Ágoston Haraszthy (1812-1969)

Ágoston Haraszthy’s family joined him in Haraszthy Town (later Sauk City) on the banks of the Wisconsin River late 1842 or early 1843. The family lived here until 1849 when in April Ágoston decided to move to California. Accounts offer various explanations of his decision: the climate of Wisconsin was not conducive to his asthma, or California’s joining the Union and the almost simultaneous discovery of gold there, or his financial problems with reference to a bridge contruction project may all have contributed to his relocating his whole family to San Diego, a town of some 600 inhabitants at that time. Upon arrival he told another emigrant that he intended to plant a vineyard as he had heard about California’s warm climate. He made good of his intentions; the date of his first vine plantings in Mission Valley was in March 1850. However, his first business enterprise was livery stable and omnibus that he operated in partnership with a Spanish-Californian. He did not waste time either in entering politics, which he had already considered in Wisconsin. On April 1, 1850, the voters of San Diego County elected Ágoston Haraszthy as sheriff, and later he also became marshal of the City of San Diego. Then, his political career took him to the state legislature as a representative in 1852.  

The legislative work took Ágoston Haraszthy to Sacramento, while he moved his household from San Diego to the vicinity of San Francisco to a property called Las Flores. He intended to raise fruits, vegetables, flowers, and possibly even grains, which he would be able to market in the city. It was here that he had become acquinted with some Hungarian refugees from the 1848-49 War of Independence. He joined hands with, among others, Károly Uznay and Ágoston Molitor in purchasing a large tract of land which later came to be known as ’Crystal Springs.’ Meanwhile his wife, Eleonora with her four youngest children sailed to New Jersey late in 1851, where they became neighbors of Lázár Mészáros, the Minister of War in 1849, who fled Hungary with Lajos Kossuth toward Turkey after the surrender at Világos on 13 August 1849. Mészáros, like Haraszthy, was interested in grapevines, and it seems likely that he sent Haraszthy some cuttings, including ’Black Zinfardel/Zinfandel’ or ’Zinfindel’ of allegedly Hungarian origins. This brand later became famous in California, though the direct link between this later Zinfandel and Haraszthy’s ’Zirfandel’ is rather tenuous. However, Haraszthy lost his property in 1854 when the local Land Commission confirmed the earlier claims of the land by a man called Domingo Feliz.

Ágoston Haraszthy soon found another vocation: he was appointed Assayer of the United States Branch Mint in San Francisco the same year. Within a short time, the position of the melter and refiner at the local mint became vacant. For a short while, Ágoston’s father, Károly (Charles) took the job over, but he relinqushed the position in favor of his son in August 1855. The work at the mint became more and more frustrating for Haraszthy, and he made plans with fellow Hungarians Sámuel Wass and Károly (Charles) Uznay to build a large gold and silver refinery (which was later called the Eureka Gold and Silver Refinery), as well as to develop a large vineyard north of San Francisco. The Hungarian traveler János Xantus reported when visiting the facility that ’any Hungarian magnate could use it for his palace.’ Nevertheless, Ágoston Haraszthy resigned from the management of the refinery amid rumours of fraud in April 1857, though later investigation fould no evidence of any fraud. Haraszthy sold most of his properties still in San Diego and San Francisco, and bought a new property north of the latter city in Sonoma.

The site, similarly to a number of others in California, was founded by Franciscan padres in the 1820s. They also started growing grapes there. When Haraszthy arrived the padres had already left, but the vines they had planted were still flourishing. The two most important vineyards belonged to General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo; the Haraszthys and the Vallejos became close friends, and ultimately two of Haraszthy’s sons got married to two of Vallejo’s daughters in 1863. Ágoston Haraszthy called his new property in Sonoma Buena Vista Ranch, as it overlooked Sonoma Valley and San Pablo Bay. (Haraszthy named his property in Wisconsin Széptáj; Buena Vista is ’Beautiful View’ in Spanish.) In his own description in 1858, he had 14,000 foreign vines in bearing and another 12,000 rooted in the nursery, and that these vines represented no fewer than 165 different varieties. Haraszthy also imported a large number of grapevines from various parts of Europe. He last visited the Old Continent in 1861-62. On his way to Europe, he received a passport and a circular letter of introduction by Secretary of State William H. Seward in Washington, D.C.. He traveled extensively in France, the German lands, Switzerland, and Spain, and visited a number of vineyards, including the Château Margaux in the Médoc region, as well as some famous vineries in Bordeaux, and purchased a large quantity and variety grapes. Upon returning to California, he was confronted with an unpleasant surprise: the legislature was unwilling to reimburse his expenses in Europe. Moreover, the Senate did not even express a vote of thanks for his efforts. He also ran into debts, and his final discharge in bankruptcy was not granted until January 5, 1869. 

However, by that time, Ágoston Haraszthy had already left for Nicaragua. He started to build a new sawmill on the bank of a river there, but he disappeared on July 6, 1869 when he went to see a man about the project. His disappearance is still a mystery; most probably he fell victim to armed bandits or rebels who were roaming in the country in one of its revolutions.  

A bronze monument honoring Ágoston Haraszthy was erected opposite his wine cellars at Bueno Vista in 1957, and another one, a bronze tablet, honoring him as ’Father of California Viticulture’ in the plaza of Sonoma in 1949.