In the fall of 2000 winery owner and viticulturist Jim Regusci purchased 20 tons of exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from a vineyard that he planted and manages for a close friend. He brought the grapes to his winery and had them crushed and isolated from the rest of his own Regusci Estate grown grapes. Not having a specific plan for the grapes, he asked his winemaker Charles Hendricks to make the wine and age it separately. Because the particular vineyard did not have a name, one of his cellar hands chose to label the barrels "Twenty Bench". The name was chosen to signify the 20 tons of fruit from the gentle rising bench land vineyard from which they were picked.