Bernardus Winery, founded by the well-traveled and discerning Bernardus (Ben) Pon, is situated in the picturesque Carmel Valley. Pon could have chosen any location worldwide for his namesake winery, yet he selected Carmel Valley for its ideal west-facing orientation, warm days, cool nights, and breathtaking scenery. He was confident that this unique environment would allow his vineyards to produce wines that could compete with the finest globally. Over 25 years later, Pon achieved this goal with his acclaimed estate Bordeaux blend, Marinus, named after his middle name, as well as a distinguished collection of single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc.

Nearly two decades ago, Pon also anticipated the needs of wine enthusiasts by opening the first tasting room in Carmel Valley Village. He transformed the former Bank of America building into a welcoming space for wine tasting and education. Today, the Village hosts over 20 tasting rooms, with the Bernardus Tasting Room offering not only exceptional wines but also a charming outdoor patio, a private room for wine dinners, and a comfortable lounge.

Following Ben Pon’s passing in September 2019, Bernardus Winery continues under the leadership of his business partner, Robert van der Wallen. A fellow Dutchman and advocate for quality, van der Wallen shares Pon’s vision and commitment to maintaining the winery's high standards. He has also founded Bernardus Golf reflecting the same emphasis on innovation and excellence as Pon’s legacy. With a passion for fine art, golf, and wine, van der Wallen is dedicated to advancing the Bernardus legacy for years to come.

While the grapes for Chalone Vineyard Estate come from their high mountain estate, the grapes for the Monterey County wines come from distinct vineyards in the 75-mile long Salinas Valley, which begins in Monterey Bay and runs southeastward. Ancient volcanoes, active faults and tectonic plate movement created the Santa Lucia and Gavilan Mountain ranges, which flank the valley. The mountains form a wind tunnel, drawing cool ocean breezes off the Pacific Ocean into the valley. The cool air causes the vines to shut down and delays ripening of the grapes, leading to a longer growing season and hang time that results in intense fruit flavors. Not open to the Public

I love this tasting room. There is lots of space in the place and art to amuse you in between the tasting. The wines are fantastic and even though they are not widely advertised, they are a good buy. The service is great and they enjoy spending time talking to you about the wine. Definitely check this place out if you are in Carmel Valley. I really enjoyed the red blend from Arroyo Seco.

Winemaker Mark Chesebro

Mark took a crush job at Bernardus Winery under Don Blackburn in the fall of 1994, and ended up staying until the spring of 2005. First working in the cellar, then as Enologist, he eventually became Winemaker in January of 1999. He basically held every production job available at this 50,000 case winery. Mark notes that this was truly his real winemaking education. It taught him not only about winemaking, but also about the extreme importance and impact of farming. He candidly observes that wine is very easy to botch up in the winery, but it can never be better than the raw materials. Respect for this concept became the guiding force in his approach to the production of fine wine.

Since Spring of 2021 Mark has had the pleasure of working with his son Will as co-winemaker . Will grew up with winemaking at Bernardus and at Chesebro Wines. He has worked harvest jobs at Hobo Wines and Thomas Fogarty. He also ran the laboratory at  J Lohr Winery's white wine facility.

Together they are currently launching their Cedar Lane Vineyard label featuring wines from the estate vineyard of that name in the Arroyo Seco AVA. These wines were previously bottled under the Chesebro label but they wanted to highlight the source vineyard and have the Chesebro label focus on wines from the Carmel Valley AVA.