestions of earnestness lie beneath the humor, however, as Grahm passionately addresses the state of wine today: Where in wine does "greatness" truly repose? How might true originality in New World wines be found? Do New World winemakers have the integrity and courage to unreservedly embrace terroir? This trove includes a very personal take on Dante's Inferno (Grahm's own vision of Wine Hell) and a collection of tunes from the rock opera "Born to Rhône." Other pieces offer a fascinating glimpse into the history of the Rhône Ranger wine movement and of Bonny Doon itself, told through the story of its adventurous wine labels. Been Doon So Long is a highly entertaining journey to find the "truth of all things that may be found in the unlikely medium of a wineglass."
"Sharp, irreverent musings on wine—everything from literary spoofs to serious essays. All are assembled here."—Food & Wine
"There's witness to one of California's most magnetizing winemakers coming to terms with his more mature self."—Sf Chronicle
"There's witness to one of California's most magnetizing winemakers coming to terms with his more mature self."—Sf Chronicle
"Raise your glass to Randall Grahm. Long may he tickle our fancy."—Kermit Lynch, author of Adventures on the Wine Route
"Long a fan of Bonny Doon, it cheered me to find Randall Grahm's writing just as irreverent and delicious as his approach to wine."—Kathleen Flinn, author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry
"Randall Grahm is the Willy Wonka of the wine world, and Been Doon So Long is intelligent, insightful, and mischievous. It's a work of genius."—Jamie Goode, author of The Science of Wine
"If Donald Barthelme had studied philosophy and oenology he might have written like Randall Grahm. He's a provocateur, a punster, a philosopher, and jester. As entertaining as Grahm is, he also manages to edify, ultimately surprising us with contrarian common sense and a flamboyant defense of tradition."—Jay McInerney, author of Bacchus and Me and A Hedonist in the Cellar
"Long a fan of Bonny Doon, it cheered me to find Randall Grahm's writing just as irreverent and delicious as his approach to wine."—Kathleen Flinn, author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry
"Randall Grahm is the Willy Wonka of the wine world, and Been Doon So Long is intelligent, insightful, and mischievous. It's a work of genius."—Jamie Goode, author of The Science of Wine
"If Donald Barthelme had studied philosophy and oenology he might have written like Randall Grahm. He's a provocateur, a punster, a philosopher, and jester. As entertaining as Grahm is, he also manages to edify, ultimately surprising us with contrarian common sense and a flamboyant defense of tradition."—Jay McInerney, author of Bacchus and Me and A Hedonist in the Cellar
Foreword by Hugh Johnson
Acknowledgments
Introduction
[I] How to Tell a Book by Its Cover
The Etiquette (and History) of the Bonny Doon Etiquette
[II] Ficciones (Viterature)
[1] How I Spent My Summer Vacation
[2] Spenser's Last Case: Le Mystère d'Ail, Ail, Ail
[3] A Wan Hunter Had Yourself Solid, Dude
[4] "B"
[5] The Fining Trial
[6] Cheninagin's Wake: James Juice Takes the Wine Train
[7] Don Quijones, the Man for Garnacha, or A Confederacy of Doonces
[8] The pHs of Romanée County
[9] Kacher in the Ribes
[10] A Clockwork Orange Muscat
[11] Trotanoy's Complaint
[12] A Perfect Day for Barberafish
[III] Poesy Galore
[13] The Love Song of J. Alfred Rootstock
[14] Howlbariño
[15] The Rimeshot of the Ancient Marsanner
[16] Bash_ Does Beltramo's
[17] A Holiday Message
[18] Da Vino Commedia: The Vinferno
[IV] Taking It Doon-Tune
[19] Don Giovese in Bakersfield: An Opera Giacosa
[20] Born to Rhône: Selections from a Rock (and Gravel) Opera
[V] Enough Rope: Extracts from the Nooseletter
[21] Manichean Rules, or The Continental Divide
[22] Podea, or Unhand the Maiden, Sirrah!
[23] Reductio ad Sulfatum, or A Penny for Your Thoughts
[24] The Almost Pleasanton Years, or In the Belly of the Republikaner Beast
[25] Up the Yin/Yang without a Paddle
[26] Ca' del Solo, or Home Alone
[27] Revenge
[VI] Connerie (Schtick)
[28] Preface to Unwritten Book
[29] Why French Wine No Longer Matters, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Long-Chain Tannins
[30] Totally Screwed: Three (3x) Top Ten Lists
[31] The Heartbreak of Wine Geekdom: Ten Ways You Know You've Met a Real Wine Geek
[32] Good Morning, Swedes
[33] Le Cigare of the Future
[34] Making the List at Elka's
[35] Preface to Wines of Italy
[36] Are You Experienced?
[37] Doon to Earth
[VII] Earnest Speeches and Sober Essays
[38] Sustainability
[39] Bungle in the Jungle: "How Does a Wine Mean?" or A Season in Wine Hell
[40] How I Overcame my UC Davis Education
[41] Six Feet Under: A Meditation on Roots, Minerals, and Vinous Immortality
[42] "Great" Wine in the Postmodernist World
[43] In Search of a Great Growth in the New World
[44] Terroir and Going Home
[45] A Meditation on Terroir: The Return
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Introduction
[I] How to Tell a Book by Its Cover
The Etiquette (and History) of the Bonny Doon Etiquette
[II] Ficciones (Viterature)
[1] How I Spent My Summer Vacation
[2] Spenser's Last Case: Le Mystère d'Ail, Ail, Ail
[3] A Wan Hunter Had Yourself Solid, Dude
[4] "B"
[5] The Fining Trial
[6] Cheninagin's Wake: James Juice Takes the Wine Train
[7] Don Quijones, the Man for Garnacha, or A Confederacy of Doonces
[8] The pHs of Romanée County
[9] Kacher in the Ribes
[10] A Clockwork Orange Muscat
[11] Trotanoy's Complaint
[12] A Perfect Day for Barberafish
[III] Poesy Galore
[13] The Love Song of J. Alfred Rootstock
[14] Howlbariño
[15] The Rimeshot of the Ancient Marsanner
[16] Bash_ Does Beltramo's
[17] A Holiday Message
[18] Da Vino Commedia: The Vinferno
[IV] Taking It Doon-Tune
[19] Don Giovese in Bakersfield: An Opera Giacosa
[20] Born to Rhône: Selections from a Rock (and Gravel) Opera
[V] Enough Rope: Extracts from the Nooseletter
[21] Manichean Rules, or The Continental Divide
[22] Podea, or Unhand the Maiden, Sirrah!
[23] Reductio ad Sulfatum, or A Penny for Your Thoughts
[24] The Almost Pleasanton Years, or In the Belly of the Republikaner Beast
[25] Up the Yin/Yang without a Paddle
[26] Ca' del Solo, or Home Alone
[27] Revenge
[VI] Connerie (Schtick)
[28] Preface to Unwritten Book
[29] Why French Wine No Longer Matters, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Long-Chain Tannins
[30] Totally Screwed: Three (3x) Top Ten Lists
[31] The Heartbreak of Wine Geekdom: Ten Ways You Know You've Met a Real Wine Geek
[32] Good Morning, Swedes
[33] Le Cigare of the Future
[34] Making the List at Elka's
[35] Preface to Wines of Italy
[36] Are You Experienced?
[37] Doon to Earth
[VII] Earnest Speeches and Sober Essays
[38] Sustainability
[39] Bungle in the Jungle: "How Does a Wine Mean?" or A Season in Wine Hell
[40] How I Overcame my UC Davis Education
[41] Six Feet Under: A Meditation on Roots, Minerals, and Vinous Immortality
[42] "Great" Wine in the Postmodernist World
[43] In Search of a Great Growth in the New World
[44] Terroir and Going Home
[45] A Meditation on Terroir: The Return
Glossary
Visit Randall Grahm's website and blog at www.beendoonsolong.com
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