Earth Day – 100 Trees
A Reason to Celebrate
April kicks off the third anniversary for Bartholomew Estate Winery. In 2019, we opened our doors within Bartholomew Park to honor the legacy of the Frank and Antonia Bartholomew. April is also Earth Month and our celebration of the 100th anniversary of the historic mission-style winery building.
Locals and winery guests alike love sitting under the majestic oaks on the winery’s Oak Knoll and in the many serene spots throughout the park. It’s a great place to sip wines made from the organically farmed estate vineyards on the property. To honor Earth Day, and to give a nod to the 100th anniversary, the winery has sourced 100 young oak trees through the generosity of the Sonoma Ecology Center. During the year-long program, the winery will nurture and plant the trees throughout the park. This effort is to replace the many oak trees affected by years of drought.
“We couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to celebrate the trifecta of the winery’s anniversary, the 100th year of the historic building, and Earth Day,” said Anna Pope, trustee of the Frank H. Bartholomew Foundation. She added, “The ethos of Bartholomew Estate Winery is to give back.” In fact, all profits from wine sales received by the Foundation (as co-owner of the winery) go directly to support Bartholomew Park.
Historic Past
With its first vineyard planted in 1832, the Bartholomew Estate Winery site is storied and multifaceted. Today’s historic winery building was first built in 1922 as a state hospital. Later, it served as Sonoma Valley’s primary community hospital until 1957, and then as a working winery for the Bartholomews. A visit to the winery’s timeline helps to connect the dots of events through the years. There’s a lot of ground to cover.
Bartholomew Estate Winery opened its doors on April 27, 2019 as a new winery in the heart of the 375-acre Bartholomew Park. It is located in Sonoma Valley, California. It was founded by Anna Pope, trustee of the Frank H. Bartholomew Foundation (owner and operator of the non-profit Bartholomew Park), and noted winemaker, Kevin Holt. In 1943, the Bartholomews purchased the property at auction, only to discover its remarkable history. It was the birthplace of California viticulture, the center of Count Agoston Harazthy’s Rancho Buena Vista containing the sites of his residence, original winery, and vineyards.
Today, Bartholomew Estate Winery continues the Bartholomews’ calling – to craft exquisite wines from the iconic location, to share information on California winemaking and viticulture and to support Bartholomew Park, an incomparable community treasure. To keep the Bartholomew’s mission alive, the Frank H. Bartholomew Foundation was created to preserve and protect the historic site in perpetuity. Bartholomew Park officially opened in 1990.
