Self proclaimed “The Count of Buena Vista,” Agoston Haraszthy de Mokesa was a vivacious pioneer whose love affair with grape-growing started in his homeland of Hungary.

He first settled in Wisconsin, then moved west to San Diego, San Francisco, and finally settled in Sonoma County.

The Count finally established his winery in 1857, producing 6,500 gallons in the first vintage. Buena Vista continued to grow and expand and by 1860, more than 250 acres of vines had been planted. The Count’s passion also inspired many others to take up wine growing in Sonoma.

Visit Buena Vista to learn more.

The Seghesio story begins in 1886, when Edoardo Seghesio departed his family’s vineyards in Piedmont, Italy, for a new life in America. Like so many immigrants, he was drawn to Northern Sonoma County and the Italian Swiss Colony to follow his passion for wine-making. The “Colony,” as it was known, hired immigrants for three-year stints, providing room and board, and a lump sum at the end of those three years enabling employees to buy land or set up a business in their new homeland.

Visit Seghesio to learn more.

Lillie Langtry was a flamboyant British Theater star who purchased the Guenoc property sight unseen in 1888. On her first visit, she arrived in St. Helena in her lavish Pullman railroad car. From there she embarked with a small fleet of stagecoaches carrying her entourage and paramour, Freddie Gebhard.

She proclaimed her wine was the “greatest claret in the country.” With the help of her winemaker Henri Descelles, she had 51 tons crushed her first vintage and bottled wine in unique vessels portraying her likeness on the glass.

Visit Langtry to learn more.