Joe Anderson, Benovia Winery Co-Founder, Dies at 76

Joe Anderson, a health care executive who later became co-founder of Benovia Winery in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, died Aug. 4 at 76 after complications from a fall.

Anderson was widely known in Northern California wine circles for helping build Benovia with his wife, Mary Dewane, after the couple bought the historic Cohn Vineyard on Westside Road in 2003. They launched the Benovia label two years later and developed the winery into a small producer focused on Sonoma County Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Friends and colleagues said Anderson brought the same energy to wine that he had brought to his earlier career in public policy and health care management. Jeff Mangahas, winemaker at Williams Selyem, said he would remember Anderson for his “kind and generous spirit” and for the pride he took in the vineyards he and Dewane assembled for the winery. Mangahas said Anderson spoke with particular joy about Cohn Vineyard and the land in Sonoma County.

Anderson was born Sept. 23, 1949, in Prescott, Arizona. After graduating from Arizona State University, he spent 17 years in Arizona state government, working in the department of administration. During that period, he became closely involved in efforts to repair the state’s troubled Medicaid system. He helped draft a new Arizona health plan that later drew attention as a model for other states because it aimed to lower costs while expanding access to care, including coverage for pregnant women and children living below the federal poverty level.

In 1986, Anderson and Dr. John Lawrence Schaller co-founded the health care consulting company Schaller Anderson. The business expanded into a national operation with more than 1,700 employees and services for 1.3 million people. In 2007, Aetna acquired the company for $535 million. Anderson stepped down as chief executive the next year.

His move into the wine business came after years of travel to Napa and Sonoma with Dewane, whom he met through their health care careers in the early 1990s. The couple became serious wine collectors and spent time exploring Northern California wine country, often visiting the Healdsburg area and cycling along Westside Road. Through mutual friends, they met Burt Williams, co-founder of Williams Selyem, who encouraged them to look at the Cohn Vineyard property. They bought it in 2003.

Dan Kosta, the vintner and former Kosta Browne winemaker, said Anderson was proud of that purchase because of the vineyard’s history and its connection to Williams Selyem, one of the wineries that helped establish Cohn Vineyard’s reputation for Pinot Noir. Kosta said he quickly became friends with Anderson, describing him as larger than life and deeply enthusiastic about both the land and his new winery.

At first, Anderson and Dewane sold fruit from the property to other producers. They later decided to make their own wines and named the project Benovia, combining the names of their fathers, Ben and Novian. Mike Sullivan served as the winery’s first winemaker, and Adolfo Hernandez took over that role earlier this year.

Benovia remained a relatively small operation, producing about 6,000 cases a year. Over time, Anderson and Dewane expanded the estate to more than 70 acres across three vineyards. The original Cohn site in the Russian River Valley includes 18 acres planted to Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. The Martaella Vineyard, also in the Russian River Valley, includes 42 acres planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Tilton Hill vineyard on the Sonoma Coast adds 12 acres of Pinot Noir.

People who knew Anderson said his philanthropy remained central to his identity long after he entered the wine business. In Sonoma County, he and Dewane became active supporters of wine charity events and local causes. In 2015, they co-chaired Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, which raised $4.5 million for literacy programs in Sonoma County, a record for the event at the time. The following year, Anderson helped support another fundraising effort led by Kosta that brought in $6 million.

His charitable work also extended beyond California. He supported the Maricopa Health Foundation, United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona, Central Arizona Shelter Services and the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, along with Sonoma County fire relief efforts and other local causes. In comments published during a 2017 visit to the couple’s home, Anderson said service to others was a value he and Dewane had both learned early in life.

Anderson also had a strong interest in history and aviation. He owned a restored Douglas C-53 Skytrooper transport plane from the World War II era, which he named “The Spirit of Benovia.” On June 6, 2019, he flew aboard the aircraft in a commemorative crossing of the English Channel into Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Friends said he later spoke often about the noise and roughness of the flight.

Kosta recalled hearing the plane’s engines over Sonoma County and recognizing Anderson overhead. He said those moments became part of how many people in the area thought of him.

Anderson is survived by Dewane; his children, Debbie, Jake and Monica, and their spouses; seven grandchildren; and three siblings and their spouses.