Benovia is named for the fathers of founders Mary Dewane and Joe Anderson ("Ben" for Ben Dewane, "Novia" for Novian Anderson), a personal naming that signals the family-scaled ethos of the project. Mary and Joe purchased the historic Cohn Vineyard, first planted in 1970 off Westside Road west of Healdsburg, and partnered with winemaker Mike Sullivan to launch the label in 2005. Sullivan had spent the previous decade as winemaker at Hartford Family Winery, a Jackson Family Wines Pinot Noir specialist, where he had built a reputation for site-driven, low-intervention wines. Since January 2026 the team has been led by General Manager Josh Trowbridge, with Adolfo Hernandez as winemaker.
Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: the appellation wine; a polished introduction to Benovia's estate style.
Cohn Vineyard Pinot Noir: from a 50-plus-year-old, organically farmed cobblestone vineyard above Westside Road.
Martaella Estate Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: from the estate vineyard surrounding the winery, named for the founders' mothers.
Tilton Hill Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast: a cool Sebastopol Hills site giving darker, concentrated fruit.
La Pommeraie Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: from the Zio Tony Ranch near Graton, farmed by George Martinelli; balanced and textured.
Today Benovia farms three estate vineyards: Cohn (Russian River Valley), Tilton Hill (Sonoma Coast), and Martaella (Russian River Valley), alongside select grower partnerships in Mendocino and the Sonoma Coast. The lineup centers on single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and old-vine Zinfandel from the Cohn block, with limited release Grenache and Syrah. Winemaking emphasizes native fermentation, whole-cluster inclusion for Pinot Noir, and aging in mostly neutral French oak. The Ranch House tasting room on Hartman Road looks out over the Martaella vines. Reservations are required: the Estate & Single Vineyard Tasting is an intimate seated tasting outdoors, and on weekday mornings the Vineyard Tour & Tasting adds a walk through the vines and the oak grove.
