19-04-2024
IWP Ep40 The 2 Natoma Vineyards with Kevin Knauss - The American River, Bugbey and Gold
IWP Ep40 The 2 Natoma Vineyards with Kevin Knauss - The American River, Bugbey and Gold. Today we're discussing the 2 Natoma vineyards, they were close to each other in both time and distance, enough so that they have fooled wine historians much smarter than myself. They fooled me too. I have Kevin Knauss helping me today, he was the one to set me straight, he’s spent years as a historian studying the American River and Sacramento area and has written about Bugbey and his Natoma vineyard, AP Catlin, Folsom Lake, the American River and more. Our story today starts in the time and place of the California Gold Rush and concludes with it too. Although neither vineyard is well known today, they both had their time in the sun. They were run by real men of the age, with all that entails. We’ll hear about the first raisins made in California, one of the largest vineyards in the state, huge infrastructure projects and the demise of both vineyards in the worst ways. We also get a return of Hilgard and the University Experiment Stations, finding what grapes will grow best in California. If you want to learn more about those, check out episodes 24 and 26 after. We’ll talk about Benjamin Bugbey first, Kevin gives great descriptions about what people in general and winemakers or vineyardists were going through at the time, trying to find their way in this new land. Kevin also provides much useful information on the ways farmers at the time would learn of new technologies and techniques and how the sharing of information happened. I imagine in this way Bugbey could serve as a stand in for many of the very early California vineyardists and winemakers. We then get to the other Natoma vineyard and we see the good and bad of when big business combines with vineyards.
You can follow Kevins writings at www.insuremekevin.com and instagram.com/insuremekevin Kevins books are available at:https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kevin-Knauss/author/B01J6787DY?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
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