Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40615
By Larry Walker here is little doubt that Randy Dunn makes damn good cabernet sauvignon – some of the best in the state. His career started at Caymus Vineyards in Napa Valley in 1975. In 1979, he and his wife, Lori, established Dunn Vineyards on Howell Mountain. His first release was 600 cases of cabernet sauvignon in 1982. Dunn continued as the winemaker at Caymus until 1985. During his decade there he made a series of highly praised Caymus Spe- cial Selection cabernets. When he started at the win- ery it was producing 7,000 cases per year; when he left, it was up to approximately 100,000 cases annually. Despite his superstar track record, Dunn usu- ally maintains a low profile. There is no elaborate entry to his winery and no visible sign there of the Napa "life- style." Recently, however, Dunn has been speaking out on a subject he feels very strongly about: high-alcohol wines. He contends that the high-alcohol trend is ruining cabernet, and especially Cal- ifornia cabernet. He is currently working Randy Dunn The maverick Napa Valley winemaker continues his mission to save California cabernet 64 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT SEPT - OCT 2011 with UC Davis to estab- lish tasting trials of wines above 15% alcohol content compared to lower-alcohol wines. His contention is that the high-alcohol wines essentially "blind" the pal- ate to lower-alcohol wines, causing tasting scores to skew upward for higher- octane bottlings. The project is set to begin at UC Davis this fall. V&WM: Let's begin at the beginning. Why did you decide to become a wine- maker? Randy Dunn (RD): I was WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM Photo: © 2008 Bill Tucker, www.napabehindthebottle.com