A few words
Laguna Gold fruit company
With rich soil and a favorable climate the area around Forestville and Sebastopol became one of the major fruit producers in the nation. Peaches, cherries, pears, apples and prunes were all major crops with orchards stretching in all directions. In the late 1800’s peaches were so popular that Graton was for a time known as Peachland. Today wine grapes are the major crop with the Russian River Valley AVA producing world class Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs
The Laguna Gold property was originally a much larger holding, farmed by the Fratti family. They grew cherries, apples and grapes on the hills south of the town of Trenton. Over the years, portions of the property were sold and only a 10-acre parcel remained from the original homestead. A ruined fireplace, crumbling foundation walls, old apple trees and few grape vines were all that was left from what once was a thriving farm and orchard.
Cultivating grapes in the 1940’s on the site of the orchard
In 2014 the John and Peggy Fritschen bought the property and set about creating a new vision for the site. Their work began with clearing the western portion of the property, installing an electric service, a well and road. They built a timber frame equipment shed half way up the slope, and on top of the hill a Tuscan style house and garage where they now live. The eastern side of the property slopes down to the Laguna, which is a seasonal wetland formed by overflow from the Santa Rosa and other valley creeks
In 2021, they began planting the first trees of the orchard. Starting with 500 peach trees, the orchard is slowly expanding up the hill. Row by row, tree by tree we are planting premium peach cultivars (both yellow and white). They chose varieties that would grow well in our climate zone (9A) and ones that ripen throughout the summer from mid-June (Eve’s Pride) to late August (Ryan’s Gold). Their selection included ones that consistently win taste tests, are known to be reliable producers and relatively disease free. They prune the trees in a modified open vase style; so pickers, large and small, are able to harvest fruit while standing firmly on the ground.
