Bennett Valley History (Back to overview)
James N. Bennett arrived in 1849 by wagon train from Missouri. He was part of the first wave of gold prospectors. Unfortunately, his daughter was ill and died when he reached Sonoma. Instead of looking for gold, he settled in a small valley near the town of Santa Rosa.
Bennett Valley’s History of Grape Growing & Wine Production
John Taylor arrived in 1953, and bought 2,000 acres in the valley. He planted some of his land with Zinfandel and Mission grapes, along with a number of other crops. Taylor also owned a large dairy and many heads of cattle. Amazingly, he lived until 1927, when he was 97.
In 1862, Isaac DeTurk planted 30 acres of vines in Bennett Valley, and later founded Belle Mount Winery. Along with grapes, apples, wheat, and oats were important agricultural products.
Phylloxera hit the region particularly hard during the 1890s, followed by Prohibition in 1918. This effectively ended widespread winemaking for a few decades. Matanzas Creek was established in 1975, when they planted their first 20 acres of vineyards. Bennett Valley was granted AVA status in 2003.
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