I see some of you raising their hands and asking what is that Rhone Ranger thing. To put it in a nutshell, it is a group of California wine makers who got their inspiration from Rhone Valley wines in France. They don't raise cattle.
The Rhone Valley wine region starts south of Lyon and goes all the way down to around Avignon and Chateauneuf du Pape which might be its top star.
The spirit of the Rhone Rangers is as much rooted in the idea of terroir (the place where the grapes grow, its soil, weather...) as in the grapes they grow.
As an additional reason, Rhone type grapes such as Mourvedre, Grenache, Viognier (Grape of the Month for the rangers) and others can be less costly than say Chardonnay, Cabernet and Merlot.

A number of the Rhone Rangers wineries actually do not own vineyards, they buy their grapes from growers.

Maybe the most famous of these Rangers is Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon.
Amongst his wines my personal favorites are Le Cigare Volant (his tip of the hat to Chateauneuf du Pape) and the Muscat Vin de Glaciere. He happens to be a Frank Zappa aficionado which is a plus.

A Rhone Ranger winery that piqued my curiosity is A Donkey and Goat based in Berkeley whose label I chose to illustrate this story.

They host a Spring Open House on Saturday February 24 from 1 to 5 pm if you are in their area.
I hope I can taste their wines soon.
They do break the rules by counting a Chardonnay amongst their offerings.

Other Rhone Stories I wrote: Cuvee Counoise is in my Glass for Wine Blogging Wednesday  #19

Sante!