Tribute, a Bordeaux blend produced from 100% estate grapes grown at the Benziger Family Ranch on Sonoma Mountain, is the first Demeter-certified Biodynamic® wine from Napa and Sonoma Counties and one of the first in North America.

Biodynamics is the highest form of organic farming in the world. It goes beyond the elimination of chemicals to represent a complete and wholistic system of agriculture that views the farm as a living organism intimately connected with its environment. The goal of a Biodynamic wine is not perfection, but rather to truly and authentically reflect the variety, vintage, place and passion of the people who make it.

Demeter is a third party certifier of traditional Biodynamic practices and the oldest such agency in the United States. Certification, the ultimate guarantee of tradition and purity in the production of agricultural products, is extremely difficult to achieve and must be renewed annually.

Tribute was aged for 19 months in French oak (35% new barrels) and approximately one year in bottle before release. It is unfiltered and unfined. Enjoy it now (decanting will add to its enjoyment) but it will continue to develop over the next seven to eight years. It will easily age for 15 to 20 years under proper cellar conditions.

VINTAGE: The 2002 vintage was excellent; a summer of moderate heat and a long, dry autumn allowing the grapes to hang well into October. Harvest and fermentation posed the least stress to the fruit in years and the quality shows. The resulting wine contains the richness of the 2001 vintage but with enhanced structure and higher quality tannins.

AROMA: Blackberry, cassis, coffee, black olive with nuances of tobacco, licorice and earth.

2002 TRIBUTE
93 POINTS “A great follow-up to their breakthrough effort in 2001...” - Robert Parker, Jr.
2001 TRIBUTE
92 POINTS - Wine Spectator
94 POINTS - Wine Enthusiast
94 POINTS “A breakthrough effort for Benziger...” - Robert Parker, Jr.
95 POINTS “...Certainly one of the best ever for Benziger.” - Wine Access