Sanford Winery

Richard Sanford and Michael Benedict met as students at UC Berkeley, where Sanford studied geography and Benedict botany. Sanford served as a Navy officer in Vietnam before returning to California with the conviction that the state's cool maritime regions could rival Burgundy for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The pair spent years studying geological survey maps and climate data, eventually identifying the western Santa Ynez Valley near Lompoc as their target. In 1971 they planted the Sanford and Benedict Vineyard, the first Pinot Noir vineyard in what would later become the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The first commercial vintage from the partnership was the 1976 Pinot Noir, released in 1978, which drew immediate critical attention. The Sanford and Benedict partnership dissolved after the 1980 vintage. Richard Sanford founded Sanford Winery in 1981 on a separate Sta. Rita Hills property, where the new estate vineyard La Rinconada was planted in 1997.

• Sanford and Benedict met at UC Berkeley before Sanford's Navy service in Vietnam
• Pair spent years on geographic and climate research before planting the 738-acre Sanford and Benedict property in 1971
• First commercial Sanford and Benedict vintage was the 1976 Pinot Noir, released in 1978
• Sanford-Benedict partnership dissolved after the 1980 vintage; Sanford founded Sanford Winery 1981 and planted La Rinconada 1997

Before 1971, no one had planted Burgundian Pinot Noir clones in Santa Barbara County. UC Davis's Winkler heat-summation framework classified the region as too cool for Cabernet Sauvignon and too warm for Pinot Noir, but Sanford and Benedict's research suggested otherwise. Their planting and the early Sanford and Benedict bottlings starting with the 1976 vintage proved that California's transverse east-west valleys could produce Pinot Noir of genuine Burgundian character. That demonstration drew Au Bon Climat, Qupé, Babcock, and dozens of subsequent producers to the region in the 1980s. Richard Sanford served as a founding figure of the Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance and helped lead the 2001 AVA petition, then helped negotiate the 2005 name change from Santa Rita Hills to Sta. Rita Hills following the conflict with Chile's Viña Santa Rita. Sanford was inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone on February 20, 2012, the first Santa Barbara County winemaker so honored, and in 2020 was named Vintner of the Year by the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance.

• First Pinot Noir vines planted in what became the Sta. Rita Hills AVA (1971), anchoring the cool-climate regional thesis
• Sanford and Benedict bottlings from 1976 onward catalyzed the 1980s investment wave including Au Bon Climat (1982) and Qupé (1982)
• Richard Sanford led the Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance effort that produced the 2001 AVA petition and the 2005 name negotiation with Viña Santa Rita
• Inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame at CIA Greystone February 20, 2012, the first Santa Barbara County winemaker so honored
• Richard Sanford named Vintner of the Year 2020 by the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance; Sanford and Benedict is among the oldest Pinot Noir plantings in Santa Barbara County, with original own-rooted vines still in production

Sanford Winery's style emphasizes Sta. Rita Hills' cool maritime fruit and structural acidity, framed by Burgundian-influenced cellar work. Pinot Noir is hand-harvested, fermented in small open-top tanks with native yeasts (whole-cluster inclusion calibrated by vintage), and aged in French oak (typically 30 to 50 percent new) for 14 to 18 months. Chardonnay is whole-cluster pressed, fermented in French oak with native yeasts, undergoes partial to full malolactic fermentation depending on vintage, and is aged on the lees with periodic bâtonnage. The house style balances Sta. Rita Hills' fundamental acidity and red fruit clarity with measured oak treatment, producing wines that age well. Estate Pinots typically run in the 13.5 to 14 percent alcohol range, modest by California standards. Both estate vineyards are farmed organically, a rarity in Sta. Rita Hills.

• Hand-harvested, native yeast fermentation; whole-cluster Pinot inclusion variable by vintage
• 30 to 50 percent new French oak for Pinot Noir; 14 to 18 months barrel aging
• Estate alcohols 13.5 to 14 percent; balanced toward structured fruit and acidity
• Both estate vineyards (Sanford and Benedict, La Rinconada) farmed organically

Sanford Winery was founded and operated by Richard Sanford from 1981. The Terlato family (Anthony Terlato and sons Bill and John) became partners in Sanford Winery in 2002, then majority owners and managing partners in 2005. The Terlato Wine Group purchased the Sanford and Benedict Vineyard in 2007 from longtime owners Robert and Janice Atkin, reuniting the label with its founding fruit source after 27 years. Sanford Winery today operates as part of the Terlato Wines portfolio, with the winemaking team continuing the estate's Burgundian-influenced direction. Annual production runs in the range of 20,000 to 25,000 cases across the estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay programs, single-vineyard Sanford and Benedict and La Rinconada bottlings, plus small lots of Vin Gris and Sauvignon Blanc. The estate's tasting room sits in a historic Spanish-style hacienda on the Sanford Ranch property south of Buellton.

• Founded by Richard Sanford 1981; Terlato family became partners 2002 and majority owners and managing partners 2005
• Terlato Wine Group purchased Sanford and Benedict Vineyard 2007 from Robert and Janice Atkin, reuniting the label with the 1971 plantings after 27 years
• Annual production approximately 20,000 to 25,000 cases across estate, single-vineyard, and small white programs
• Spanish-style tasting room on Sanford Ranch south of Buellton is a destination for Sta. Rita Hills visitors

Sanford Winery's two core estate vineyards both sit within the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The Sanford and Benedict Vineyard, planted in 1971, occupies roughly 100 acres of the original 738-acre property; the vineyard sits at elevations from about 250 to 600 feet, on calcium-rich clay loam with fractured shale and chert, with slopes facing west and southwest into the Pacific marine corridor. La Rinconada Vineyard, planted in 1997 by Richard Sanford on the property where Sanford Winery was founded, comprises roughly 65 acres at slightly warmer interior locations on clay loam with a notable diatomaceous earth component. Both vineyards are farmed organically. The estate uses heritage Burgundy clones (Wadenswil, Pommard, Dijon) for Pinot Noir, including original cuttings from the 1971 Sanford and Benedict plantings, which have been propagated to vineyards across California's cool-climate Pinot map.

• Sanford and Benedict Vineyard (planted 1971): approximately 100 acres at 250 to 600 feet elevation; calcium-rich clay loam with fractured shale and chert; west and southwest exposures
• La Rinconada Vineyard (planted 1997): approximately 65 acres at warmer interior Sta. Rita Hills locations; clay loam with diatomaceous earth
• Both estate vineyards farmed organically; heritage Burgundy clones (Wadenswil, Pommard, Dijon)
• Original 1971 Sanford and Benedict cuttings have been propagated to vineyards across California's cool-climate Pinot map