=====<span style="color:#006400">In the News~</span>=====
'''September 8, 2019 [Fortune]:''' "Some of California's Most Famous Wines Came from a Science Experiment. Michael Benedict's research led to his founding the first vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills. Starting out as a research specialist at the University of California at Santa Barbara in the late 1960s, botanist Michael Benedict had no idea that his studies of the ocean's effect on plants would lead him to found one of California's most famous vineyards, Sanford & Benedict, in the Santa Ynez Valley, 48 years ago. It would not only provide the fruit for the future Sanford Winery but also lay the foundation for the Sta. Rita Hills appellation, known for its Pinot Noir. "The region has exploded, far beyond anything I had expected," Benedict says of the area and its now highly sought-after Pinot Noir. "There's pleasure in discovering that something you believed in strongly turns out to be true." And it all began with a science experiment. As a young scientist, Benedict served as the inaugural resident manager of the University of California Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, one of the eight Channel Islands off the coast of California. Santa Cruz Island, visible from Santa Barbara, lies 23 miles offshore. There, he studied the effect of the surrounding ocean on native flora, known as the marine influence, which would later become a defining characteristic of some of the world's most renowned wine regions. At the time, though, that wasn't obvious. Not until Benedict learned that in the late 1800s vineyards flourished on the island did he realize he might be onto something. In the 19th century, the island's winery and vineyard produced some of the wines most favored by Californians. The finished wines were shipped north in barrels and were served at fine-dining restaurants in San Francisco for more than 30 years before being shut down during Prohibition. "Because the vines had been cultivated for many years, a mound has accumulated where each vine had grown," Benedict says. "The pattern of these mounds was still easy to see. The old winery buildings were still present. All of this prompted the question: How did good wine grapes grow so close to the cold, foggy ocean?" It has to do with the mountains surrounding a valley near the ocean. Benedict explains that the marine layer of cold, foggy ocean air typically hangs 1,200 feet to 1,500 feet above the surface of the water. That will penetrate land until it runs up against a barrier, such as a mountain range, that is higher. Beyond that barrier, air will be cool and dry but lacking the moisture. On Santa Cruz Island, a 2,000-foot mountain range created that barrier and allowed for the perfect environment to grow wine grapes—a valley with cool, dry air. Putting two and two together, Benedict developed a model for an ideal vineyard environment with the marine layer influence. Armed with that information, he set off on a mission: to find a similar environment in which to plant a vineyard somewhere along the West Coast of North America. With his vines growing in a nursery, he traveled from the Todos Santos Valley in Baja California, Mexico, to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada, looking for land. It was in his own backyard with friend Richard Sanford that he pinpointed the best location: a ranch in Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley.