Cohn

Located off Westside Road outside Healdsburg, the historic Cohn Vineyard was planted in 1970, making it one of the oldest Pinot Noir vineyards in California. Over the years it has earned fame for its superb Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. In past vintages, grapes from this site have produced celebrated single vineyard wines for Williams Selyem and Kosta Browne.

The vineyard is part of a 55-acre ranch purchased in 2003 by Benovia owners Joe Anderson and his wife, Mary Dewane. This is a beautiful site, framed by redwood forests and incredible vistas of the Russian River Valley.

The late Enid Sales, an architectural historian, preservationist and contractor renowned for restoring hundreds of Victorian homes in San Francisco, purchased the property in the mid 1970s.  Ms. Sales nurtured the Pinot Noir vines and planted additional acres of Zinfandel before selling the property 10 years later and moving to Carmel to pursue her passion for architectural preservation.

It was under the direction of the next owners, Arnie and Tekla Cohn of Berkeley, California, that the mountaintop vineyard developed its well-deserved reputation for producing exceptional fruit.

Today as one of Benovia's prized estate vineyards, we harvest the grapes to create a single vineyard Pinot Noir, as well as our hugely popular Zinfandel.

The Pinot Noir vineyard is 6.5 acres and planted with clones of unknown origin, perhaps Pommard and Martini. The Zinfandel vineyard is located just below the Pinot Noir blocks. The vineyard is considered Region 2 with maritime influences. The soil type is predominantly Josephine loam.

In 2006, Benovia completed extensive pruning of the vineyard to reduce clusters and intensify the berries' flavor so that Cohn connoisseurs can continue to enjoy the highest quality wine possible handcrafted from its legendary fruit.