appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . july 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message this article includes a list of references but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . july 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message benovia winery location santa rosa california usa appellation russian river ava founded 2005 key people joe anderson proprietor ; mary dewane proprietor ; mike sullivan co owner winemaker & general manager ; christy simon cases yr 4 000 known for cohn vineyard pinot noir varietals pinot noir chardonnay zinfandel grenache distribution limited tasting by appointment only website www.benoviawinery.com benovia winery is a family owned producer of pinot noir chardonnay and zinfandel wines in santa rosa california . founded in 2005 by joe anderson and mary dewane 1 benovia winery farms three estate vineyards including the venerable cohn vineyard 2 which total 71.67 acres 290 000 m2 and are located in the russian river valley ava and sonoma county . to supplement the fruit it harvests each year benovia purchases additional grapes from the vintner martinelli . benovia s winemaker mike sullivan 3 is also co owner and general manager of the winery . benovia wines are produced and bottled at the winery s winemaking facilities in the russian river valley ava . annual production is approximately 4 000 cases . benovia wines are sold direct to customers as well as distributed to restaurants for resale . contents 1 history 2 people 3 benovia estate vineyards 3.1 cohn vineyard 3.2 martaella vineyards 3.3 falstaff property 4 grower vineyards 4.1 martinelli vineyards 5 winemaking 6 references 7 external links history edit in february 2003 husband and wife team joe anderson and mary dewane purchased the cohn vineyard 4 a 40 year old pinot noir and zinfandel producing property 17.6 planted acres west of healdsburg california which is part of a larger 55 acre 220 000 m2 ranch formerly owned by arnold and tekla cohn . 5 in may 2005 anderson and dewane purchased hartman lane vineyards and winery 6 an 18 acre 73 000 m2 property and winery facility in the russian river valley ava from cecil de loach 4 the former owner of de loach vineyards . also in 2005 mike sullivan joined benovia as part owner and winemaker . 3 in 2008 40 more acres adjoining the property were purchased . today the winery encompasses 58 acres 230 000 m2 including 8.5 acres 34 000 m2 that were planted to pinot noir in 1997 . five acres were replanted in 2008 also to pinot noir . new vineyard plantings at the winery in 2009 and 2010 include 21.3 acres 86 000 m2 of pinot noir 6.01 acres 24 300 m2 of chardonnay and a small 1.5 acre 6 100 m2 vineyard of viognier . a 16 acre 65 000 m2 property just outside freestone california was also purchased in 2008 and is currently planted to 11.76 acres 47 600 m2 of pinot noir . benovia began producing wine in 2005 . its first commercial release was the 2006 vintage . the winery s name benovia is a combination of the founders fathers first names ben dewane and novian anderson . 7 people edit mike sullivan winemaker sullivan grew up in sonoma county and attended fresno state earning a degree in fermentation science . he joined benovia in 2005 . 3 prior to benovia sullivan was winemaker at hartford family winery . in 2002 he was named wine personality of the year by robert m. parker jr. in the wine advocate 8 and winemaker of the year by ronn wiegand of the magazine restaurant wine . 9 joe anderson founder and co owner prior to establishing benovia anderson was co founder and ceo of schaller anderson 10 a managed healthcare provider based in phoenix arizona . anderson sold schaller anderson to aetna healthcare company in 2007 and stepped down as ceo 11 in march 2008 . benovia estate vineyards edit benovia winery with martaella vineyards in foreground . cohn vineyard edit located off westside road west of healdsburg california the cohn vineyard was established in 1970 . previous harvests from this site have produced single vineyard wines for williams selyem and kosta browne . 12 the pinot noir vineyard is 8.83 acres 35 700 m2 and planted with clones of unknown origin . the 8.77 acre 35 500 m2 zinfandel vineyard is located just below the pinot noir section . the vineyard is considered region ii on the winkler scale with maritime influences . the soil type is predominantly josephine loam . in 2006 benovia completed extensive pruning of the vineyard . martaella vineyards edit martaella borders benovia winery s winemaking facilities in the russian river valley ava specifically within an area known as the laguna de santa rosa . martaella experiences heavy maritime influences with frequent early morning fog throughout the growing season . daytime temperatures rarely rise above 85 f 29 c while nights often dip into the low 50s f low 10s c . the 58 acre 230 000 m2 property currently grows 40.81 acres 165 200 m2 of grape vines in various stages of development . pinot noir grapes ripening in martaella vineyards when first purchased martaella was planted with 13.5 acres 55 000 m2 of pommard clone pinot noir . benovia introduced more clonal diversity by replanting 5 acres 20 000 m2 of the original vineyard with calera and dijon 828 clones of pinot noir with the new vines planted at a higher density using 4 by 4 foot 1.2 by 1.2 m spacing or about 2 700 vines per acre 6 700 ha . the acquisition of a former apple orchard and horse ranch just north of the winery in 2009 allowed benovia to plant an additional 18 acres 73 000 m2 of vines . to encourage soil uniformity the winery installed a network of subsoil drains in 2008 . after a site evaluation benovia chose to plant with a high density vine count ; planting vines four feet apart with five foot 1.5 m rows . the winery chose to plant 21.3 acres 86 000 m2 of pinot noir on devigorated rootstock 420a with a diverse clonal mix . benovia also planted 6 acres 24 000 m2 with an heirloom clone of chardonnay chosen for its low yields and concentrated flavors . benovia is also experimenting with 1.5 acres 6 100 m2 of white rhone varietals viognier and roussanne . falstaff property edit this unnamed vineyard is the winery s coldest planting with its location just a few miles from the pacific ocean on a ridge top that overlooks freestone california 12 in the russian river valley ava . during summer the ridge lines nearest the coast are cooled by the ocean breezes that precede the marine layer in this part of sonoma county . temperatures in falstaff rarely rises above 75 f 24 c during the summer but can cool to the low 50s f low 10s c at night . the falstaff property is uniform sandy loam soil known as a goldridge . this shallow and well drained soil is ideal for growing pinot noir in this coastal climate . 13 falstaff s grape vines are planted at a very high density with vines spaced four feet 1.2 m apart with five foot 1.5 m rows . this property was planted with 11.76 acres 47 600 m2 low vigor rootstock 420a and heirloom and dijon selections of pinot noir in 2009 . falstaff s first harvest is expected in the fall of 2012 . grower vineyards edit benovia sources additional grapes to supplement its estate grown fruit from sonoma county s martinelli family . 14 martinelli vineyards edit the martinelli winery 15 has grown fruit in sonoma county since 1896 . the martinelli vineyards are farmed by lee martinelli sr. and his sons lee jr. and george . benovia winery s la pommeraie chardonnay and la pommeraie pinot noir are produced from a russian river valley ava vineyard farmed by george martinelli located on frei road near the town of graton california . the vineyard experiences very cool temperatures with many foggy mornings . benovia also purchases pinot noir grapes from another martinelli owned vineyard just off of woosley road which is used for benovia s bella una blend . benovia winery s sonoma coast chardonnay is produced with grapes from the martinelli s charles ranch vineyard located in the sonoma coast ava . winemaking edit the process of creating benovia s pinot noir wines begins with handpicking the fruit during harvest . 16 workers clip the grapes from the vines in bunches collect the grape clusters in bins and transport the fruit to a sorting table . each cluster is inspected by hand at the sorting table prior to the automated destemming process which separates the berries from the stems . a second sorting area following destemming allows workers to inspect the individual berries and discard unsuitable fruit . the grapes are then transferred to small open top fermentors as gently as possible to minimize fruit damage . after a pre fermentation maceration of five to eight days the indigenous yeast encourages the longer process of malolactic fermentation . the wines then spend 14 to 16 months aging in french oak barrels before being transferred to the bottling line at benovia . the winery s chardonnay grapes follow a similar process . after hand sorting the whole clusters are transferred directly to the wine press . whole cluster pressing helps minimize the amount of malic acid and tannins that naturally exist in the skins seeds and stems from entering the wine . after settling the resulting juice called must is moved to french oak barrels to ferment at a cool temperature for approximately four to six weeks . the barrels are inoculated for malolactic fermentation and the lees are stirred weekly until the process is complete . this method helps the malolactic fermentation integrates the new oak and builds body and structure in the wine . references edit passmore nick . when ceos become winemakers businessweek september 11 2008 gaffney william . benovia winery hidden gem . pinot file vol . 8 issue 2 october 3 2009 . retrieved july 20 2011 . a b c penn cyril . former winery executives buy red and white trucks san francisco chronicle december 8 2005 a b gaffney william . benovia winery debuts pinotfile volume 6 issue 24 april 30 2007 brogan cellars . retrieved august 1 2011 . penn cyril may 12 2006 . americans drink more costlier wine . san francisco chronicle . retrieved july 21 2011 . benovia winery website . retrieved july 23 2011 . parker robert . robert parker s meals and personalities of 2002 robert parker s wine advocate 2002 12 wiegand ronn . winemaker of the year restaurant wine no. 87 jan feb 2002 mccue michael t. what ever happened to care management schaller anderson ceo joe anderson says blocking and tackling are what healthcare needs most managed healthcare executive december 2003 joseph anderson steps down as schaller anderson ceo . phoenix business journal . march 4 2008 . retrieved july 21 2011 . a b walter gregory . 2008 the best one yet ... pinotreport december 30 2008 russian river valley wine grower s association climate & geography accessed january 25 2009 martinelli winery website . martinelli winery . retrieved january 3 2012 . martinelli winery website magel nikitas . budbreak of a brand vinterviews.com external links edit benovia website coordinates 38 28 38 n 122 48 08 w 38.4771 n 122.8022 w 38.4771 ; 122.8022 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title benovia winery & oldid