Standing in the middle of rural Cooper-Garrod Vineyards and Garrod Farms, it is easy for one to feel he, or she, is in the middle of nowhere. As far as one can see, there is ruralness. Among the hills covered with vineyards sit old horse barns with names like Sequoia, Madrone and Antique. The roads are dirt and the fences are wooden or white picket, and some of them look pretty rickety. Birds chirp and horses clomp in the stables.
Cats sun themselves on the roof of one of the buildings, next to smoke curling out from a chimney.
One of Saratoga's original farmers, English immigrants David and Sophia Garrod bought the property in 1893, and planted and developed fruit orchards. The Garrod family gradually increased the acreage of the property, and the orchards lasted until the 1960s. In 1972, George Cooper, who had married Louise, the granddaughter of David and Sophia, planted the vineyards. George Cooper, now 85, preceded his son, Bill, as a winemaker. In 1994, the Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards celebrated the first public release of its wines.