| When the white man first
arrived in Lake County in the mid 1800's he discovered an abundance
of natural resources including rich volcanic soil that was ideal for agriculture.
Today agriculture remains an important industry in Lake County. Lake County
is a premium wine-grape growing area and is famous for
it's pears, walnuts, kiwi fruit, wild rice and other
grains.
The Lake County Farm Bureau office is in Lakeport and can be reached at
707-263-0911 and the Lake County Marketing Department publishes a Farm Trails
guide and can be reached at 707-263-9544.
Check the Map for information on Lake County
destinations.
Lake County is the largest supplier
of premium fresh pears in California. High elevations, warm dry summers,
and ideal soils combine to produce pears renowned for their excellent appearance
and eating quality. Indeed, since the first commercial Bartlett orchard was
planted in the late 1880's, buyers have chosen Lake County pears to offer
their customers.
This reputation began in 1885 when Lake County Bartletts were exhibited at
the New Orleans Worlds Fair. Nationwide publicity followed which encouraged
more acreage to be planted. At first, most of the crop was dried into "slabs
of amber" known as the finest dried pears in the world. In the 1920's, fresh
market and cannery uses increased. Today, from the 5000 acres of pears in
Lake County, approximately 50% is consumed fresh, 30% canned (mainly in fruit
cocktail), and 20% is utilized for drying, baby food, and juice.
In recent years, Lake County growers have begun to offer the consumer many
other fine varieties in addition to green Bartletts. These include Bosc and
various red skinned types. Thus, consumers may enjoy premium fresh Lake County
pears of all kinds from August through November, as well as dried pears and
fruit cocktail all year.
Lake County was first recognized
as a fine wine grape growing region over 100 years ago. Lake County's
first vineyards were planted in the 1870's, and by the early 1900's there
were over 7,000 acres in production and 36 wineries. Lake County wines entered
in local, statewide, national and international competitions, are winning
more awards per acre of vineyard than any other area in the world. Lake County
wines have been selected to be served in the White House and over seas on
presidential tours.
The care and attention that growers give their vineyards may be the most
important factor in growing high quality grapes. Most grape growers in Lake
County have less than 40 acres. The small size of these vineyards, which
have been planted almost exclusively to premium varietals, enable growers
to personally attend to every detail of growing their crop. They prune carefully
and harvest only when the grapes have reached their optimum maturity. Lake
County growers are professionals, proud of their reputation for producing
some of the finest grapes in the North Coast Grape Growing Region.
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