AGOSTON HARASZTHY

Agoston Haraszthy was a pioneer winemaker who became known as the “Father of California Wine.”

He is believed to be the first Hungarian to live permanently in the United States. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1840 and settled first in Wisconsin, then in California nine years later.

After brief stints as a town marshal, San Diego County’s first sheriff and a state legislator, Haraszthy worked for the U.S. Mint in San Francisco, before deciding to concentrate on wine-growing in Sonoma.

Haraszthy bought a small vineyard and hired Charles Krug as his winemaker.

After the Legislature commissioned him to expand grape cultivation in the state, he visited Europe and returned with about 300 different varieties of wine grapes to be planted in California.

In 1858, Haraszthy wrote his “Report on Grapes and Wine in California,” which offered practical advice for planting vines and making wines. It was the first treatise on winemaking published in California and a major contribution to the early development of the state’s wine industry.