100% Pinot Noir

Food pairings: Roast duck, grilled salmon, mushroom pasta, herb-roasted chicken and soft-ripened cheeses.

Winemaking: The fruit was harvested at night, rigorously sorted by hand, partially destemmed and then berry-selected before open-top fermentation. As always, the wine was bottled without fining or filtration. After several years of drought, 2023 opened with a series of atmospheric-river storms and a very wet, cold winter. Spring was cool, with showers through May, and the season was one of the coldest on record, giving a long hang time for complex aromas and flavors; the grapes ripened just before the late-October rains.

Vineyards and terroir: Benovia farms each of its estate vineyard sites in the Russian River Valley meticulously to capture the region's expression of Pinot Noir. The blend brings together heirloom clones such as Calera, Swan, Pommard, Martini, Mt. Eden and Chalone with newer French selections such as Dijon 943.

Family and history: Benovia was founded by Mary Dewane and Joe Anderson, named for their fathers Ben and Novian. Winemaker and co-owner Mike Sullivan leads farming and cellar work at the Hartman Road winery in Santa Rosa.

In the pictures: Winemaker Mike Sullivan in the Benovia barrel room; proprietors Joe Anderson and Mary Dewane toasting among the vines; and an aerial view of the Benovia winery and estate. Photographs courtesy of Benovia Winery.