Buena Vista Villa & Vineyards

Buena Vista Villa and Vineyards. . Across this creek, and extending for several miles were the vineyards and home of our Count. In 1857 he had acquired 750 acres from Julius K. Rose, a San Francisco real estate investor for $11,500. The property was wedged between two flanks of the Mayacamas Mountains, where the valley floor runs up the banks of Arroyo Seco Creek into a ravine. The Count called the property Buena Vista Ranch, and immediately began planting grapevines. He ran cattle on some of the higher hillsides, and planted 350 acres of the flatlands to wheat. In 1859 he began the construction of a new residence, built in the style of a Roman Villa. , As the years went on, the Count acquired more land that backed up onto his original purchase. In 1863 he formed a modern agricultural corporation: the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society, and sold $630,000 of stock. With this infusion of funds he built a stable with room for 50 horses, and a short railway to haul grapes from the vineyards to the Press House. He laid down three quarters of a mile of three inch pipe to bring water to the cellars, distillery, stables, and other buildings. By 1866 the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society possessed 500 acres of grapevines, and was producing 200,000 bottles of wine a year. , California’s First Premium Winery , ~1857~.