At what point will we succeed in killing the goose that lays the golden eggs? Is there a chance that we won’t?
Much of the glory of Sonoma County is its geographic diversity and its pristine rural outposts, beautiful areas that look much as they did a century and longer ago.
There’s Rockpile, our newest appellation, located west of Lake Sonoma.
There’s Lakeville, on the southeastern edge of the county, an area that makes me think of Thomas Hardy’s fictional Wessex County.
There’s Two Rock west of Petaluma, the Sonoma Coast north of Cazadero and Knights Valley, tucked away north Calistoga.
All of these areas are threatened and constant vigilance is necessary to halt the greed that would transform the entire county into what we have watched our neighbor, Napa County, become, a monocultural playground for wealthy tourists.
Thanks to the Sonoma Land Trust, Lakeville has been saved from plans by the Graton Rancheria to build a huge casino and five-star hotel.
There is a battle raging over the proposed conversion of hundreds of acres of Sonoma Coast redwood forests to vineyards.
And now, Knights Valley is under siege. Actually, it has been for years, as wine baron Jess Jackson has increased his vineyard holdings and is seeking permits to build an enormous visitor and events center.
Jackson’s project is out of scale, it is at odds with the agricultural history of the region and it will destroy the serenity that is at the heart of Knights Valley’s appeal.
Some advocates of the project site Peter Michael Winery as a successful development in Knights Valley. Yet the estate is not visible from the road, it has no tasting room and although it has helped establish the appellation’s reputation for ultra-premium wines, it has not increased traffic or tourism.
Residents are uniformly opposed to the project but supervisor Paul Kelly does not appear to be listening to them. A hearing on the proposed project will be held next Tuesday, October 14, at 2:30 p.m. at the county offices in Santa Rosa.
The only thing that will save Knights Valley is public involvement and pressure on the officials who can green light the project.
Knights Valley has no tasting rooms, no gas stations, no markets, no restaurants, no souvenir shops. It is still, quiet and remarkably beautiful, as near a pristine region as you can find in the North Bay. There is a single two-lane road that winds through this agricultural land.
Yet once an area is developed there is no going back. The landscape always adjusts up, adding the facilities and services that an influx of new visitors makes so attractive to those with nothing more than profit in mind.
If you are not familiar with Knights Valley, you might want to check out the work of Millie Bisset, who lives there and whose oil paintings of the region will be on display at the Healdsburg Library through October 25.  
Knights Valley should be preserved as an agricultural area. Commercial development should be prohibited.

Some outstanding Knights Valley sourced wines come from: 

Peter Michael Winery

Beringer Alluvium

Michele Anna Jordan