Mike Benziger founded Benziger Family Winery in 1980 when he negotiated the purchase of an 85 acre estate, first established in the late 1800s, on the slope of Sonoma Mountian above the tiny Sonoma Valley village of Glen Ellen. It took substantial foresight to envision the unkempt ranch on which he first set foot as a wine-producing estate; but Mike Benziger's background had informed him well enough to immediately see its potential. As a child in Brooklyn, New York, he was exposed to wine, in a manner of speaking, through the Solano Winery, an altar and medicinal wine production facility his father and uncle owned. His interest in wine was later and more productively cultivated through a job with Beltramo's, the respected San Francisco retailer; a sales and marketing position with the family wine and spirits import firm founded by his grandfather, Park-Benziger; a trip of discovery to the vineyards of Europe; and finally, an apprenticeship in winemaking at Stony Ridge Winery.

At the time Mike Benziger set his sights on what would become the family estate, the property was not for sale. The proprietor, an eccentric doctor with more of an interest in consumption of wine than in production, took months of persuasion to agree sell. What the acquisition delivered was a leaky, century-old farm house, a replica of the Parthenon on the crest of the hill, eight acres of vines and a monumental project. It was not long before other members of the Benziger family arrived to help Mike Benziger build the winery and transform the property, and they then stayed on to build the brand. Bruno Benziger, Mike's father, would be instrumental in putting the enterprise on firm ground.

The Benzigers wasted no time in establishing their presence. The winery was completed in 1981 in time for the crush, and the first wines, a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay, were released in 1982. From the outset performance was dazzling: both first releases won gold medals in the 1982 Sonoma County Harvest Fair, and the Sauvignon Blanc took the Grand Sweepstakes Award for best of show, a distinction repeated with the 1984 vintage. Without a break in stride, the 1981 Cabernet Sauvignon captured a gold medal in the Orange County Fair Wine Competition, as did the six vintages thereafter. In 1991, the 1988 vintage Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was awarded the Double Gold, Best of Region at the California State Fair; and the 1989 Benziger Estate Tribute Red was one of the decorated red wines of California in 1993 and 1994.

From the outset less concerned with barrel aging and collecting awards than with the financial well-being of the new winery, Bruno Benziger recognized that the investment the property would demand required cash flow. Neither was he comfortable surrounded by casks of unsold wine. Mike Bengizer and his brothers began buying high quality local juice at good prices, bottling it and turning it around at a very fair market value to placate their father. With a cork finish, attractive packaging and some sound marketing sense, the Glen Ellen brand was launched. Over its 13 years of phenomenal growth, the brand became an 18 hour-a-day job generating sales of 3.8 million cases which had diverted the original focus from producing premium quality wines from the estate and the surrounding appellation. In the fall of 1993, the Glen Ellen brand was sold to Heublein Corporation. With the financial freedom afforded them from the sale, the Benzigers turned all their efforts toward the Benziger Family Winery portfolio, the idea behind the dream which first brought Mike Benziger to Sonoma.

The Benziger estate vineyards were planted over the period between 1981 and 1989. The estate's physical situation, in terraced volcanic bowl curving a full 360° around the crater's mid-slope, lies in the tiny Sonoma Mountain appellation. The property is unusual for its diverse spectrum of soils, of which 21 distinct types have been identified and grouped into eight "flavor blocks." These soil types provided the Benzigers with a crucible from which they developed the concept of "farming for flavors."

Farming for flavors is Benziger's trademarked approach to site-specific vine selection and management, which allows them to bring forth the very best flavors a particular site can offer. Fermenting for flavors is the winemaking extension of that practice, by which separate lot management is maintained throughout the entire winemaking process. It requires more focused attention but preserves the purest expression of the vineyard, further enhanced through winemaking. The result is that, whether bottled separately as a vineyard designated wine or blended with wines from other vineyards, the intensity of the vineyard character is not lost in the final wine. A highly successful innovation has been Benziger's development of cold barrel fermentation for Chardonnay. Departing from traditionally vinified Chardonnay, which is either cool fermented in temperature controlled steel tanks to retain clean, forward fruit, or in barrels to develop toasty oak character, the approach achieves the best of both. Cold barrel fermentation is a method by which the must is fermented in oak barrels housed in a refrigerated barrel room, resulting in striking fruit flavor with soft, toasted oak nuances.

Benziger Family Winery produces three lines of wines: the Benziger Sonoma County, Benziger Reserve and Benziger Vineyard Designate. The Benziger Sonoma County and Reserve wines are available nationally, whereas the Vineyard Designate wines are available only through the winery. The Sonoma County wines, the mainstay of Benziger's portfolio, reflect the diverse regional and varietal personality of Sonoma County through blends of grapes selected from among a long-standing cadre of partner-growers. These wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Syrah, Carneros Chardonnay and Fumé Blanc. Produced from grapes from Sonoma County's nine viticultural zones, they embody the spectrum of soil and climatic factors among Sonoma's sub-zones through the different qualities of the fruit from one zone to another within a given varietal:

Carneros:	Carneros' location at the southern tip of Sonoma, influenced by the maritime winds blowing across the San Pablo Bay, enjoys a cool climate and long growing season. Grapes from this area are characterized by balanced acidity, moderate sugar, complexity of flavor and elegance. Carneros is a principal source of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as some Merlot.
Sonoma Valley:	A moderate climate and vineyards sited on well-drained, stony hillsides provide abundant sunlight in various exposures. Vineyards in this area, a source of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay, yield concentrated, complex fruit.
Sonoma Mountain:	Elevation, abundant exposure to sunlight, and a significant drop in temperature during the night combined with the rich volcanic soils of this area yield fruit of concentration and complexity. In addition to the grapes from the Benziger estate, Sonoma Mountain is an important source of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.
Chalk Hill:	Protected from the maritime winds, Chalk Hill is a moderately warm area also marked by cool night temperatures. The mineral-rich volcanic soils yield Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc fruit of ripeness, full flavor and depth.
Alexander Valley:	The moderately warm Alexander Valley, situated at a relatively low elevation with greater shade and less illumination than the mountain zones, lies on rich alluvial soils which result in lush, vigorous vines. Grapes grown in this area are marked by great richness, texture and full body and a spicy, herbal character. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are sourced from this area.
Dry Creek:	A warm climate in concert with rocky, well-drained red volcanic soil and deeply-rooted vines yield fruit of intense flavor, spiciness and full body. Primarily a red varietal zone, Dry Creek provides Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvigno and Merlot.
Sonoma Coast:	The Sonoma Coast vineyards lie on rocky soils at high elevations in the coastal mountains. At this altitude, the fogs dissipate early in the day, providing long hours of sunlight, and produce grapes of ripeness, concentration and intense flavors.
Russian River Valley:	A cool, foggy climate and rich black clay soils yield fruit of full flavor and pronounced acidity. The Russian River Valley is therefore best suited to early-ripening varieties, and is a source of elegant, balanced Chardonnay and Merlot.
Northern Sonoma:	The warm climate and varied soils and exposures, from rich alluvial river bottom to rocky hillsides, yield intensely fruity grapes of smooth texture and round tannins. This area is primarily a source of red grapes.

The Reserve wines are the ultimate expression of a given varietal in a given vintage, made barrel-by-barrel and only from select lots, and reveal such exemplary character as to be worthy of the Reserve designation. The Reserve Wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Reserve Chardonnay. The Vineyard Designate wines, produced on a small scale from individual vineyard sites, may in a given vintage include any of these varietals from a diversity of AVAs, as well as Petite Syrah, Sémillon, Pinot Gris and Muscat Canelli. These usually represent close relationships with growers who also provide fruit for the Sonoma and Reserve wines. Over several vintages they have included Cabernet Sauvignon from the Blue Rock Vineyard in the Alexander Valley; Zinfandel from the Carreras Vineyard in Dry Creek; Chardonnay, Merlot and Petite Syrah from the McNab Ranch in Mendocino; Pinot Noir and Syrah from the Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley; Muscat Canelli from Bartolucci Vineyards in Lake County; and Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel from the Benziger Sonoma Mountain Estate as well as Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir from the Kestrel Vineyard and Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley, both in Oregon.

The Benziger Family Winery is today managed and operated by Mike Benziger, Co-Founder, President and Winemaker; Joe Benziger, General Partner and Winemaker; Bob Benziger, General Partner responsible for Business Development; Jerry Benziger, General Partner responsible for Consumer Programs; Tim Wallace, General Partner responsible for Sales and Marketing; Chris Benziger, responsible for Eastern Regional Sales; Kathy Benziger, responsible for Central Regional Sales; John Tarver, National Sales Manager; Terry Nolan, Winemaker; Karen Ernsberger, Oenologist and Winemaker; and Bart Hansen, Assistant Winemaker.