Gundlach Bundschu Archives - Wine Country Getaways

Sonoma Valley Wine Country has Four 100 year-old wineries to visit

While the Napa Valley gets all the attention as far as popularity, few wine country travelers know that Sonoma County during the 1800’s was the star of California wine country. It all started in the Sonoma Valley wine country when the Buena Vista Winery was established in 1857.

In this first of two blog posts on Sonoma County’s oldest wineries, we focus on four wineries in the Sonoma Valley. Three of the four wineries are located in the town of Sonoma and the fourth just 10 miles away on Highway 12.

We begin with Gundlach Bundschu founded in 1857 and today the oldest California winery that has been in continuous operation by the same family. The winery currently has sixth-generation family member Jim Bundschu at the helm. The tasting room is filled with amazing photos and wine bottles from Gundlach’s history. The staff at Gundlach is extremely knowledgeable and very welcoming. The winery certainly has that family feel to it. One added bonus: This is one of the best picnic wineries in all of California. There are three very different and beautiful areas one can choose from to sit and enjoy a picnic lunch. The tasting room is open daily 11 to 4:30.

Our favorite wines at Gundlach Bundschu: Tempranillo and the Gerwurztraminer

Gundlach Bundschu Oldest Family Run Winery 150th Anniversary Year

We visited Gundlach Bundschu last week as part of a television crew for the Home & Garden Network. Gundlach Bundschu will be featured in the network later in the year as part of a feature on the town of Sonoma. The main reason for choosing Gundlach Bundschu was its history. Gundlach Bundschu is the oldest family-run winery in California.

The town of Sonoma is rich with history of the California wine industry. Gaston Haraszthy planted the first large vineyard in Sonoma and then founded Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma in 1857. Six months later, Gundlach Bundschu was established. The Sebastiani Family Vineyards, also in Sonoma, began in 1904 and the Sebastiani Family has greatly influenced the development of this wine region. Up the Sonoma Valley on Highway 12 is another historic winery, Kunde Winery, that also began in 1904 and is also still family owned.