California has more than 4,600 wineries, thousands more than any other state in the country, and it’s long been a leader in wine production for the U.S. California’s rich history of viticulture started in the 1700s with some of the first vines planted at Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769. They were used to make communion wine. When it came to commercial production, California got its “first premium winery” with Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma. First opened in 1857, Buena Vista helped shape California’s and, by extension, America’s wine scene. The winery has been revitalized and restored, and it’s a beautiful place to get a glimpse into history and sample some good wine.
Buena Vista Winery was founded by Hungarian immigrant Agoston Haraszthy. He came to California during the Gold Rush, and after a stint as San Diego’s first sheriff, he moved north. He was said to be looking for “purple gold” — a place to grow quality grapes to make good wine in the California countryside, according to Buena Vista Winery. He found such a place in the Sonoma Valley in the mid 1850s.
Sonoma Valley was, and is, an ideal place for making wine, thanks to the region’s variety of soils, temperate climate, and ocean fog. But he still had just the Mission grapes to work with. Haraszthy wanted to expand California wine options with better grapes from Europe, and he traveled the old continent in the early 1860s. While rumors that he brought zinfandel to the U.S. are unfounded, he did bring back vine cuttings, according to Guild Somm International. Some of the wine varietals he brought back and championed have become ubiquitous in vineyards across the country, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc, per The International Wine & Food Society…