SARAH CAHN BENNETT

Winemaker at Pennyroyal Farm

A BUCOLIC,winding drive on Route 128 is just about the only way to get to Boonville, a town so small you could speed through without even realising it was there. To miss out on this part of Mendocino County, however, would be a mistake. The 24 kilometre stretch known as the Anderson Valley is the coolest wine region in California (in terms of temperature, but also vibe), and it continues to gain traction—thanks, in part, to Sarah Cahn Bennett. An Anderson Valley native, Bennett was born into the industry. Her parents established Navarro Vineyards & Winery in 1973, so she grew up on a 910-acre ranch that produced some of the area’s first estate wines (wines made from only the winery’s own vineyards). After earning a degree in business administration, she, too, headed to U.C. Davis—then returned home and, in 2007, converted a hayfield owned by her family into her own winery and creamery, a business rooted in sustainability. Named for the wild mint that thrives on the land, Pennyroyal Farm is a low-fossil-fuel, compost-fertilised operation that draws on the symbiotic interplay between diversified crops and animal husbandry. Bennett and her team strive for a closed-loop style of farming, growing Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, raising goats and sheep, and making rich seasonal cheeses, all on the same property. Solar panels on the barn’s roof supply electricity to the creamery, which Bennett runs alongside head cheese maker and herd manager Erika McKenzie-Chapter. The ranch and vineyard managers are women, too. “It definitely changes the dynamic to have so many women involved,” Bennett says. “We generally communicate a lot better.”

‘It definitely changes the dynamic to have so many women involved. We communicate a lot better.’

Winemaker Sarah Cahn Bennett in front of the Pennyroyal Farm tasting room, in Mendocino County.