Navarro Vineyards

The Navarro story began in 1973 when Ted Bennett, who had sold the consumer electronics chain Pacific Stereo, and Deborah Cahn, an English literature graduate student, purchased a roughly 900-acre sheep ranch in Philo on the south side of the Anderson Valley. Both were Berkeley graduates and devoted Kermit Lynch wine fans. They had worked a harvest at neighboring Edmeades Winery, where the Gewurztraminer's russet color and long hang time on the vine convinced them Anderson Valley could produce serious Alsatian-style aromatic whites. Their first wines were produced in 1974, with white-variety plantings going into the ground that year. In 1975 they added their first 5 acres of Pinot Noir, beginning the Anderson Valley cool-climate Pinot program that has continued alongside the aromatic white focus ever since. The Anderson Valley AVA was formally established in 1983, with Navarro already operating as a founding-era estate.

• 1973: Bennett and Cahn purchased the Philo sheep ranch property after Bennett's sale of Pacific Stereo
• 1974: first wines produced; initial white-variety plantings
• 1975: first 5 acres of Pinot Noir planted, establishing the cool-climate Pinot program
• 1983: Anderson Valley AVA formally established, with Navarro already operating as a founding-era estate

Navarro has remained continuously family-owned and operated across more than five decades since the founding purchase, an unusual record at this scale of production in California. Sarah Cahn Bennett, daughter of founders Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn, leads the second generation as a co-proprietor. She earned a master's degree in viticulture and enology at UC Davis and has worked across the operation as enologist, cellar operator, crush pad supervisor, and vineyard manager, building hands-on experience across both sides of the cellar and vineyard. Other family members are also involved in winemaking and day-to-day operations. The succession has unfolded gradually rather than in a single transfer, preserving the founder-built direct-to-consumer model and the stylistic commitments around dry aromatic whites and Anderson Valley Pinot Noir.

• Continuous family ownership since 1973; among Anderson Valley's defining family-owned estates
• Sarah Cahn Bennett (daughter of founders): UC Davis master's in viticulture and enology; co-proprietor leading the second generation
• Multiple family members involved in winemaking and operations
• Gradual generational succession preserves the founder-built direct-to-consumer model and stylistic commitments

The Navarro estate farms approximately 91 acres of vineyard across multiple sites in Anderson Valley at elevations from roughly 400 to 900 feet, with parcels spanning the valley floor and hillside positions. Soils are alluvial and clay loams on valley-floor sites and sandstone and shale on hillside sites. Daily Pacific fog penetration through the Navarro River corridor, from which the estate takes its name, provides the cool growing conditions that preserve acidity and develop the aromatic complexity essential to Alsatian-style whites. Principal varieties include Gewurztraminer (the signature aromatic), Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Gris. Farming emphasizes sustainable practices, integrated pest management, and water stewardship, with the estate operating its own grape juice program alongside its wines.

• Approximately 91 acres of estate vineyard across multiple Anderson Valley sites at 400 to 900 feet elevation
• Soils: alluvial and clay loams on valley floor; sandstone and shale on hillside parcels
• Cool maritime climate with daily Pacific fog through the Navarro River corridor (the river that gives the estate its name)
• Principal varieties: Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Gris

Navarro is California's most distinguished producer of Alsatian aromatic varieties and a continuous advocate for the dry Alsatian style. The estate runs the most extensive dedicated Gewurztraminer program in the state, with multiple bottlings including the estate dry varietal, single-vineyard Gewurztraminer in some years, and a late-harvest tier that includes the Cluster Select Late Harvest Gewurztraminer dessert wine. Riesling and Pinot Gris similarly favor the dry Alsatian template rather than the German off-dry or Italian Pinot Grigio styles. The Anderson Valley Pinot Noir program operates alongside the aromatic whites and includes a Methode a l'Ancienne whole-cluster bottling that has been an estate signature for decades. Chardonnay still wine, traditional method sparkling in small quantities, and unfermented varietal grape juices round out a portfolio that exceeds forty distinct bottlings across a typical year.

• Most extensive dedicated Gewurztraminer program in California; standard varietal, single-vineyard in some years, and Cluster Select Late Harvest dessert tier
• Dry Alsatian-style commitment across Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Gris; distinct from German off-dry and Italian Pinot Grigio templates
• Anderson Valley Pinot Noir program includes the Methode a l'Ancienne whole-cluster signature bottling
• Chardonnay, small-volume sparkling, and unfermented varietal grape juices round out the portfolio of more than 40 bottlings

Navarro's direct-to-consumer model is unusual in scale. The estate produces approximately 45,000 cases annually and distributes the vast majority of that production through its Philo tasting room, longstanding mailing list, and online sales, with only limited traditional wholesale distribution. The model preserves family pricing control, direct customer relationships, and stylistic independence from broader market preferences toward sweeter aromatic whites or shifting varietal fashions. The Navarro tasting room is a destination on the Anderson Valley wine route and offers comparative flights that move across the wide estate portfolio. Critical recognition has run continuously across major American wine publications, especially for Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Noir; the dry Gewurztraminer in particular is widely cited as the California reference for the variety, and the estate has appeared on Wine and Spirits Top 100 Wineries of the World lists multiple times across recent decades.

• Approximately 45,000 cases annually; vast majority sold direct through tasting room, mailing list, and online
• Limited traditional wholesale preserves family pricing control and stylistic independence
• Navarro Philo tasting room is a destination on the Anderson Valley wine route
• Multiple inclusions on Wine and Spirits Top 100 Wineries of the World; dry Gewurztraminer widely cited as the California reference for the variety