The beginnings of the Ben Lomond Mountain & the Beauregard Ranch, one of the oldest continuously farmed vineyards in California
1850s-1946
1850s Logging camp begins in Bonny Doon, which is named after The Banks O’Doon by Robert Burns, the Scottish poet famous for the song Auld Lang Syne
pre-1871 John B. Williams owns Pine Flat Ranch (the beginning of the Beauregard Ranch Vineyard)
1871, 6 years after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, Fritz Quistorf purchases Pine Flat Ranch. Fritz is married to Maggie Burns, who happens to be related to Robert Burns
1875 Fritz Quistorf begins working the land
1880 - The Origin of the Santa Cruz Mountain Wine Industry by Michael R Holland
1887 Grapes are planted on the Quistorf Ranch
1887 The Ben Lomond Wine Company makes wine in the Santa Cruz Mountains
1906 New vineyard planted, listed as Carbonat, Zinifadell and Shavenoe grapes in the Quistorf family journal
1914-1918 During WWI women work in the Quistorf vineyard
1920 Clinton Quistorf takes over vineyard from his father Fritz
1920-1933 Prohibition: Grapes are sold in small amounts for home winemaking. Limited to 200 gallons/year
1940 UC Davis plants an experimental vineyard on the Quistorf Ranch
1940-1945 WWII leads to smaller sales of grapes to local wineries, including Locatelli and Bargetto in Santa Cruz and Wente in Livermore
1946-2000
1945 Amos Beauregard purchases 13 acres of the original Quistorf Ranch
1970 Emmett (Bud) Beauregard takes over
late 1970s Jim Beauregard starts Felton Empire Winery
Winemaking At Its Best At At Feelton Empire by Wallace Wood, the Santa Cruz Sentinel - 1978
1980 Beauregard Ranch Vineyard is replanted
1981 Santa Cruz Mountains Viticultural Appellation is federally recognized
1987 Ben Lomond Mountain AVA is federally recognized
View the original application put together by Jim Beauregard
1990 Bald Mountain Vineyard is planted, 32 acres
2000-Present Day
1999 Ryan Beauregard makes his first Chardonnay
2000 Beauregard Vineyards is established
2003 Wine Tasting Room on the Santa Cruz Wharf opens
2005 Beauregard Ranch is replanted
2008 Beauregard Vineyards aquires Bonny Doon Vineyard’s winery on Pine Flat
2008 Coast Grade Vineyard planted, 17 acres
2020 Beauregard Vineyards surives the CZU complex wild fire in Bonny Doon
Santa Cruz Mountains Winemakers Grapple with Aftermath of Fire
2024 the Beauregard family begins the 79th year of wine growing
About our Tasting Room
The Beauregard Family purchased "the Lost Weekend", an almost 100 year old redwood cabin in the woods in 2008. We are proud to be a part of the history of the Santa Cruz Mountains and we are looking forward to hosting you and sharing the one of a kind Mountain Culture of Bonny Doon.
To learn more about the Lost Weekend, check out this great Article by Edible Monterey Bay.