Excluding these, there are about 39 wineries, scores of vineyards and more than 10,000 acres planted to grapes. When inland valleys are sweltering, you can count on this natural air conditioning to keep nights pleasant in the Russian River Valley. Although viticultural acclaim came relatively late to this fertile land, the history of grape farming extends back to the Russian period. Grapes were planted here as early as 1836, when Yehor Chernykh, a Russian immigrant, planted 2,000 vines over a three-year period at Chernykh Ranch, which old maps indicate was located near where Green Hill and Graton roads intersect today. Myriad grape varietals thrive in the fertile alluvial soils there, and because of the relatively moderate days, they develop their flavors slowly, which in turn results in wines with depth, finesse and regional character.
Foggy nights enhance the acid necessary for a properly balanced wine.
According to historian William Heintz, this represents the third planting of vineyards in western Sonoma County by the Russians, with the first in 1817, five years before Padre Jose Altimi, founder of the last of the California missions, planted his grapevines in 1923. Over the next several decades, through a phylloxera epidemic, a downturn in grape prices, Prohibition, two world wars, and a Depression, viticulture in this area lumbered along as one of many agricultural endeavors, though hardly the most important. There were cattle here, a vast hops industry, prunes, apples and market gardens. The success of Korbel Champagne Cellars, founded by three brothers in 1882, did not spawn an early boom. Today, grapes outstrip every other endeavor, in acreage, in reputation, and, alas, in controversy.