2004 TRIBUTE

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

85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot in the world. It goes beyond the elimination of
4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot 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.

WINEMAKING | Tribute was fermented with native yeast and went through malolactic fermentation
in barrels during the winter in our underground caves. Blended early in its history, Tribute was bottled in
May of 2006 after 18 months in French oak barrels (35% new barrels) and bottled unfiltered. The wine
was aged for one year in the bottle before release in May - July of 2007. Enjoy it now (decanting will add
to its enjoyment) but it will continue to develop over the next 6 to 10 years. It will easily age for 15 to 20
years under proper cellaring conditions.

VINTAGE | The 2004 vintage was one of the BIODYNAMIC CERTIFICATION

quickest, shortest and smallest vintages in many
years. It started early and ended early. The growing
season was uniformly warm and dry. The resulting
wines have good concentration, beautiful aromas
and are well structured.
AROMA | The wine’s aroma is focused on cedar,
black cherry, nutmeg, black olive, tobacco, licorice,
smoke and a wonderful earthiness.
MOUTHFEEL | This wine has a beautiful rich
textured entry. Soft, fine grain tannins provide a
consistent velvety grip throughout the experience.
It is well balanced and well integrated.
Concentration and structure provide an interesting
contrast. The finish is very long with lingering
flavors of berry, bittersweet chocolate and spiciness.
Demeter is the 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. Only wineries that have
achieved the rigorous certification from Demeter
can make any reference to Biodynamic practices
and the certification will be marked with the
Demeter logo. For more information on the
certification process, visit www.demeter-usa.org
1883 London Ranch Road | Glen Ellen, CA
www.benziger.com/tribute | (800) 989-8890
WHAT IS BIODYNAMIC FARMING?
Biodynamic farming is a wholistic approach developed in the 1920’s by Rudolf Steiner, a Austrian
scientist-philosopher who also created Waldorf education. In 1924, a group of farmers—concerned
that their crops were no longer nourishing their families and animals as they once had—asked Steiner
for help. He created Biodynamic farming, an agricultural method rooted in traditional polyculture
farming practices.
While it encompasses many of the principles of organic farming, such as the elimination of all
chemicals, Biodynamic practices go further, requiring close attention to the varied forces of nature
influencing the vine. It also emphasizes a closed nutrient and self-sustaining ecosystem. The resulting
wine has authenticity of place and better, bolder flavors.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BIODYNAMIC WINES:

“The key to biodynamic winegrowing—or some similar devotion to intensely self-sustaining
agriculture and naturalistic winemaking—is that its practitioners give us wines that are
somehow luminous in their flavors and purity. They allow us, in a technological era of reverse
osmosis, spinning cones and vacuum concentrators, to know what is, in the immortal words
of Smokey Robinson, "really, really real."
Matt Kramer,

“The difference between other wines and biodynamic wines is like the difference between lap
dogs and hunting dogs.”
Jancis Robinson

“Can you taste the Biodynamics? Of course not. But, you can taste courage… you can taste
tenderness in the winemaking itself… This is what is real… Now, at the beginning of the
twenty-first century, we need that absolutely.”
Matt Kramer,

"Biodynamics is the aikido or ashtanga yoga of winegrowing -- a way to focus energy and
awareness for peak performance and exceptional health. Sick vineyards need homeopathy;
biodynamic vineyards radiate a vigor that can be felt. Like Barry Bonds turning a 100-mph
fastball into a soaring arc headed for McCovey Cove, biodynamic vineyards are completely
aligned with their purpose, and therefore able to channel all the forces of the moment into a
powerful result."
Thom Elkjer, July 1, 2004

“I don't know if you can taste biodynamics, but I do know you can taste passion, the single
most important ingredient of all great wines.”
Ben Giliberti, February 21, 2007

“In the simplest of terms, things are done the natural way. The farming excludes the use of
herbicides, chemical fertilizers, aromatic additives such as oak chips and tannin powder; and
it doesn't allow genetically engineered vines. For many producers and consumers, these are
important. Obviously, it's a global concern.”
Larry Lipson, Daily News. Los Angeles February 19, 2007