09/22/2023
Letโs take a trip back in time โณ
One of the many things that makes Rancho Guejito unique is its mostly untouched, original landscape. It is a snapshot in time, and this week it turns 178 years old!
Rancho Guejito is the last of over 800 Spanish and Mexican ranchos in California, still intact and privately owned. For 1000s of years, it was home to Native Americans, later providing them shelter and refuge from Spanish Conquistadors. Eventually, Spanish settlers grazed their livestock in its vast natural meadows, and Franciscan priests used the land to graze cattle for their missions. In 1845, Rancho Guejito became part of the Mexican land grant system, and a ranching legacy began.
Today, the rancho is more than just the tasting room, surrounding vineyards and groves that the public enjoys. It is home to thousands of acres of organic avocados, lemons, grapefruit, vineyards, and hay fields. Not to mention the 1000s of grass-fed, all-natural beef graze on its open range. That says nothing of the habitat it provides for the abundant, thriving wildlife and over a ยผ of a million oak trees!
There are no words for the magic it contains! Here's to another 178 years! ๐ฅ
Slide 1: Original land grant map drawing
Slide 2: Jose Maria Orozco (c. 1850)
Slide 3: Maria Guadalupe Alvarado married Jose Maria Orozco (c. 1850)
Slide 4: Asher E. Maxcys Vineyard Ranch (c. 1882). This was the ranchโs original vineyard
Slide 5: O. Darling farm, Rockwood home in the distance (c. 1882). Rockwood became part of Rancho Guejito in 2007 and is now the location of the tasting room
Slide 6: D. Bandy (c. 1902)
Slide 7: Guejito Ranch house Sunday gathering (c. 1922)
Slide 8: Rancho Guejito ranchers (c. 1950)
Slide 9: Vineyard Ranch gate (c. 1970)
Slide 10: Charlie Daniels on the ranch (c. 1980). He was best known for his #1 country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Rancho Guejito is located in the heart of San Pasqual Valley's American Viticultural Area in Escondido, CA. Our on-site tasting room welcomes visitors every Saturday and Sunday, and we host corporate, wedding, and other private events. We also sell USDA Verified 100% Grass-Fed, Pasture-Raised, Hormone, and Antibiotic-Free Beef, offering local delivery in San Diego County.
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Rancho Guejito
