My guest this week is Chris Benziger from Benziger Family Winery. Chris and I first met in Miami at the Florida International Winefest at the Doral Ocean Beach Resort. I had met parents Bruno & Helen at the winery when they were primarily producing Glen Ellen wines, the first label to be called Proprietors Reserve. So much has changed and for the better. Many of the family members have retired from the wine business, but Chris is still there and sharing the family story and promoting Benziger’s quality wine making.
Chris Benziger – VP, Brand Ambassador
Still in high school when the Benziger family moved from White Plains, Chris finished his senior year in wine country. He went on to earn a degree in marketing from the University of San Francisco while spending summers, weekends and every spare moment working at the winery. He officially joined the Benziger Family Winery in 1993. Chris oversees the home ranch and is dedicated to the thriving Biodynamic ecosystem of the estate: shepherding the Benziger flock of sheep, tending to the estate vegetable and fruit trees, and producing Biodynamic preparations for our vineyards. Chris feels that the only way to communicate the quality of the wines he promotes is by having the soil from the vineyard in which he’s endorsing under his nails. Chris also travels to major markets and promoting Benziger wines around the country.
Chris NOW
Chris and Guy THEN (1989)
Good Life Guy’s Wines of The Week:
2023 Benziger Family Sauvignon Blanc
Fresh and elegant, our Sauvignon Blanc invites you in with aromas of bright apple, fresh grass, pineapple and melon. Enticing citrus flavors are followed by complex minerality. The wine’s acid is both balanced and integrated, giving it a textured mid-palate and an elegant softness. ABV12.5%
2022 Benziger Family Chardonnay
This wine has a beautifully balanced style that is fresh, yet oaked with creamy notes. Ripe white pear and mango aromas combine with creamy meringue notes. The cool coastal location of the vineyards enhances the acidity in the wine giving it a long savory finish.
ABV14%
2021 Benziger Estate Obsidian Point Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep and inky ruby in color, but light on its feet, this Cabernet gives waves of saturated cassis and blackberry aromas on the nose. The palate is fresh and bright, with flavors of raspberry coulis, dark chocolate, coffee, spiced plum and cinnamon. Some grip of tannin shows on the finish and this wine should age gracefully for five to 10 years. ABV14.5% WE91