Benchlands 2023
53% Nero d'Avola, 26% Valdiguié, 16% Petite Sirah, 3% Colombard, 2% Carignan · Dry Farmed • Mendocino · 418 cases
750ml, 12.5% ABV
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Join NowEnjoy With
Whatever you’re eating, eat with your hands. Travel the world with Hawaiian lau lau, lean Japanese with Okonomiyaki, or decipher the delicate flavors of tea-smoked duck.
Drink When
Reach for this bottle when the first of the season’s rainfall hits the windows, or when you’re headed out on your next forest bathing adventure. When you’re looking to be comforted by the familiarity only nature can provide, also known as when you want a Pinot without actually wanting Pinot.
Martha's Notes
Our Benchlands cuveé celebrates inland Mendocino County, and the unique mix of grape varieties that made their way to the Ukiah area as a result of the Italian diaspora. Grapes from Sicily, the South of France and Southern Spain (via western coastal Italy), were all planted here by Italian immigrants in the late 1800s. Since these farmers grew far more than wine grapes, they also transplanted the farming traditions of their homeland: they planted grapes on the less fertile uplifted benchland soils and reserved the rich valley floors for vegetable farming. All of the vineyards in this blend are planted on those uplifted benchlands and are dry-farmed (non-irrigated), just as they would have been back in the late 1800’s. Many of the farmers I work with are the third and fourth generation of those original families.
Through a mix of gentler fermentation techniques and white and red grape co-fermentation, Benchlands is reminiscent of a more brooding Cerasuolo—a delicate red wine with a bright core, but think more wild forest berries than bright cherry.
Specifications
Vintage:
2023
Alcohol:
12.5%
Varietal:
53% Nero d'Avola, 26% Valdiguié, 16% Petite Sirah, 3% Colombard, 2% Carignan
Vineyard:
Bricarelli Ranch, Ukiah, Mendocino County, 17-year-old head-trained, dry farmed (non-irrigated) vineyard, farmed by us to organic principles (no pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers); gravelly loam soils.
Ricetti Vineyard, Redwood Valley, Mendocino County; planted in 1948; dry farmed (non-irrigated), certified organic vineyard; gravelly loam soils.
Venturi Vineyard, Calpella, Mendocino County; planted 1948; dry-farmed (non-irrigated), certified organic vineyard; Pinole gravelly loam soils.
Vinification Notes:
Nero d’Avola and Petite Sirah were each fermented separately in small batches while the Carignan, Valdiguié, and Colombard grapes were harvested and co-fermented as one lot (red and white grapes together!). The components were kept separate after pressing and aged in neutral oak barrique. Racked, blended, and bottled after 18 months. Unfined. Lightly filtered.
Serving Temp:
Slightly chilled // 50-55°F (10-13°C) // Chilly when you put it on the table, loves to warm up with the crowd.
At Bottling:
(June 2025): 12.5% alc/vol · Free SO2 11 mg/L, Total SO2 29 mg/L · All wines are vegan.
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