Collectors Are Now Owners of Benedict

An industrialist from England has acquired the well-regarded Benedict Vineyard in Santa Barbara County, a 674-acre ranch that has produced some of the most successful Pinot Noirs in the region.

Terms of the deal were not announced, but the property had been listed for some time at $3.5 million. Some 100 acres of the property are planted to premium wine grapes, and as part of the deal, the buyer has agreed to market all the grapes through Sanford Winery, operated by Richard Sanford, one of the original owners of the vineyard. Sanford will be general manager of the property for the buyers.

The buyers of the property are Robert and Janice Atkin of London, wine collectors who are otherwise unconnected to the wine industry. The seller was a partnership headed by Michael Benedict.

The vineyard, originally called the Sanford and Benedict vineyard, was originally planted in 1971. The first commercial wine from the ranch, the 1976 Sanford and Benedict Pinot Noir, was a wine of cult proportions, with wine collectors knocking themselves out to get a bottle.

The partnership between Sanford and Benedict crumbled in 1980. Sanford sold his interest in the winery and vineyard project to the remaining partners and the following year set up his own winery nearby.

Sanford said his winery would likely use all of the Chardonnay (30 acres) and Pinot Noir (30 acres) on the ranch. The remainder of the property is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Merlot.

Californians may now order wine direct from Oregon wineries and retailers and Oregon residents may buy wine direct from California after the California Alcohol Beverage Control Board agreed to accept an Oregon wine shipment law as reciprocal.

In response, the Oregon Wine Advisory Board has set up a telephone number for consumers desiring information about Oregon wineries that are actively shipping wine to California residents.

The 1989 Oregon legislature enacted a reciprocal wine shipment law allowing Oregon residents to receive up to two cases per month of wine from a retailer or winery in another state that affords similar privileges to its residents.

After clarifying language in the Oregon law, California became the first state to comply with it. California also has reciprocal wine shipment agreements with Colorado, Wisconsin and New Mexico--the only other states that have thus far passed reciprocal wine shipment statutes.

For information about the availability of Oregon wines, California residents may call (800) 242-2363. Oregon has about 85 wineries, most of them small with no resources to market a wide selection in other states. The reciprocal trade law permits Oregon wineries to ship small amounts of these wines to interested consumers, and permits Oregon consumers to do likewise with small California wineries who don’t distribute in Oregon.

A group of 100 wineries and grape growers has petitioned the federal government to designate an area covering four counties south of San Francisco as the San Francisco Bay viticultural area.

The petition to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms seeks to designate 3,111 acres of vineyards in Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties with that designation.

The petition seeks the designation in part because of a heritage for wine growing dating back to 1777 when the Franciscan fathers first planted grapes at the Mission Santa Clara de Asis. Climatic conditions are consistent due to proximity to San Francisco Bay.

Seagram Classics Wine Co. has set up a wine training program for restaurant personnel. Courses will be taught by Evan Goldstein, a master sommelier, at three Napa Valley properties of Seagram -- Charles Krug Winery, Sterling and Mumm Napa Valley.

Chateau St. Jean Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma County has formed Vinstar Imports to bring in a specialized line of imported wines. Among the items Vinstar will import are Chateau Beychevelle, Chateau Lagrange and Chateau Clarke of Bordeaux; Roagna Barbaresco and San Leonino Chianti Classico of Italy, and Sorrel Hermitage of France’s Rhone Valley.

A pocket-sized book called “500 Best Wines of Sonoma County� will be published next month by Tony Kendrew. The book analyzes all Sonoma County wines from their results in wine competitions during the years 1987, 1988 and 1989.

The book, which sells for $5.95, lists wines in order of most total medals won over that period, weighting gold medals over silvers and silvers over bronzes. On that basis the top-scoring Cabernet Sauvignons were 1984 Glen Ellen Estate ($12) and 1986 Gan Eden ($18).

Top-scoring Chardonnays were 1985 Dehlinger ($10) and 1987 Rodney Strong ($8).

For a copy of the book, send a check for $7.32 (including tax and shipping) to Pileated Press, P.O. Box 4973, Santa Rosa, Calif. 95402.

Wine of the Week

1988 Hidden Cellars Sauvignon Blanc ($9) --Not one of those grassy, herbal styles that some people love and others hate. This wine offers more melon, kiwi and lime scents. But the wine was barrel-fermented and left on the lees for a time, so the result has some subtlety, with nuances of oak. Quite complex and a rich enough wine to pair with creamy dishes. Hidden Cellars of Mendocino County has long made some of the state’s top wines, including Zinfandel and Chardonnay, but as the Hidden name implies, it has not always been recognized for its quality.