“They are brothers, they are French, and for them making wine at their BENOM in Paso Robles is a heritage.”
“Arnaud & Guillaume Fabre moved to California for love. For Guillaume, it was his passion for winemaking and farming without limits that brought him to Paso Robles.
This love led him to one of the most prestigious Paso Robles wineries, L’Aventure, and eventually to start his own winery, Clos Solène.”
“Arnaud’s story is much more like that of a movie scene. His move to California was to follow the love of his life, Chloe. This is how the two brothers -Les Deux Frères Fabre- ended up in Paso Robles.”
“As a tribute to the six-generation family legacy in the Languedoc-Roussillon and Bordeaux regions, BENOM harmoniously combines the freedom of winemaking in Paso Robles with the innate talent of the Fabre bloodline.”
“In September of 2023, the Fabre brothers accomplished their goal of acquiring an estate in York Mountain AVA.
This purchase fulfills Arnaud and Guillaume's long-term vision of expanding the BENOM brand.”
“Every bottle of BENOM embodies the Fabre brothers' commitment to their French heritage and passion for Paso Robles. Their approach to winemaking is distinguished by the use of traditional Old World techniques and sustainable practices, incorporating the fruit and creative freedom of Paso Robles.”
There is also a Family connection with the Michelin recognized, top-rated restaurant in Paso Robles, Les Petites Canailles.
Arnaud Fabre stays with us gently uncorking all that is BENOM wines.
This is your captain speaking. I'm honor Jotton, captain of Holland America Line, MS Master. You're listening to the so-called restaurant show on AM 830 KLAA. And welcome back. It is hour two of the SoCal restaurant show. And we're here with you every Saturday morning from 10 AM until 12 noon, right here on AM830 KLAA, the home of Angels Baseball 2024. And you can also catch us on the AM830 Angels app. I'm Andy Harris, the executive producer and co-host to the show. Put them all together. Thanks for sharing part of your Saturday morning with us. We do appreciate it. And we're enthusiastically presented each and every week by Melissa's World Variety Produce and West Coast Prime Meats. We're journeying back up to Paso Robles. And we are talking with one of the owners of Benham Wines. Their tasting room is located in Tin City in Paso. Very wonderful French family. A couple of interconnections there are behind it. And it is a pleasure to welcome Arno Faberé back to the show. Arno, I guess our first question here is to share with our listening audience. What does Benham mean? Benham means a project together in French. In France, we spell it B-I-N-O-N-E. We did a kind of phonetic translation to make sure we all pronounce it the same way. So that's why we replaced the I by D, we were the U-N. Got it. Now, your labels are very distinctive because there is a raised quality on the label. What does that signify? Is that just a design? Yeah, so, no, no, no, it's actually the West Side of Paso map, all the main roads that lead to the vineyard we saw from. And so when we started Benham, we wanted a kind of showcase with the visual of the label pretty much what you're going to get into the bottle, which is a traditional, I would say, a style of wines that are a bit softer, like I said earlier, but as well, that modern, which is more means to the new world wines like America, where we are able to blend whatever we want. So we wanted to have that feeling of tradition because of modern on our labels. And so the map you see represents the West Side where we are something of food. Gosh, I'm glad I asked because it's just not a design feature. There's definitely a purpose there. You mentioned in the last segment, Arno, kind of what you and Guillaume wanted to do with Benham in terms of your style of wines, we certainly know it's Bordeaux-influenced. Can you expand on that a little bit before we talk about a couple of the specific wines that were part of the pairing dinner that you did for us a couple months ago? Of course. Yeah, we spent some time with Guillaume in a longer duck, more Guillaume, because I was young at that time. And then in Bordeaux, Cabernet was always amazing for us, we love Bordeaux, we love Napa. And when you look at West Side of fact, so obviously the West Side is not fitted to the Rhone Vietals, but Guillaume knew that with the vineyard that it visited, we could produce a Cabernet Sauvignon and play with the Cabernet rum with Rhone Vietals and Spanish Vietals. And so that's why Benham is all about. We have a straight Cabernet and then we have Benham regrouped Spanish and Rhone Vietals. Very clear explanation. Now, when I first saw you a number of years ago, you were sourcing all your fruit and we'll get into that in a minute. But since that last visit in September of 2023, you finally acquired your own vineyard property. Tell us about that and tell us what the plantings are in your estate vineyard. Yeah, so you know, of course, when you start from scratch, you don't have a lot of financial because we always like to do things ourselves and you don't want to approach an investor. And so that's why we start small and we grew organically with our membership. And in 2023, Guillaume and I were looking at a property. I mean, it was more like four or two years, so starting in '21. And then in '23, we put our eyes on this property, which is located in York Mountain. So, it's out of the parts of this ADA, it's between the parts of this ADA and the coast. Very small appellation that is a little bit cooler, that has a lot more rainfall. Different there well, the property that we purchased has a lot of clay on this. And so, it does fit really, really well for Bordeaux Vayes. And Guillaume and I are producing 50% to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon through our wine. We needed a spot where Cabernet was best fitted. And so we bought this property in '23, it's 60 acres. We are actually developing it as we speak. So, starting in October, we used a coastal, which is a junior development and farming company. That does a really good job. And they are helping us plant in Virginia. And so, we finished pretty much last week, putting all the plants and producing systems, watering and all of that. And next Thursday, when we receive our wood stock, which we're going to plant right after. So, 20 acres to 20 acres are going to be planted next week. We're going to let the root stock establish themselves and then we're going to grasp it over with our Vayes tools. So, our plan is to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet from Merlot a little bit, maybe try some Chabernet Sauvignon. And then we're going to play a little bit more with run Vayes tools with Chira and Grumash. But we might try if, you know, we see a change, but we might try a little bit or a good channel. That is great that we use for Vayes. So, our goal at the end is to be to supply about 80% of our production. Our note is very exciting and we look forward to watching your progress. Now, let's talk about some of the specific wines that we enjoyed in that lovely evening that you and Guillaume hosted for this group of wine writers. Le Petite Canal, which, you know, incredible evening. The first of your wines that we tried was the 2022 contrast. Now, if I'm remembering correctly, I know, was that paired with that interesting Caesar solid? But tell us about the wine, if you will. Yeah. So, you know, we're a big fan of why my family and obviously we wanted to continue creating a wine along with the red on the eclectic side, the grapes that you don't think about putting together. And so, we started in 2017 putting Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc together. So, Chardonnay, it's kind of hard to grow in Paso because of the weather being too hot. So, we sourced it down south in the San Luis Obispo Appalachia and as well as Sanamaria to provide us a more like a virgin, Chardonnay, much more cooler area. So, beautiful litigants that comes out of those grapes and brightness along with Sauvignon Blanc, which restores in Paso a perished state. And so, when we started this wine, you know, idea was to create a fresh, mineral-wide with some texture. It's not a texture that is creamy, buttery, texture, no on the softness of that. So, you have a beautiful balance between that freshness, aromatic, and texture. So, it's not only a wine that you can just enjoy by itself or you can also enjoy it with a nice, you know, meal or oysters or, you know, salmon dacha that does really well with it. Wonderful. And so, before we run out of time, which would be a shame, the star of the evening from Benham, you were kind enough to do a vertical of origin for us. I believe we had the 2017 and the 2021 and that was paired with that wonderful steak. Tell us a little bit about origin, if you will. Yes, so, origin was the first wine a young and I wanted to make. Remember what I said earlier, Cabernet was a, you know, a focus and we wanted to make a cab from West Side Pastel. We also think Cabernet from four different vineyards of beautiful diversity of terroir through those vineyards. To create a Cabernet that is, I would say, more like a one vintage in Bordeaux. So, it's a very classic Cabernet Sauvignon that is made in Pastel, so when I say made in Pastel, it means with the limestone that we have in Pastel on a few of the vineyards which was Cabernet from, you really create that mineral finish that we love and those savory tenants that are really well integrated to the wine. So, we are trying to make a cab that is not overpowering, a cab that is very elegant, has a lot of finesse, with very well integrated tenants. I know wonderful wine, regardless of whatever the year is, and for you cab fans out there, this is one that you definitely need to sample when you visit the Benham tasting room in Tin City. I know as we need to say goodbye, what is the best website and what are the days your tasting room in Tin City is open? So, we have opened every day of the week, we take our first apartment at 10, our last at 3.30. It's a one on one, you know, a key thing, so you sit down, where you have one host, you go through a flight of five to six wines, where we tell you everything about the family, everything about our style, our philosophy, how we make those wines, and describe what we see every single wine that you're going to taste. We like the more intimate side of tasting, and so we do that every day of the week in Tin City, and so you can find us online at binhamwine.com, the website will be easy to find, and we'll have to host you on the next trip to Paso. I know great catching up with you again. Thank you for all the hospitality on both trips, again the emphasis to our listeners. This is by appointment only because it's one on one, and it's binhamwine.com, B-E-N-O-M. You are listening to the SoCal restaurant show. When you return, we're still talking about wine, but we're also talking about the food component. Tomorrow kicks off the summer season at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, and we're going to be talking with Hollywood Bowl Food and Wine. It is the SoCal restaurant show, we're proudly presented by Melissa's World Variety Produce and West Coast Prime Meats. We'll be right back.
