About the Producer

Sanford Winery is a renowned pioneer of cool-climate wine from the Santa Rita Hills, north of Santa Barbera. The legendary Sanford & Benedict vineyard was planted in 1971 by Richard Sanford and Michael Benedict, and from the very first vintages they produced highly acclaimed wines of great complexity. In 1980, the team of Michael Benedict and Richard Sanford would go their separate ways. Richard Sanford continued to make the wines, and subsequently planted the La Rinconada vineyard adjacent to the original vineyard. In 2002, the Terlato family became partners, by 2007 they bought the entire vineyard and have been making exceptional wines from these two sustainably cultivated Cru vineyards ever since. The vineyards and winery are certified by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. This is a stunning Californian estate, and we are proud to have them on our shelves.

Vineyard and Winery

The grapes come exclusively from the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in the cool-climate area of Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The unusual east-west orientation of the nearby Santa Ynez Mountains, allows the cooling maritime breezes from the Pacific Ocean- just seven miles away- to flow over the vineyards, bringing with them cooling morning fog. The afternoon breezes dry out any residual moisture reducing disease pressure. Temperatures rarely exceed 27°C, at which point Pinot Noir tends to temporarily shut down. The marine based soils in Sanford & Benedict Vineyards are mixture of clay, loam, fractured shale and chert (rocky) soils which force vine roots to dig deep for nutrients and hydration, resulting in naturally low yields and excellent small berried, concentrated fruit with minerality and acidity. One third of the vines are from the original 1972 ungrafted plantings. The Sanford & Benedict vineyard is planted with 11 different Pinot Noir clones. The vineyards are sustainably cultivated.

Whole cluster fermentation took place over 14 days in open-top stainless steel tanks, with wild and selected yeasts. The wine was then aged for 14 months in French oak, of which 40% was new, where it gained concentration, while allowing the fine tannins to soften. Only the individual barrels containing the vineyard’s best expression were specially selected for the 2017 vintage.