Bartholomew Park Winery

Bartholomew Park Winery was founded in 1994 by the Bundschu family, whose vision was to produce handcrafted, vineyard-designated wines. Though the winery is relatively young, the Bundschu family had been growing grapes and making wine on their Rhinefarm Estate in Sonoma Valley since 1854. When the nearby winery site was vacated in the early '90s, Jim Bundschu realized his dream of creating a winery that produced small lots of wine from other top vineyards in the region.

The first recorded planting of wine grapes on the Bartholomew Park property was in the early 1830s. Hungarian nobleman Agoston Haraszthy purchased the land in 1857 and christened it "Buena Vista." Many consider his first vintage the birth of the California wine industry. More of a visionary than businessman, however, Count Haraszthy was forced from the property for financial reasons in 1867.

The land was then acquired as a country estate by the wealthy Johnson family. Upon her death, Kate Johnson, who had added her own element of oddity to the place by sharing her house with some 200 Angora cats, willed the mansion and a large portion of the property to the Catholic archdiocese, who in turn sold it to the State of California. In 1920, the property was transformed into a State Farm for Delinquent Women, that housed prostitutes, drug addicts and "wild women." The local townspeople's continuous objections became moot when the house burned to the ground under mysterious circumstances some years later. Another building on sight (the current winery building) became an annex for the local "Home for the Feeble Minded" and later the Sonoma Valley Hospital.

At the onset of World War II, the property was sold to Frank Bartholomew, the pioneer journalist and president of United Press International. It wasn't until Frank's wife Antonia discovered old grapevines on the property, that they learned the viticultural significance of their land. Frank and Antonia decided to resume growing grapes and making wine on the property, resurrecting the Buena Vista label. Their first vintage in 1947 signaled the beginning of a fruitful 20-year "hobby." In 1968, after years of success, they decided to sell the brand name and the original 15-acre winery sight, keeping more than 400 acres and the vineyards for themselves. The sale did not end the Bartholomew's passion for wine, however, or for the history of their property. Indeed, the Bartholomew's devoted their sunset years to the creation of an exact replica of Count Haraszthy's villa. Upon their passing, a foundation was set up to keep the property wine and vineyard related in perpetuity.

With the Bundschu family's involvement, the historic winery building and surrounding gardens have been fully renovated and are home to many activities throughout the year. Together with the winery staff, Bartholomew Park Winery has embarked upon a mission to produce vineyard-specific wines among the finest in world.

---www.bartholomewparkwinery.com