By: Virginie Boone

Last December, 22 Sonoma County families were recognized for their longstanding contributions to farming in our community, inducted into a newly formed Century Club of those who have been farming for at least 100 years.

Last week, another 11 families joined their ranks, bringing together multiple generations over lunch in Santa Rosa to be honored as the Century Club’s newest members.

The point’s been made before that farming 100 years ago looked very different than it does today. Everything looked very different. In 1925 the Jazz Age was in full swing in America, The Great Gatsby was just being published, and bootlegger Al Capone was in charge of Chicago.

It was also in 1925 that the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville first started broadcasting on radio and the first television images were transmitted.

Also of major import in 1925 were astronomer Edwin Hubble’s discoveries of galaxies beyond the Milky Way, the white band of rotating spiral of gas, dust, and billions of stars that appear as a white band in the sky. Hubble is credited as both the man that discovered the scale of the universe and identifying island universes as individual galaxies of enormous size and great distance, a major paradigm shift of its time. He later also discovered the realization that the universe is expanding and must have had a beginning, otherwise known as the Big Bang.

The Hubble Space Telescope is of course named for him, and over the last several decades has helped determine the age of the universe as well as its rate of expansion and more. It is one of the biggest astronomical telescopes ever put in space, launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990.

The mid-1920s is also about the time the post office started regularly scheduled airmail flights, another monumental shift in American life. The traffic signal with arms that said “stop” and “go” and installed at traffic intersections came about in 1923.

In Sonoma County, 100 years ago there was a tourism boom from San Francisco, when thousands of city dwellers would make their way up north in search of the sun. This was pre-Golden Gate Bridge, so cars had to ferry their way across the water by the thousands, ferries running all Friday night to keep up with demand.

The Press Democrat had a dedicated section about automobiles, and the speed limit was 15 mph downtown and 20 mph in residential areas. A new California law went into effect requiring drivers to submit evidence of their physical and mental ability to drive, including the use of both arms and legs.

The newest Century Club members were already steady agricultural entities by 1925. Here’s who they are:

Bartolomei Family, Bartolomei Vineyard: Sonoma County farmers since 1915, the Bartolomei’s trace their lineage to 13-year-old Dominic Giovanetti, who left Italy for California in 1895. As a stone mason he helped build Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square and Hotel La Rose before becoming a farmer. The Giovanetti Ranch in Forestville comprised 84 acres of apple, prunes and wine grapes. Great-granddaughter Catherine Bartolomei lives there now. She and her brother Joe replanted it to Pinot Noir in the 1990s and also run the beloved Farmhouse Inn.

Cadd Family, Cadd Ranch: Farming in the Alexander Valley since 1910, the Cadds began with hops and prunes, like so many others, adding pears and dairy over the years, then apples, and finally grapevines in 1970. They continue to grow 36 acres of mostly Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

Cameron Family, Cameron Ranch: Going back all the way to 1853, 480-acre Cameron Ranch came out of the historic Rancho San Miguel land grant in the Russian River Valley, first purchased by Alonzo Meacham. His daughter became a Cameron around the turn of the century, and the Cameron line continues to farm it today, starting out with 18 acres of Zinfandel, Riesling and Chasselas, adding hops, livestock, and many other crops over the years. The sixth and seventh generations keep the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and French Colombard going today.

Chenoweth Family, Chenoweth Vineyards: Farming since 1852, and famous first for Gravenstein apples, the Chenoweths transitioned to wine grapes over times, turning their Graton-area orchards into vineyards and becoming a household name in high-quality Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley.

Guadagni Family, Guadagni Family Wines: Based in the Dry Creek Valley since 1898, the Guadagnis started out in prunes and wine grapes, sticking with both until 1992. Today they have 38 acres of wine grapes, including two blocks of Zinfandel planted in the 1880s. The third and fourth generations continue to farm and make wines under the family name.

Mazzoni Family, Mazzoni Vineyards and Zialena Winery: Giuseppe Mazzoni and his brother-in-law started working at Italian Swiss Colony in Asti in 1897 and two years later were able to buy 100 acres in the Alexander Valley of their own. They planted Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignan and in 1910 built a small winery. They kept making wine during Prohibition in the Dr. Pierce’s Medical Discovery barn off Highway 101. Giuseppe and his son Fred made jug wines through the 1970s, while his other son Jim bought another piece of land in Geyserville and farmed his own grapes. Today his kids Lisa and Mark run both Mazzoni Vineyards and Zialena, named for their great-aunt Lena.

Norton Family, Marchand Vineyard: Ben and Georgina Norton bought their first ranch near Fitch Mountain in 1906 after earning degrees in electrical engineering and chemistry and physics, respectively. The current generation farms 12 acres of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in Alexander Valley on land purchased in 1917 and planted to wine grapes in 1982.

Pagani Family, Pagani Family Ranch: Situated in the Valley of the Moon near Glen Ellen since 1903, the already-planted property was purchased by Felice Pagani, who came to America from Italy at age 20. The vines went back to 1880s. Pagani made his way to Sonoma County in 1885, working first at the Goldstein Ranch, known today as Monte Rosso Vineyards. The Paganis also founded Glen Ellen Winery. The third and fourth generations, with the fifth and sixth in the mix, farm and manage the 180 acre-ranch of old-vine Zinfandel field blends and more, selling the grapes to some of the most respected names in the biz.

Pastori Family, Pastori Vineyards and Winery: Constante Pastori arrived in Alexander Valley from Italy in 1914, planting vines amidst apples, pears and prunes. Second-generation Frank Pastori presided over the enterprise until the age of 100 in 2020. Grandson Paolo Pastori Ng is keeping both the vineyards and winery going.

Rotlisberger Family, Rotlisberger Ranch: In Alexander Valley since 1913, with a focus on orchards and prunes, the Rotlisbergers eventually moved into wine grapes, which grow on their 20-acre property alongside goats and hogs. Fifth-generation farmer/viticulturist Dan Rotlisberger also serves as the vineyard manager for nearby Robert Young Vineyards.

Shepard Family, Jack London Ranch: Set within Jack London’s Beauty Ranch on the slopes of Sonoma Mountain in Glen Ellen, now a state park, Milo Shepard, a descendent of London’s sister Eliza Shepard, planted the first 30 acres of an eventual 130 acres of wine grapes within the park’s confines in 1972. The Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah are bought by Kenwood Vineyards, the exclusive producer of wines from Jack London Ranch.