Rancho Huichica facts for kids
Rancho Huichica was a huge piece of land, about 18,704 acres (75.7 km²), in what is now Napa County, California. It was a special land grant given by the Mexican government in 1841 to a person named Jacob P. Leese. A creek called Carneros Creek forms one of its borders. Most of the famous Carneros wine region in Napa Valley is located within this old ranch.
The Story of Rancho Huichica
Jacob P. Leese was an important person in early San Francisco. He built the very first permanent house there. In 1841, he married the sister of a famous general, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. After that, he moved to Sonoma.
In 1841, Manuel Jimeno, who was acting as the Governor of California, gave Jacob Leese a land grant. This grant was for two square leagues of land. Later, in 1844, Governor Manuel Micheltorena gave Leese an even bigger extension. This added three and a half more leagues to his land.
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States in 1848. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, which said that the existing land grants would still be honored. Because of a law called the Land Act of 1851, Jacob Leese had to file a claim for Rancho Huichica. He did this with the Public Land Commission in 1852. Finally, in 1859, the land was officially given to Jacob P. Leese.
Winter Winery: A New Beginning
In the mid-1850s, a man named William H. Winter from Indiana bought about 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) of Rancho Huichica from Jacob Leese. The very first winery in the Carneros region was started there in the early 1870s. It was called Winter Winery.
However, in the 1880s, a tiny insect called Phylloxera caused big problems. It attacked the roots of grapevines and destroyed many vineyards in the Carneros region. In 1881, Winter Winery was sold to James Simonton. He changed its name to Talcoa Vineyards. Simonton was one of the first people to try new scientific methods to fight the Phylloxera problem. He worked with a grape expert named George Husmann to find grapevines that could resist the insect.
Gundlach-Bundschu: A Family Winery
Around 1857, Jacob Gundlach and Emil Dresel bought about 400 acres (1.6 km²) of Rancho Huichica. Jacob Gundlach came to California in 1850. He was 33 years old and hoped to find gold. He became successful by making beer and started the Bavarian Brewery in San Francisco.
After 1851, he started working with Emil Dresel, who was an architect from Germany. Around 1857, Gundlach and Dresel bought their land on Rancho Huichica. They named their new property Rhinefarm and started making wine. In 1864, Charles Bundschu came from Germany to work for Gundlach. He later married Gundlach's daughter. Dresel and Gundlach stopped working together sometime after 1869. In 1894, their company, J. Gundlach & Co., became what is known today as Gundlach Bundschu.
