Brian Benson Cellars

Brian Benson, a 25-year-old lover of cars and wine, is one of the most unusual winemakers you will come across. He is the closest thing the wine industry has to a wine prodigy. Brian Benson got his start in the wine business while spending time at his Grandparents’ Paso Robles vineyard and his Father’s winery on the weekends while he was still in elementary school. In 1995, when his father, Norm, bought Dark Star Cellars, a 10-acre winery in Westside Paso Robles, Benson began working at the winery part-time, gaining extensive knowledge and experience in the wine business. When he was just 12 years old, Brian Benson made his first wine, a Cabernet, under his father’s supervision in 1997. When he was fifteen years old, Brian Benson became a full time assistant winemaker to his father at the Dark Star, gaining further priceless experience and insight into the wine business. After he graduated from high school, Benson knew that he wanted to start making his own wines, and with less than 2,000 dollars Benson was able to make his dream come true at the age of 19 by working deals with local growers. That same year, Benson handcrafted his first two commercial vintages, a Cabernet and a Zinfandel, producing 147 cases of wine in his first year. The following year, Benson, using the same methods and vintages, increased his winery's production to 450 cases of wine.

Although Benson had yet to release his first vintages, he had big dreams for the following year. However, later that year, he met great personal tragedy when he lost two of the closest people to him: his grandfather and a valued friend, Allan Brockett, both of whom were huge inspirations in Benson’s life for starting a winery. Although the tragedy struck a deep cord within the young winemaker, Benson knew that they would want him to continue with his passion for making wine. When it came time to choosing a label for his wine, Benson chose two praying angels as a memorial to his grandfather and close friend.

Brian Benson’s 21st birthday was the highlight of his young career, as he released his first vintage and poured right beside his father at the Dark Star. In 2005, the Brian Benson Cellars outgrew its production space at his father’s winery, and Benson was forced to move his winemaking business to Denner Vineyards, a brand new, high-tech gravity winery.

Since his first release in 2003, Benson has increased his production of Rhone varietals, as well as created a new customized blend of wine that combines his two passions: wine and cars. In 2005, Benson created a specialized red wine blend called Brian Benson Cellars Kustom Series Shop Truck Red that will be a different blend of red wine every year, and its release will coincide with his completion of a newly built custom car or hot rod. Both a creative idea and good for publicity, Benson’s Shop Truck Red has become one of the wineries featured labels.

In the near future, Brian Benson plans to expand his Rhone wine varietals even further and double his current winery’s production size, in the hopes of putting his winery on the map of fine Paso Robles wine.

Wine is Art

"Wine is art. Opinions about art are subjective. Trusting your palate is like looking at painted art; people either understand it and admire it or they don’t relate to it. It’s critical to remember that people enjoy many types of art and it’s true that when people open a bottle of wine, they want to like it, whether they do or not is up to the individual’s tastes. Thus our company’s mission is to convey the story of various origins of wine to people who embrace wine as a dynamic art made by hand."

-Boutique Wine Collection

Richard Betts Holds the Keys to Terroir

In 1971, Richard Betts was born in Syracuse, New York. His parents subsequently moved to Tucsan, Arizona where he grew up. Richard Betts is currently the resident Master Sommelier at Aspen, Colorado’s Little Nell. Betts took an unorthodox route to the wine business, but his unusual journey to the world of wine did not adversely affect him, as he has become one of the best sommeliers in the business.

Richard Betts graduated from Los Angeles’ Occidental College in 1994 with a Bachelor’s degree in Geology. From there, he went on to get his Master’s degree from the Northern Arizona University. While traveling through Florence, Italy in 1992, Richard Betts first became interested in wine; however, he did not pursue a career in wine until after he had received his Master’s degree. Richard Betts first realized he wanted to work in the wine business when he was working on defending his Master’s thesis. During the preparation of his thesis, Betts had a glass of wine that catalyzed his journey into the wine world. It tasted exactly like a glass he had several years previously when he was in Italy, and it brought back vivid memories of the dining experience. He believed right then in the power of the taste and smell of wine, and he knew he had to work with wine.

Richard Betts’ first job was as a cook at Janos, a Tucson restaurant. After he worked in the kitchen, he became the restaurant’s sommelier for two years. In 2000, he moved onto another restaurant, taking an open position at Montagne at the Little Nell: the world renown restaurant that has won the Wine Spectator Grand Award for the past decade.

Currently, Richard Betts produces wine from Australia and France with his partner Dennis Scholl under their joint names. He also assists two other local wine enthusiasts, chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and sommelier Bobby Stuckey, produce their own label, La Scarapetta. La Scarapetta produces some of the finest Italian wines, as well as imports them. Although Richard Betts often jokes that he drinks his “weight in French wine,” he enjoys wine from around the world.

When Richard Betts is selecting wine for his renown restaurant, the wine has to pass one test: it has to capture its terroir. If a wine has made it onto Little Nell’s wine list, you can be sure it is not only a world-class wine, but a trip in a glass. Betts only puts wine on his tables that make him want to pack his bags and see the land for himself. According to Richard Betts, the way wine smells “is the intellectual value of wine, the ability of this singular alcoholic beverage to communicate to us a grape, a place, its geography, geology, history, people, cuisine, and so on and so forth. Nothing else can do this like wine.” If the wine does not reflect its terroir to his satisfaction, the wine is out.

A new trend has arisen: to make wine taste geography-less. Richard Betts despises this practice. In his opinion, and mine, wine should be made with the intention of being its region’s spokesperson. Wine is one of the few products that retains a sense of history, an address. If all wines became indistinguishable, you would need only one bottle of each variety to complete your cellar. What a crime it would be to deny wine the single most important thing that differentiates it from other alcoholic beverages. Inside each bottle, wine preserves its citizenship, and that is its beauty. I would have to agree with Richard Betts and say: I would sooner drink tequila than mass produced, terroir-less wine.

As the Little Nell's Master Sommelier, Richard Betts has the opportunity to taste countless wines and pair them craftily with the dinner menu. Betts feels he has one of the best wine jobs in the world, and I would have to agree.

Andrea Immer Robinson: A Wine Guru

Andrea Immer Robinson is currently only one of 14 women who have been appointed to Master Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers, and wine authorities proclaim her to be one of the nation’s leading wine experts who constantly educates the public about wine through several medias. Andrea Immer Robinson was the first woman to be honored with the title of Best Sommelier in the United States by the Sommelier Society of America, and she studied at New York’s prestigious Wine Studies for The French Culinary Institute. She graduated from the institution’s 600-hour culinary program with honors and later become the Dean of the Institute. Most recently, Andrea Immer Robinson became Delta’s Master Sommelier. Her duties will include selecting all of the in-flight wine the company will be offering, as well as training Delta’s staff how to serve it. She will also be creating entertaining in-flight videos for Delta’s passengers.

Prior to being appointed Delta’s Master Sommelier, Andrea Immer Robinson received several accolades for her marked wine genius. She has received notice from several of the nation’s top magazines, including Wine and Spirits and Bon Appetit. She has also written numerous books on wine, which won her the Wine Literary Award for her contributions to wine literature. Great Wine Made Simple was her first book, as well as a huge success, landing her a spot in the wine world limelight. The book established her as one of America’s top wine authorities, getting her nominated for the James Beard Award. Andrea Immer Robinson writes with a realistic style that has captured the attention of Americans with its originality. Both the publishers and critics have found her subsequent writings equally as good, causing her career to soar. She began airing on the Fine Living TV Network in 2004, and her show, Simply Wine with Andrea Immer, compliments her two earlier shows.

Before becoming a major author and television host, Andrea Immer Robinson wrote for several smaller publications, was featured in several magazines, and worked as a wine consultant for several companies and cooking shows, including one of Emeril Lagasse’s. Andrea Immer Robinson continues to speak at national food and wine conventions and especially enjoys instructing hospitality students. She personally launched a USA Today-endorsed wine education program, which won several awards.

Andrea Immer Robinson’s extensive background and knowledge of wine stems from the numerous careers she has held in the business. She has had a myriad of unique and invaluable experiences in the wine industry, which make her one of the most innovative and influential wine personalities in the world. Through her practical teaching style, Andrea Immer Robinson has been able to introduce the beauty of wine to countless people, using her extensive insight to convey the essentials of appreciating wine.

Mike Seitz: Husband, Father, and Viticulturalist

Mike Seitz, a talented and experienced viticulturalist, began his wine journey in New Jersey. He was lured from the east by the idea of buying his own Napa Valley vineyard and farming his own grapes. Before his dream was realized, Seitz worked as a viticulturalist for several Napa Valley vineyards, taking care of some of the most lucrative harvests the valley had seen. In 2000, Seitz founded his own winery, Brookdale Vineyards, and his dream was realized. Tragically, Mike Seitz died during the 2003 harvest in a farming accident, leaving his wife Kristi Seitz sole proprietor of the wine estate. Despite his passing, his passion and drive for wine lives on in his wife and young son, Charlie.

Mike Seitz was known for putting his heart and soul into his wine. His vineyard was his life; he strove to be the best winemaker he could be, and he died doing what he loved. Seitz worked extremely hard at his wine business, and before his death, he achieved his goal of creating vintages that were beautifully simplistic and harmonious with nature.

Mike Seitz' winemaking philosophy was simple and incredibly important to the success of his wine. He believed that keeping production size low was key to producing exceptional vintages. Production size was as important to him as his vineyard’s soil, which he always maintained with sustainable agriculture methods. His vineyards were also consistently well-balanced.

Seitz' winery was given its start by the assistance of some of the finest Napa Valley vineyards, which sold him small blocks of their exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. With the help of his close friend and winemaker, Craig MacLean, Seitz was able to create a delicious limited production wine that was a reflection of his dedication to his winery.

Mike Seitz had a simple ambition: to allow the vineyard to express itself through the bottle. His passion and dedication to wine is the major reason Brookdale Vineyards' varietals are so distinctive in their representation of terroir. When he died, he left a hole where an exceptional vintner should be. In honor of her husband, Kristi Seitz dedicates every bottle of Brookdale Cabernet Sauvignon to Mike Seitz’ memory.

Patrick Baseden and Montesquieu Wines

The wine negociant Montesquieu discovers unknown wines from around the world that are steeped in winemaking tradition and reflect the beauty of their terroir and culture. The vintages they import from around the world are not wines you would find at your local store. Their wine tasting panel chooses from among numerous vineyards and vintages to bring the best selections of wines from around the world to your table. Montesquieu draws from hunBordeaudreds of small, family-owned wineries that have been overlooked by United States because of their size and imports the exclusive vintages that are bursting with flavor to our country. The wines Montesquieu’s wine tasting panel chooses are not merely wonderful bottles of wine, but works of art.

Montesquieu’s wine panel tastes hundreds of wines a month to ensure its consumers the best possible wine experiences. On occasion, Montesquieu only chooses one wine out of every hundred they taste, ensuring the quality the brokerage’s exclusive wines are known for. Some of the wines the brokers taste are samples sent to them by prospective wineries, but most of the wine Montesquieu imports are ones the panelists have discovered themselves on their foreign travels and wine tasting tours.

The panelists believe in the intrinsic diversity of wine and choose quality, individualistic wines from only the best wineries in the world. Every member of the tasting panel has in-depth knowledge of the wine industry and brings his/her own unique wine experiences to the wine choosing process.

Patrick Baseden is one of Montesquieu’s exclusive wine panelists. Born in France, he is married to a descendant of the Montesquieu family. He attended an exclusive Parisian university, Paris-Sorbonne, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Law and his MBA from the European Institute of Business Administration in Fontainebleau. Before he became the founder and CEO of the Montesquieu Vins and Domaines in 1993, Patrick Baseden was the Assistant Vice President of JP Morgan in New York and Paris, the Export Director for Veuve Clicquot Champagne and later became the Executive Vice President. From the Montesquieu family estate in Bordeaux, Baseden, the current Baron de Montesquieu, develops and promotes the Montesquieu wines with his enologist son, Hubert.

Quintessa

In the late 1980s, Agustin Huneeus and his wife, Valeria Huneeus, founded the 280 acre winery estate that would become Quintessa in Rutherford at the heart of Napa Valley. The land exhibits all the characteristics of a great vineyard with microclimates, rolling hills, and diverse soil. After 15 years of growth, the vines have become balanced, needing little encouragement to produce the stellar grapes Quintessa is known for.

Agustin Huneeus believes strongly in remaining true to the terroir of the estate and keeping the wines true to the land from which they are grown. He was born in Santiago, Chile and began his winemaking career there. He is one of the few people who have dedicated his entire career to the passion of winemaking. He started in the wine business in 1960, quickly becoming the CEO of Concha y Toro, which grew to be the largest winery in Chile under his direction. When Chilean politics made living conditions and winemaking too difficult, he left his homeland for America. Before he began his own winery, he worked for a number of other successful vineyards, even becoming Partner and President of Franciscan Estates in the mid-80s, all the while gaining experience and acquiring talent in the winemaking industry. Once Huneeus sold his interest in Franciscan Estates, he bought his dream: Quintessa. Huneeus considers himself an artist of wine and a steward of the land, and his lifelong love of wine has made a significant impact in the wine industry. The award-winning and accomplished winemaker hopes to turn his Quintessa vineyard into a world-class winery.