Martin Ray was a pioneer of California fine wine, crafting single-varietal, region-specific wines from 1943 through 1972 in the Santa Cruz Mountains - mentored by Paul Masson, with a Burgundian approach that shaped what is now Mount Eden. In 1990, Courtney Benham acquired the brand after discovering 1,500 cases in a San Jose warehouse, drawn by Ray's terroir-first philosophy. Since 2003, the winery has been based in Russian River Valley on one of California's oldest continually working estates, sourcing from hillside vineyards across Napa, Santa Cruz, Dry Creek Valley, and Sonoma Coast.