Winemaker Notes
Bennett Valley Cellars began its journey 60 years ago in the Veneto region in Italy. Young Emilio Zanin eagerly worked in his grandfather's vineyard before and a fter school where he learned to love the hard work necessary to make fine wine. Aft er immigrating to the United States in 1969, Emilio and his family have accomplished their life-long ambition of having their own vineyards. Nestled in the pristine Bennett Valley appellation within Sonoma Valley, Bennett Valley Cellars farms 40 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on two ranches: Simpatico Ranch and Marina's Vineyard. Th e well-drained volcanic alluvial soils and fog-cooled climate create ideal growing environment for producing wines with flavors and aromatic characteristics unique to this beautiful valley.
With boundaries overlapping the Sonoma Coast AVA and Sonoma Mountain AVA, Bennett Valley benefits from the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean just like its neighbors. Top grapes planted include Barbera, Pinot noir and Chardonnay, as well as Bordeaux and Rhone varieties.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”