[3] Bennion started his career at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) where he specialized in Magnetic Circuits.

[4] In 1959, Bennion, Hewitt Crane, Charles Rosen and Howard Zeidler purchased an 80-acre winery and vineyard above Cupertino in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

[5] Excited by the quality of the early wines, the partners decided to re-bond the winery in time for the 1962 vintage, calling their endeavor Ridge Vineyards.

By focusing on single-vineyard Zinfandels—Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Lodi, Paso Robles—Bennion showed that Zinfandel can express terroir.

This technique, which was used widely in France and elsewhere in Europe in the 19th century, proved extremely successful and would later be adopted by many California wineries.

After his death, a Trust Fund and Fellowship at UC Davis was created to continue his viticulture work and preserve the history of winemaking in the Santa Cruz Mountains.