Sonoma county is renowned as the home of California’s premium wine industry. It was here that Augoston Haraszthy founded his Buena Vista Winery and it was here that the mysterious grape Zinfandel was first cultivated, at the Haraszthy’s Buena Vista Winery.
The grape however, was not always the only game in town. There was a time when the apple, in particular, the Gravenstein. Today, unfortunately, the apple, in Sonoma county is in a battle for survival, many orchardists finding it far more lucrative to rip out the noble old trees and plant wine grapes or just bow out altogether, giving in to development and urban sprawl. Fortunately, Jonny Appleseed isn’t around to see it.
A few orchards do remain and in spring the sweet smell of apple blossoms fills the air in the hills around Sebastopol, and in autumn you are almost intoxicated by the lush scent of the ripening fruit. Many of these orchards may be visited and some even allow you to pick your own. In these harried days of noise, clutter and frantic rushing about, what better family activity than spending a day in a quiet, fragrant orchard picking, and of course eating, fresh, crisp apples.
The following are some of the orchards that are open to the public.
Apple-a-Day Ranch
Chileno Valley Ranch
Gabriel Farm
Two Rock Ranch
Here is an interactive map that will help you find more orchards in your aria, and you may also enjoy exploring the Sonoma County Farm Trails.
And once you’ve gathered your bounty you may enjoy using them in some of these Tasty Apple Recipes. Did you know that one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite desserts was Apple Pie?
Now, it would hardly be proper to talk about apples without mentioning Cider. Incidentally, in England and Europe all “cider” is alcoholic. No kick and it’s apple juice.
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