Good wine to drink with good friends.
What does boon companion mean? The origin spans a couple different countries and languages, all (more-or-less) translating to wine-drinking friend or favorite friend. Fortunately, we have a bunch of boon companions that supported us in our pursuit of a wine label that brings unpretentious, approachable wine to your table. With the help of a U-Haul (and a little bit of luck), the inaugural 2021 vintage cemented our brand, Boon Companion … the only type of friend we need.
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the wine
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when life gives you lemons grenache 2023
Light and bright with aromas of wild strawberry, stewed plum, and white pepper. The vineyard is family-owned and -managed, farmed sustainably in the windiest, warmest, and driest region of Paso. The grapes were hand-harvested by a team of skilled vineyard workers on October 27, 2023.
Fun fact: The winemaker is obsessed with Beyoncé and the name of the wine is a nod to her Lemonade album (slay).
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yay for saignée 2023 (rosé of pinot noir)
Bright acidity meets delicate notes of strawberry, raspberry, and a hint of meyer lemon. The fruit comes from a vineyard in the Sonoma Coast AVA that is CCOF organic certified and Regenerative Organic Certified® by the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA). They practice soil enrichment, integrated pest management, and encourage biodiversity in and around the vineyards, resulting in grapes that give back to the land.
Fun fact: Saignée is a method of rosé production that involves “bleeding” off a portion of the wine from a tank destined for red wine (or Pinot Noir in this case) after a little bit of skin and seed contact.
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carry on Carignan 2022
Always in the pursuit of good fruit grown by good farmers, we opted for a vineyard in the Templeton Gap AVA, the coolest AVA in Paso Robles due to the gap in the ridge line that allows the ocean breeze to settle in. The vineyard is family-owned and -managed, farmed sustainably on 4 acres.
This year we are experimenting with Carignan, a red grape of Spanish origin but more commonly found in Southern France—a variety that is perfectly suited for Mediterranean climates. Carignan was once one of the most planted varieties in the state of California, but quickly lost favor with the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay boom in the late 1900s. The 2022 vintage, although a different variety from the 2021, will display similar freshness and fruit-forward characteristics, our signature Boon Companion style.
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rollin’ with the punches 2021
The Grenache from the 2021 rollin’ with the punches was sourced from a family-owned vineyard located in the Geneseo District sub-AVA. While hot, hot, hot during the summer, Paso Robles experiences large diurnal fluctuations throughout its growing season, due to its proximity to the cooling Pacific Ocean. The result is fruit that ripens during the day yet has a chance to cool off during the night, resulting in a balance between alcohol, tannin, and acidity.
The Grenache was hand-harvested in the early morning hours on September 17, 2020. The Petite Sirah was sourced from San Antonio Valley AVA of Southern Monterey County, farmed by a family of passionate, vineyard managers.
The inaugural vintage is a wine that needs no accompaniment (other than friends), but if you would like to pair with food—enjoy chilled with a charcuterie board, a thin-crust roasted summer squash pizza, or a farm-fresh salad. The wine is youthful and vibrant, meant to be drunk young and slightly chilled.
The 2021 vintage is currently allocated, but send us a message if you have to get your hands on a bottle.
our story
FOUNDED in
san francisco, CA. 2021
We started Boon Companion in 2021 to keep connected with each other, our passions, and the outside world around us. We only source from vineyards that care about the environment and farm organically with minimal intervention. Once it gets to the cellar, we let the grapes speak for themselves.
Boon Companion is a collective of friends and family who don’t want the adventures to stop. Ella Winje started her career in wine production during her last year at UC Berkeley, driving between a harvest in Livermore and her college courses just to make sure she didn’t sleep in on weekends. From there, she worked several years in the cellar and the lab (maybe doing one too many titrations).
Ella is joined by her sister Ana, best friend and financial expert (an absolute wizard at spreadsheets). Sam Hilder is the yes-man … there’s no better hype man than Sam. The fourth partner, and this list is certainly not exhaustive, is Richard Graham-Bruno: the first person to see the pitch deck two years ago and sign up for the journey immediately.
That being said, we are only as strong as our community. To name just a few: our dear friend and artist Kay Lopez designed the label for the 2021 vintage, an homage to the sunny disposition of Paso Robles, and our third sister (and ride-or-die), Diva Winje, created the label for the 2022 vintage and offers design help and inspiration along the way.
the grapes
We believe that good wine starts with good grapes. We believe that good grapes start with good farmers. Located in Paso Robles, the vineyards benefit from that hot, summer sunshine, but also the cooling effects from the proximity to the Pacific Ocean. We prefer a hands-off approach to winemaking and don’t get bogged down with any additives or meddling in the cellar - to truly let the vineyard, and grapes, sing.
The 2022 vintage is something special—with the vineyard located in Templeton Gap AVA, the coolest AVA in Paso Robles due to the gap in the ridge line that allows the ocean breeze to settle in. The perfect ripening zone for our wine. The grapes were hand-harvested in the early morning of October 19, 2022, and bottled unfined + unfiltered on July 27, 2023. Sign up for our mailing list to get first access!
