Lake County's rugged terrain, agricultural and urban development in the 1800s was concentrated in the valleys. Other small settlements grew up around tourist attractions, the lake itself, the many
mineral and
hot springs found in the region,
stagecoach resting places, while plentiful timber and wildlife resources attracted early
pioneers to
homesteads in the mountains. The mountainous landscape isolated individual settlements from each other and made travel relatively slow and arduous. Because of the high expense and time involved in transporting goods around the county and to the outside world, perishable agricultural
crops were grown primarily to meet domestic needs and the local demands of the early settlers, the
miners, and the
tourists.
Livestock raising (including
dairying) was the major agricultural pursuit. The first pioneer families and their
wagon trains came into Lake County in 1854 through
Napa Valley. Some settled in the more level lands in the lower end of the county, in Loconoma Valley, where
Middletown is located; in Lower Lake Valley, home of
Lower Lake; and several smaller valleys nearby. Others sought to establish homesteads in the Big Valley, at the far end of Clear Lake. The major emigrant routes between these most populous parts of the county crossed the Red Hills area. These roads were also used by travelers seeking refreshment at the many hot springs resorts located around the periphery of the area. Carlsbad Springs, Hoberts Resort, Harbin Springs, Seigler Springs, Glenbrook Resort, Bonanza Springs, and Adams Springs were all clustered in the more mountainous areas surrounding Red Hills. The Lower Lake area was among the first to be populated in Lake County, because of its relative proximity to the settlements of
Sonoma and
Napa County, and the earliest vineyards were planted there. Agriculture later spread from there to the many valleys surrounding Lower Lake to the south and east, to the large fertile expanse of Big Valley at the west end of the Lake, and to the many small valleys in the west and north parts of the state, but remained concentrated in valley terrains until the second half of the 1900s. The S-Bar-S Ranch, located northwest of the intersection of
Highway 29 and Soda Bay Road, was originally a stagecoach stop-over on the road between Lower Lake and
Kelseyville. In the 1880s a school, the Ely Post Office, a hotel, and commercial lumbering formed the nucleus of a small town located there. The town disappeared when timber in the area eventually ran out and road improvements eliminated the need of a rest stop on the ranch. Prior to 1870, Boggs Lake was on the route between
Middletown and Kelseyville which followed Wildcat Road and McIntire Creek. In 1870, a more direct route, known as the Boggs Toll Road, was constructed. This route was accepted by the state as
Highway 29 in 1924 and was designated as
Highway 175 in 1963. The Boggs Lake area has been used for a number of purposes over the years. The early pioneers of Big Valley traveled to the areas around Boggs Lake and Salminas Ranch to hunt for
elk, but this attraction lasted only until 1858, when the more accessible elk herds had been killed. A
lumber and
grist mill was operated on the south shores of Boggs Lake from 1860 to 1866, when the operation was moved to
Boggs Mountain. In the winters between 1869 and 1876, ice was manufactured on the lake and stored in sawdust for summer use. In 1878 an attempt was made to raise
German carp in the lake; this operation, however, proved noncompetitive and subsequently failed. Boggs Lake is currently recognized and protected as a
vernal pool natural area. The Perini Hill area, as well as Perini Road and Perini Creek, are named after the Perini family who originally settled that area of the county. Joe Perini, a former chef, came to California from Europe. While working as a cook near Lower Lake, he discovered the ranch one day while hunting. He and his wife bought the place for purposes of
cattle raising and moved to it about 1901. Perini Ranch soon became a popular Lake County destination, and remained so for many years. Inspired by the proximity of several hot springs resorts, the Perinis started serving special
Italian dinners to the public at their ranch. The family also built cabins to cater to the summer tourist trade. "Perini's Italian Gardens" proved so popular that the tradition was continued by the family for seven decades. Other historical uses of the Perini Ranch area are varied. These uses have included
timber harvesting and walnut production. The Perini property was the site of a
sawmill which utilized logs from the ranch and the surrounding region until the late 1930s. Timber harvesting occurred over most of the Perini Hill area beginning around the 1870s and continuing until the
Second World War. In 1945, a major
forest fire in the area destroyed most of the remaining
pine trees. A hilly region, the Red Hills AVA did not attract settlement in any large scale. Livestock raising and home production of fruits and vegetables were the primary agricultural pursuits. Timbering was also practiced until trees were depleted. Historically,
walnuts were the predominant agricultural crop in the Red Hills viticultural area. The Red Hills area boasted the county's largest commercial plantings of walnuts. These orchards, many of which persisted to modern times, were centered near the heart of the Red Hills appellation, along Highway 175 in the vicinity of Red Hills Road. The rolling terrain and deep red soil have been long recognized for their value in fruit production. There were also walnut plantings in the Perini Hill/Snows Lake area. Walnuts were first planted there in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1946 and 1947, the Teichert Dried Fruit Company cleared the remaining native vegetation and planted approximately of walnuts. Unfortunately, the company experienced financial difficulties and as a result abandoned the orchards after a few years. Much of the cleared acreage subsequently reverted to native vegetation. The existence of established walnut orchards was an incentive to the growth of viticulture in the Red Hills area. Current county development policies make it much easier for a grower to convert acreage from walnuts to grapes, than to clear uncultivated acreage to establish a new vineyard. Therefore, many existing walnut groves may soon be targeted to be replanted with vines. Historical accounts document the presence of at least two small vineyards in the area prior to
Prohibition. It is likely that other local residents also cultivated vineyards for home or local wine production, but no records of these smaller operations persist. The Snow Ranch, encompassing the area south of Snows Lake, a vernal lake named after Sam Snow, was also planted in walnuts in the 1930s. Today both the Perini Ranch and the Snow Ranch are owned by Snows Lake Vineyard Co. The Diener family, who still farm lands located on Diener Drive near the center of the appellation, had a vineyard in the late 1800s, growing a mixture of
red,
white, and
Muscat grapes used for
brandy production. The vines were pulled out during or shortly after Prohibition and replaced with walnuts. Wine grapes were replanted on Diener Ranch in 1996. The Perini family, whose lands were located on Perini Road in the southeastern portion of the appellation, also had a vineyard, of unrecorded acreage, whose grapes were used for processing into wine for catered meals at "Perini's Italian Gardens." Although the family carried on the dinner house tradition from 1905 into the 1970s, the grape vines were removed in the 30's and replaced with walnut orchards. As of 2004, the Red Hills District was the second largest wine grape growing area in Lake County, second only to Big Valley. All of the wine grape acreage cultivated in the Red Hills District were planted 20 years prior, mostly in previous decade.
Beringer Vineyards was the first company to establish a large vineyard in the Red Hills area, planting in 1987. Two other vineyards were planted in 1990, and the rest of the current acreage has been planted since 1996. Vineyard development in the area continued; with several significant new vineyard blocks being planned. ==Terroir==