Chef David Frakes is what you could call a popcorn wizard, working his magical powers in the kitchen to whip up California wine country’s tastiest snack.

Frakes, an accomplished chef with a resume even Gordon Ramsay would admire, is the Executive Chef of Lynmar Estate Winery in the heart of Sonoma’s Russian River Valley. Since joining the winery in 2011, Frakes’s assortment of seasoned popcorns have become one of the most loved items on Lynmar's menu.

Going beyond the standard butter and salt combo, the imaginative chef has created over 100 different seasonal salts to go with Lynmar wines, using ingredients sourced from the estate’s organic gardens.

For example, popcorn seasoned with plum, basil, and Cara Cara Orange pairs well with Lynmar’s classic California Chardonnay, while cocoa salt is a match made in heaven with the winery’s rich, fruity Pinot Noir. Frakes even dehydrates handmade sauces, like tomatillo salsa and Thai red curry, turning them into popcorn seasonings with a punch.

As a major popcorn fanatic, I was happy to receive a Lynmar care package with all the ingredients to prepare the Cara Cara orange popcorn, as well as the wine to pair with it, a 2019 Quail Hill Vineyard Chardonnay (SRP $63). The Quail Hill vineyard has some of Russian River Valley’s oldest Chardonnay vines, originally planted in 1971, and these gnarly vines produce classic Russian River Valley whites.

If you like rich, opulent California Chardonnay, you will love this wine. Its aromas of honeysuckle and citrus draw you in, and the thrill continues with a creamy palate offering fresh lemon curd, stone fruit, almonds, and ginger, all wrapped up in just the right amount of buttery richness and oaky vanilla notes.

As for the popcorn, I’ve never had any this delicious—let’s just say it’s in a different league than the Popcorn Factory! The flavor is subtle, yet there’s no mistaking its zesty orange flavor. The scent alone is truly intoxicating. I only wish I could insert a scratch and sniff right here, but since I can’t, I highly recommend you make it.

Following the Basic Popcorn recipe below, you will find the recipe for Cara Cara Orange salt in which Kosher salt is mixed with Chardonnay and orange zest. When left to dry, the ingredients come together, well, magically!

Basic Popcorn Recipe

Makes 6 servings

1/2 cup rice bran oil (or non-GMO corn oil)

1 cup organic corn kernels

1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or 1/2 cup melted butter)

1) Place oil and kernels in a large pot, shake to distribute evenly, then cook over high heat until the popcorn starts to pop. Give pot one more shake, then let the kernels pop. Once it is about 3 seconds between pops, immediately remove from heat and let sit for one minute (to finish popping).

2) Pour popcorn into a large bowl, making sure to discard any kernels that may not have popped. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil or melted butter if using.

Cara Cara Orange Chardonnay Salt (makes 1 & 1/2 cups)

To make the seasoned popcorn, substitute this orange-flavored salt for the regular salt in the above recipe, then finish with tangerine oil (recipe below).

Makes 1 & 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 &1/2 cups Kosher salt

1/2 cup Chardonnay white wine

2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed Cara Cara orange juice (any type of orange can be substituted)

1 teaspoon orange zest

Instructions

1) Whisk all ingredients well in a medium-sized bowl.

2) Spread-out salt mixture as thin as possible on parchment paper-lined sheet pan or large plate (very lightly brush the parchment with olive oil to easily remove salt once it’s dried), and place in a warm area of the kitchen, uncovered, for a day, or two, until salt is hard enough to pulverize in a food processor.

3) Once salt is dried, break into small pieces, place in food processor, and pulverize. Sift through a fine-meshed sieve and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Tangerine Oil

Drizzled over Cara Cara orange popcorn, this tangerine oil is worth the extra (but minimal) effort to prepare it (see recipe at bottom).

Ingredients

2 tangerines

1 cup olive oil

Instructions

1) Use a peeler to remove peel of tangerines. Press gently with the peeler, removing only the rind and avoiding the white pith.

2) Put peels and olive oil in small saucepot. Heat over low heat for about 3 minutes, until peels soften and bubble but do not curl. Set aside to cool and steep, about 3 hours.

3) Remove peels from oil. Using a funnel, pour flavored oil into a glass container and store in refrigerator. The oil can also be used in vinaigrettes, pastas, and sauces.