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About Bernardus

Widely traveled and endowed with impeccable taste, Founder Bernardus (Ben) Pon could have chosen anywhere in the world to establish his namesake Bernardus Winery, with the intention of cultivating premier class wines. He selected Carmel Valley, with its west-facing orientation, hot days and chilly nights, and stunning beauty, confident his vineyards there could produce wines to rival the greatest on the globe. More than a quarter-century later, he accomplished that not only with his estate Bordeaux blend, called Marinus (after his middle name), but with a powerhouse portfolio of single-vineyard-designated Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. 

Fortunately for wine lovers and fans of Bernardus, Mr. Pon also had the foresight nearly 20 years ago to open the first tasting room in Carmel Valley Village, purchasing and converting the former Bank of America building into a venue for sipping and learning. Today, the Village is home to more than 20 tasting rooms. The Bernardus Tasting Room not only offers wines for tasting and purchase, but a beautiful and sunny outdoor patio, a private room suitable for wine dinners, and a comfortable lounge.

With Ben’s passing in September 2019, Bernardus Winery will carry on with his business partner 100% at the helm.  A fellow dutchman and champion of quality, Mr. Robert van der Wallen. He understood Ben’s vision and the importance to keep producing wines with the same passion.  Robert created and built Bernardus Golf  (www.bernardusgolf.com) and that encompasses the same philosophy as Ben, with innovation and quality at the forefront.  With his love of fine art, golf and wine, he will continue to keep the Bernardus legacy moving forward long into the future.

Bernardus’ three estate vineyards — Marinus, located in Cachagua and planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec; Featherbow, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon grown in front of the winery; and Ingrid’s Vineyard, located 10 miles west of Marinus and planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir — are managed by Matt Shea, a champion of sustainable practices that ensure vine and soil health while reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. His goal is to produce the best possible fruit while caring for the land on which it grows. 

“My philosophy for farming comes from my background of spending 13 years in Oregon growing premium Pinot Noir organically, biodynamically and conventionally,” he says. “I have fused all of those types of farming into an approach that is as sustainable as possible and really tailored to this type of vineyard in Monterey County.” He farms a total of 54 acres among Bernardus’ three estate vineyards, which are all located in the Carmel Valley AVA.

Complementing those are several highly regarded vineyards located in the Santa Lucia Highlands and Arroyo Seco AVAs, or American Viticultural Areas, within Monterey County. Throughout the years, Mr. Pon, winemaker Dean DeKorth and Shea have worked tirelessly to cultivate strong relationships with fellow grape growers, who in turn provide top-quality fruit for Bernardus’ single-vineyard wines, including Griva, Rosella’s, Garys’, Sierra Mar, Soberanes and others. “All of the vineyards we work with have similar farming practices,” Shea says, and each has blocks specifically dedicated to Bernardus.

Grapes for Bernardus wines are hand picked, whether from the estate vineyards or from the vines in partner vineyards, during multiple passes throughout the harvest season, in order to capture the balance of sugars and tannins that yield superlative wines. Harvest spans a wide timeframe, considering the vineyards’ climate differences, beginning in late August or early September and running through Thanksgiving.

All that time and attention to detail mean the best possible fruit for DeKorth, who often walks among the vines in the estate and other vineyards to test the grapes for ripeness throughout the growing season. American born, DeKorth trained in Burgundy and the Loire Valley in France for a decade before he returned to the United States to make wine for Bernardus, where the 2014 harvest was his 10th. His foundation in France informs his style, which focuses on balanced wines with the right degree of complexity and mouthfeel.

“Mr. Pon really wanted us to focus on making the best wines possible, and in order to do that, I’ve been able to foster relationships with the best growers running the best vineyards on the Central Coast,” he says. Part scientist and part artist, DeKorth ferments each batch of grapes from each vineyard separately in the winery, and savors the process of tasting and blending the young wines, experimenting over the course of a few months to create the ideal blends before bottling.

“I’m always experimenting every year, because if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward,”

“I’m always experimenting every year, because if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward,” he said. But his overarching philosophy of creating wines that are not artificially underripe and low in alcohol, or manipulated, overripe and therefore high in alcohol, governs his winemaking practices.

“I want them to have great aromas and great flavors — that’s the complete package,” he says.

The Bernardus team’s attention to detail, high standards and passion for making stellar wine ensure every bottle of Marinus, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc offers the chance to “Taste a Dream,” as Mr. Pon envisioned decades ago — and still does today.

Founder Ben Pon appreciated wine as an art- a form of art that transcends the ordinary. His dream with Bernardus was to make a red wine equal to the finest from Bordeaux. To achieve this, Ben, a Dutchman who could have planted vineyards anywhere in the world, has chosen the Carmel Valley for his estate vineyards and winery. Since the early 1970’s, there has been a growing awareness of the outstanding potential for Bordeaux varieties from this new viticultural appellation.

Ingrid's Vineyard

Bernardus Winery planted Ingrid’s Vineyard in 1999.  It was originally planted to one acre of Pinot Noir and six acres of Chardonnay; however in 2006 the acreage was changed to 3.5 acres of Pinot Noir and 3.5 acres of Chardonnay.

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Marinus Vineyard

Bernardus owns 210 acres in the Cachagua region of the upper Carmel Valley on two sites. The Marinus vineyard comprises 36 acres. Of the 36 acres, 25 acres are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, 9 acres to Merlot, 1 acre to Cabernet Franc and 1 acre to Petit Verdot.

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Bernardus Pon - Founder

Robert van der Wallen - Owner

 

Robert Baker,Jr 

Director of Sales & Marketing

Jeff Meier

President

 

Matthew Shea

Vineyard Manager

Jim McCabe

Winemaker

 

Stephan van der Wallen

Brand Ambassador

Heather Rammel

Direct to Consumer Manager

Bruce Smitham

Vice President of US Sales

Jeff Jung

Regional Sales Manager

@bernarduswinery

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