Martin Ray—a pioneer of California viticulture alongside legends like Donn Chappellet and Robert Mondavi—founded his winery in the 1940s and continued making wine up through 1972. His goal was to craft Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that would rival the best of Europe, in an era when most would have found that notion laughable. Crafting single-varietal, region-specific wines in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains, a region that hugs the coast from below the town of Santa Cruz up through the  western borders of cities along San Francisco Bay, Ray also developed what is now one of the most historical wine properties in California, Mount Eden.

Ray’s approach to winemaking went against many of the standard practices at the time, but the results were fantastic. He cut yields and refused to irrigate in the vineyard, and he was even stricter in the cellar, sometimes holding wines back a decade until he felt they were ready to go to market. That dedication to quality landed Martin Ray wines in the White House under both the Johnson and Nixon administrations.

Nearly 20 years after Martin Ray Vineyards closed up shop, winemaker Courtney Benham stumbled upon 1500 cases of their wine in a San Jose warehouse. Benham also wanted to produce terroir-driven wines, so Ray’s historical significance and philosophy resonated with him. Benham purchased the brand in 1990.

In 2003, Martin Ray Vineyards & Winery made its home on the edge of Green Valley in Russian River Valley, setting up camp at one of the oldest continually working wineries in California. Today, Benham and his winemaking team still adhere to Ray’s objective of making “wines of place,” telling the story of each appellation and vineyard—including their own 12-acre estate—they work with, from the mountain regions of Santa Cruz and Napa to the northern reaches of Dry Creek Valley and the Sonoma coast.