About Townley Wines
Introduction
Townley is a boutique winery focused on producing specialized small lots of artisan wines. Our philosophy emphasizes the vineyard and traditional winemaking methods to produce wines expressive of the grapes’ true nature and potential. Our fruit is selected from the finest California vineyards. Townley is a family winery with
Introduction
Townley is a boutique winery focused on producing specialized small lots of artisan wines. Our philosophy emphasizes the vineyard and traditional winemaking methods to produce wines expressive of the grapes’ true nature and potential. Our fruit is selected from the finest California vineyards. Townley is a family winery with a focus on producing world-class wines. I’m best known for making Sojourn Cellars wines and spent much of my career working for Sojourn. I hope you will also try Townley Wines and follow me on this journey to make extraordinary wines.
A Personal Look
Hello. Thank you for your interest in our boutique winery. My name is Randal Townley Bennett. I founded Townley Wines in 2007 with my wife Lindsay Marie Bennett. Starting the winery was part of a larger lifestyle change for us. We had long-enjoyed wine and the wine country lifestyle as travelers and wine drinkers. My first introduction to “wine life” came during visits to California Central Coast wineries while attending university at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. After finishing school I devoted 13 years to a career in management consulting with a large firm called Accenture. It was a rewarding career in many ways – financially, professionally, and especially personally, as I met Lindsay on an Accenture project...in Erie, PA of all places. Accenture taught me how to be an effective leader, problem-solver, and business operator as I helped deliver large complex projects for the Fortune 500. Many of those 13 years were spent traveling across the nation each week. I eventually committed 2 years to work in London, England. While in England, I decided for a change. The first step was a 4-month sabbatical to clear my mind, travel Australasia, and consider options for the next phase of life. Lindsay joined me for this trip of a lifetime. We were inspired by many wine regions visited in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand that year. I also reflected on many tours of California’s wine regions and wonderful memories of enjoying wine and wineries with good friends. After the long vacation, Lindsay went back to her real job, while I decided to learn winemaking and the wine business. We eventually both moved to Sonoma, CA to be together in the same place finally and to immerse ourselves in the world of wine.
My second step on this journey was to apprentice under three great winemakers: Thomas Rivers Brown, Mike Smith, and Erich Bradley. While working with Thomas and Mike producing wines for Nicholson Ranch, Schrader Cellars, Rivers-Marie and Myriad Cellars, I gained a strong grounding in top-end wine production, cellar practices, and practical winemaking techniques. My next stop was Sojourn Cellars, where I worked as Winemaker and General Manager until 2025. At Sojourn I learned about winegrowing in the vineyards and expanded my knowledge and insight into operations of a world-class custom-crush facility. Craig Haserot, successful Vintner and Proprietor of Sojourn Cellars, has also been a valuable tutor and coach, especially on the sales and management side of the wine business. He has taught me the value of deliberate sales campaigns and hitting the pavement to build a wine business. I continue to rely on these mentors for guidance and friendship. Townley Wines materially benefits from these experiences and relationships.
Vision
Townley Wines today is a foundation for the future – a boutique winery producing unique wines with a growing base of outstanding vineyard sources, supporters and loyal customers. We imagine today’s Townley Wines as a launching point toward our larger vision of a luxury winery retreat encompassing premium vineyards, artisan winery facility, lodging, event locations, and a wine country estate. We envision a stylish and unique retreat within the world of wine. Townley Wines today provides a working platform to build on. Finding suitable site options, refining the business case, and confirming investment partners are next steps. Our dream is to achieve a sustaining enterprise that allows us to share experiences of great wine and comfortable luxury with our business partners and supporters. We have started with making extraordinary wines and will continue that focus as we grow. We appreciate all the support from our growing list of loyal customers. With your continued support and help spreading the word about Townley Wines, we can achieve this greater vision and share the dream with you as we move forward.
Thank you again for your interest and support of Townley Wines.