History of Casa Cassara Vineyard |
When Bennie Cassara
first set foot on this mountain top retreat he knew this was the place for which he had been looking. Bennie, a brick mason by trade, was busy running his Masonry construction company in Orange County California, but he was looking for a place where he and his family could get away from the daily grind. That was April of 1981; in the years following the family utilized the property located just three hours north of their home in Long Beach as a weekend retreat. In 1984 construction started on the main house, a magnificent structure built surrounding a huge brick fireplace, which supports the roof of the great room.
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The Estate Vineyard near dusk. |
Over the next few years
Bennie brought up horses for his grandchildren, raised cattle, chickens
and even a few goats. It
was in 1990 the first vines were planted on the tiny hilltop estate.
Bennie chose Pinot Noir grapes at the urging of his friend Brian
Babcock of the Babcock Winery. Brian told Bennie his property with
its hillside exposure would be the perfect growing environment
for Pinot Noir grapes, this variatel is grown on hillsides in France,
and Brian knew the combination of warm days and cool foggy nights
would be perfect. It took several years and a great deal of work
before the first grapes were ready for market. The first wine produced
from the vineyard was actually made in 1995; John Krska, of the
Babcock Winery, made the equivalent of about one gallon of wine.
Bennie Cassara, Brian Babcock, John Krska and Dan Cassara stood
in the lab at Babcock Winery and tasted the fruits of the harvest.
Brian knew then a world class Pinot Noir could be produced from
the grapes in this vineyard. In 1996 there was enough of a harvest
for Bennie to sell the grapes and Brian Babcock purchased them
to create a vineyard designate wine, named Babcock Winery Pinot
Noir from Casa Cassara Vineyards. From the harvest of one-half
ton of grapes Brian produced 35 cases of wine.
Casa Cassara Vineyard was on its way; in 1997 again Babcock produced a
Pinot Noir using Bennie Cassara’s grapes.
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