Bernardus Information

Bernardus ‘Marinus’ Pon was a true race and rally fanatic. Between 1961 and 1967, Pon was a driver for Porsche. He won the Limburg Grand Prix at Circuit Zolder in 1963. In 1965 he started to work for the Pon Porsche Import Centre. The Bernardus brand consists of: Bernardus Golf, Bernardus Wine, Bernardus Lodge In 1988 Pon bought out of the family business and left for the United States to pursue his other passion, winemaking. In 1992 he started his vineyard in Carmel Valley, California. His goal was to create a portfolio of wines that could compete with the best wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy. His 2005 Sauvignon Blanc was named the best white wine by the Wall Street Journal for 2007. In 2019, he sold his business to Dutch businessman Robert van der Wallen, who in 2016 acquired a piece of farmland and transformed this into one of the Europeans leading golf courses, named after Ben 'Bernardus Golf Cromvoirt'. Host of the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Dutch Open, part of the European PGA tour.