Description

Benevolent Neglect

Winemakers Matt Nagy and Ben Brenner are East Coast escapees who have made California their home.  Matt previously worked for Maybach Cellars, a famous and highly regarded winemaking family who have been producing premium wines for generations. During his time with Maybach, Matt produced some of California’s highest-scoring wines. Ben has also had an equally impressive career including time with Rutherford Wine Co, a family estate who have pioneered sustainable farming and winemaking in Napa Valley.

BUT their passion is Benevolent Neglect, a tiny-production labour of love that is all about crafting the very best wines with the very least of intervention.

Here’s how they view their approach to winemaking: Minimal intervention is likely the best way to describe our winemaking style. The idea of the winemaker is to be the reliable translator — to take what was made in the vineyard from the sun, water, and soil and let it become the finest wine that it can be. We use very little new oak, no oak substitutes, and no industrial additives. If we get the farming right and the weather co-operates we won’t do any additions of water or acidity to alter the natural balance of the wine.   We will occasionally ferment with whole clusters if it helps to bring out the best qualities of the vineyard, and try our hardest never to over-extract tannins from the skins and seeds.   All of our red wines are unfined and unfiltered, with some whites getting filtered simply to ensure stability in bottle for the consumer. We believe in transparent winemaking,  doing things the natural way, and being open to experimentation. Most importantly, we want to keep having fun with what we do in the cellar.