Before I promoted eateries and drinkeries on international radio, I was a contributor to such musical media outlets as Rolling Stone and Billboard and covered the music scene all over the world.

On one particularly memorable assignment, I got to interview my bass idol Les Claypool and asked him which of the four was his favorite string.

All these years later, Les is still a guitar hero and is apparently still producing amazingly offbeat stuff. In addition to performing with Primus and members of the Police and Phish (I sense a “P” theme here!), he is also now producing perfectly potable products of pressed grapes at his California winery called Purple Pachyderm.

Nestled in the Russian River Valley about 1.5 hours from the Bay Area, Purple Pachyderm is run by Les and his wife and guided by their many friendly wine-making neighbors. 

The result is a sipable (or, as Les might put it, slurpable) wine that is unique and impressive but still fun and approachable (much like Les himself).

While most of the vintages are of the Pinot Noir varietal, Purple Pachyderm ages the wines for different lengths of time in assorted containers to offer a range of varietal variations on a well-loved theme. They recently released a rosé that adds a new blush to the collection and also offer a Champagne Pachyderm that will make it even more fun to bring on the pink elephants.

For those who want the latest of Les’s lees, there is the League of Extraordinary Slurpers (Get it? L.E.S.!), which is the Pachyderm wine club. And if you are lucky enough to be in the Valley, the tasting room combines comfortable eats with some of Le’s personal memorabilia from his bass-ic life.

If you happen to see him, ask him which string he prefers now.