David Ralph Bennion (1929–1988) was a leading California winemaker who was the founder and winemaker at Ridge Vineyards in California from 1959 to 1969. From an early period, Bennion labeled Ridge Vineyards wines by vineyard, district and appellation, a first for California Zinfandel and a practice later followed by nearly every winery in the state. Ridge's flagship wine, Monte Bello is considered one of the great wines of the world.
David R. Bennion
A label from a Ridge Zinfandel bearing David Bennion's tasting notes and initials.
Ridge Founders, Sue and Hew Crane (Left), Blanche and Charles Rosen (center) and Frances Bennion (Right)
A plaque honoring David Bennion at Ridge Vineyards
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet on Monte Bello Ridge in unincorporated Santa Clara County in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, south of Los Altos, California and west of Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County. Ridge Vineyard's 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon gained prominence for its fifth-place finish in the 1976 "Judgment of Paris" wine tasting.
Ridge Vineyards
Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello
View from Ridge Vineyards on Monte Bello Ridge, Santa Cruz Mountains
Ridge–Lytton Springs Vineyard