September 3, 2014:

Bountiful Sonoma County:  Grapes, Apples and Eggs

The earliest evidence of European cultivation in Sonoma County dates to around 1812 with the settlement of Fort Ross by Russian settlers.  Wheat, fruit trees and wine grapes were grown.  In addition Russian were thought to be first to plant two Gravenstein apple trees leading to the advent of the apple industry in the Sebastopol area.  Early wine vineyards were from vines transplanted from Peru by the Russians in the early 1800s.  The industry did not become important until irrigation was introduced – MJ Vallejo was the first to establish commercial winemaking operations in 1830.  As with other opportunistic industries and business tapping the Gold Rush demands, Sonoma County became one of the most profitable agriculture areas.  Colonel Agoston Haraszthy, a Hungarian immigrant, for example, started the Buena Vista ranch and planted thousands of vines and root cuttings around 1857 and established 165 different varieties of wine grapes.