Winemakers

...Making the italian varietal grape "sangiovese" into wine which could rival any red wine in the world.

Benessere is Italian for "well-being" or prosperity. At Benessere, we take it to mean the prosperity and well-being of living in the Napa Valley.

This was the concept by which Benessere was founded in 1994. The winery was conceived with the idea of making the Italian varietal grape "Sangiovese" into a wine which could rival any red wine in the world. Sangiovese has been used to make the finest wines in Tuscany, Italy for centuries. Now, we have adapted it to California and specifically, Napa Valley. Benessere has a quest for excellence and adherence to the highest standards of innovative and traditional methods for fine winemaking.

Chris Dearden- General Manager/Winemaker

Chris is a third generation Californian with agrarian roots in the San Joaquin Valley. He began his studies at UC Davis in Enology and later wrote his own major in Winery Operations and Management. Internships in the Napa Valley at Schramsberg and RMS Distillery led him to his first winemaking job out of school at William Hill Winery. He became the winemaker at a small Carneros winery-Mont St. John, which specialized in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and then became a winemaker for Heublein's Fine Wine Group, which included Christian Brothers, Beaulieu and Inglenook. While honing his skills as a winemaker, he made the decision to learn more about business and returned to the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley to obtain an MBA. During this period, he worked for Seguin Moreau, the world famous cooperage owned by Remy-Cointreau. His winemaking skills were enhanced greatly by working with the greatest wineries and winemakers in the world, helping them produce world class wines with premium barrels. Now, after planting the vineyards, refurbishing the winery and establishing the brand at Benessere, the hard work is beginning to pay off, with a track record of small quantity, high quality Sangiovese. "The best is yet to come," says Dearden.

Italian Winemaking Team

We are fortunate to have two of the brightest Italian winemakers collaborating with us as consultants. Dr. Alberto Antonini is one member of the team and is a graduate of the University of Florence. He has held winemaking positions with Frescobaldi, Col d'Orcia in Montalcino, and Piero Antinori. He is on the DOCG tasting panel in Italy and has also studied at UC Davis and at California wineries. Attilio Pagli is a graduate of the Insititute of Viticulture and Enology of Sienna in 1983 and immediately began consulting with wineries in Montalcino, Chianti Classico, Scansano, Montefalco, Conero, and Romagna. He also is a member of the DOCG tasting panel in Italy. Together, they have formed a worldwide wine service consulting group. They consult for many prestigious wineries in Chianti Classico, Montalcino, France, Argentina, Chile as well as Benessere. Together, with winemaker Chris Dearden, they are applying the best information from the most progressive Italian wineries to the soil and climate of California. Their goal is to produce an extremely high quality Sangiovese wine that will stand up to any in the world.

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