 | This biographical article is written like a résumé .(September 2023) |
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Benjamin Cane is an Australian winemaker who currently owns Duke's Vineyard in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
| This biographical article is written like a résumé .(September 2023) |
|
Benjamin Cane is an Australian winemaker who currently owns Duke's Vineyard in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
Ben earned a B.S. in Organic Chemistry and Psychology at the University of Adelaide, South Australia and later received his postgraduate diploma in oenology in 1998. [1] While at university, he worked in several wine-related jobs including in a vineyard and in a cellar and managing a bottle shop. After completing university, he took a job with Simon Gilbert Wine Services in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. His love for pinot noir began while working as an assistant winemaker at Arcadian Winery in Santa Barbara County, California. Once his tenure at Acadian was completed, he travelled through South America, Africa, Asia and Europe before returning to Australia where he became a vineyard manager in the Barossa Valley. Over the next five years, he held numerous jobs: working in the Languedoc; in New South Wales; at Domaine Dujac in Morey-St.-Denis, France; at De Bortoli Wines in the Yarra Valley region of Victoria, Australia; at Poderi Colla in Piedmont, Italy; and at Yalumba Wines in the Barossa Valley. These experiences gave him an insight into wine production in France and Italy.
Ben returned to the United States in 2006 and became a contract winemaker at Freestone Vineyards. In 2007 the Duncan Family of Silver Oak Cellars hired Ben as an assistant winemaker to Daniel Baron to develop the pinot noir program for Twomey Cellars, the sister winery to Silver Oak. The following year he began overseeing production of sauvignon blanc. Ben initially began producing wine from Twomey's Russian River Valley WestPin vineyard. He went on to expand the label's vineyard program to include fruit sourced from the Anderson Valley and Sonoma Coast Appellations, as well as the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley. His vision for Twomey was "to craft a wine that expresses the uniqueness and terroir of each vineyard site with finesse and balance, by blending old world techniques with new world innovation and technology." [2] By 2013 he produced seven pinot noir vintages for Twomey. In October 2013 Ben left Twomey and took a Head Winemaker job at a boutique winery also within the Russian River Valley AVA of Sonoma County.
At Westwood Ben was hired to completely redesign the brand, winery and reputation of the small boutique winery that produced 4,000 cases. He oversaw the 23 acre estate vineyard planted to several pinot noir clones, chardonnay and Rhône varietals and worked alongside the biodynamic expert, Philippe Coderey, to achieve biodynamic certification for the estate in 2017. The wines were consistently given high points and accolades [3] from several critics, including a triple crown [4] at the Sonoma Coast Wine Challenge 2016.
In late 2018 Ben accepted a position as Winemaker at Cape Mentelle Winery in Margaret River, Western Australia (which was owned by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton [5] at the time) and moved back to his home country with a strong desire to reconnect with the premium Australian wine industry. During three years at Cape Mentelle, Ben was an instrumental member of the winemaking team overseeing the production of 60,000-100,000 cases, assisted with the viticulture of 130ha of vines across Margaret River, and was the designated technical voice to represent the brand in market to trade, media and consumers, and in-house staff across LVMH.
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet on Monte Bello Ridge in unincorporated Santa Clara County in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, south of Los Altos, California and west of Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County. Ridge Vineyard's 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon gained prominence for its fifth-place finish in the 1976 "Judgment of Paris" wine tasting.
New Zealand wine is produced in several of its distinct winegrowing regions. As an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a largely maritime climate, although its elongated geography produces considerable regional variation from north to south. Like many other New World wines, New Zealand wine is usually produced and labelled as single varietal wines, or if blended, winemakers list the varietal components on the label. New Zealand is best known for its Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and more recently its dense, concentrated Pinot Noir from Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago.
Cloudy Bay Vineyards is a winery based in the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand, with vineyards in both Marlborough and Central Otago. Established in 1985 as one of the earliest wineries founded in Marlborough, Cloudy Bay attracted international acclaim for its first Sauvignon Blanc wines in the 1980s and was instrumental in establishing New Zealand's international reputation for white wine. It was acquired by Champagne house Veuve Clicquot in 2003 and is now a LVMH brand.
The Duckhorn Portfolio Inc. is an American wine company producing varietal labelled and blended red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines from California and Washington State. The main winery, Duckhorn Vineyards, is outside St. Helena, California.
Sonoma County wine is wine made in Sonoma County, California, in the United States.
The Russian River Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Sonoma County, California. Centered on the Russian River, the Russian River Valley AVA accounts for about one-sixth of the total planted vineyard acreage in Sonoma County. The appellation was granted AVA status in 1983 and enlarged in 2005. The area generally lies between Sebastopol and Santa Rosa in the south, and Forestville and Healdsburg in the north. The Russian River Valley has a characteristically cool climate, heavily affected by fog generated by the valley's proximity to the Pacific Ocean. The area is known for its success with cool climate varietals, notably Pinot noir and Chardonnay.
California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra who planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Buena Vista Winery is a winery located in Sonoma, California, United States. It is the second oldest winery in California after the D'Agostini Winery, which was founded a year prior in 1856. It was founded by Agoston Haraszthy in 1857. The winery is located on its original grounds, just east of Sonoma, California.
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, Benovia Winery farms three estate vineyards which total 71.67 acres (290,000 m2) and are located in the Russian River Valley AVA and Sonoma Coast AVA in Sonoma County. To supplement the fruit it harvests each year, Benovia purchases additional grapes from two sites farmed by the Martinelli family. Benovia's winemaker, Mike Sullivan, is also co-owner of the winery. Benovia wines are produced and bottled at the winery's winemaking facilities at the Martaella Estate Vineyard in the Russian River Valley AVA. Annual production is approximately 6,000 cases. Benovia wines are sold direct to customers, as well as distributed to restaurants and other retailers for resale.
Adelaida Vineyards & Winery is a family-owned and operated winery that was named after a 19th-century settlement in the mountains of west Paso Robles, California. Situated at 2,000 feet (610 m) of elevation and 14 miles (23 km) from the Pacific Ocean, the terrain of the Adelaida, California district is marked by ancient calcareous soils, diurnal temperature variations of nearly 50 °F (10 °C), and warm, dry growing seasons. Adelaida Vineyards & Winery produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Syrah, Rhône blends, Zinfandel and other wines from the Paso Robles AVA.
Bianchi Winery is a winery in Paso Robles, California. The property includes the winery, a tasting room and a vineyard house for guest accommodations, all located among the estate vineyards. Bianchi Winery produces approximately 10,000 cases annually.
Cullen Wines is an Australian winery based in Wilyabrup, within the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia.
Cecil O. De Loach Jr. is a California grape-grower and winemaker in the Russian River Valley AVA who has contributed to the reputation and notoriety of Sonoma County viticulture.
Ahlgren Vineyard was a vineyard and winery located in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, in Boulder Creek, California, United States. Founded in 1976 by Dexter and Valerie Ahlgren, they produced 2,500-3,000 cases a year until their closure in 2016. The winery was located in the cellar of the Ahlgren's home. Ahlgren Vineyard used hands on, traditional methods of winemaking to create wine varietals including Sémillon, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Nebbiolo, Pinot noir, and Syrah. Their grapes came from the Santa Cruz Mountains, Livermoore Valley, and Monterey. In 2000 Dexter Ahlgren suffered from a stroke, and the couples daughter, Beth Ahlgren, took over as winemaker. Dexter recovered enough to allow him to take part in the winemaking process.
Twomey Cellars is a California winery. It was established in 1999 by the Duncan Family, who have operated the successful Silver Oak Cellars in California since 1972. The Duncan Family started Twomey Cellars to pursue varietals other than Cabernet Sauvignon. Twomey has three wineries: one in Calistoga in the Napa Valley; one in Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley; one in Philo in Anderson Valley, and produces mainly Pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc. Twomey’s Sauvignon blanc is a blend of Sauvignon blanc grapes from their estate vineyards at their wineries in Napa Valley, Anderson Valley, and Russian River Valley.
Daniel Baron is an American winemaker. He is best known for his work with the Duncan family-owned Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey Cellars, and was Director of Winemaking for both. After his retirement in 2017, he launched Complant Wine with his son, Sam Baron, to produce small production, artisanal, single vineyard wines. Originally a field worker for John Rolleri at Chateau Montelena, he gained experience in the Bordeaux region of France and was mentored by the likes of grape geneticist Professor Harold Olmo, and winemakers Jean-Claude Berrouet and Justin Meyer. He became general manager of Christian Moueix's Dominus Estate in the 1980s. He became winemaker for Silver Oak, an exclusive Cabernet Sauvignon producer, in 1994, and was trained by Justin Meyer to follow in his footsteps as Silver Oak's winemaker before Meyer’s retirement in 2001. In 1999, Baron was instrumental in persuading the Duncans to establish Twomey to pursue Merlot, Pinot noir, and Sauvignon blanc after discovering high quality Merlot grapes on Silver Oak’s Soda Canyon Ranch Vineyard. He has served on boards such as the American Society of Enology and Viticulture and the Napa Valley Wine Technical Group.
Baldacci Family Vineyards is a California winery located in the Stags Leap District AVA of Napa Valley. Founded in 1998, Thomas and Brenda Baldacci were entranced by the beauty of the Napa Valley and the timeless heritage of the Stags Leap District. The generations before had left a deep and abiding affinity for the land from which came not only their livelihood, but their legacy. For the Baldacci’s, family is everything. When they purchased the Stags Leap property, over 18 years ago, Thomas and Brenda knew that they had found a place for their clan to stay connected through the generations. As each new vintage unfolds, they look forward to sharing their wines and their story, with you.
Cape Mentelle Vineyards is a wine estate in the Margaret River region, 274 km, south-west of Perth, Western Australia. The winery was founded by David Hohnen, a third-generation farmer who studied wine making and viticulture in California in the 1960s, and his brothers Mark and Giles. Cape Mentelle is one of the ‘founding five’ wineries in Margaret River, was established in 1970, and came to prominence by winning the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy in 1983 and 1984 for their Cabernet sauvignon.
Kenwood Vineyards is a winery in Kenwood, California, located on Highway 12 in the Sonoma Valley wine country. It is currently owned by Pernod Ricard Winemakers.
Jean-Charles Boisset is a French vintner and the proprietor of the Boisset Collection, which operates 28 wineries in California, France, and Canada.