Saluted by the Sonoma County Harvest Fair as one of the pivotal figures in the county wine industry, Richard Kunde has been honored with the Lifetime Contribution to Sonoma County Agriculture Award.
Awards were announced recently at a combined meeting of the Sonoma County Fair and Sonoma County Harvest Fair Board. The formal presentation will be made at a gala ceremony in September.
“I think I might have been the person who suggested giving this award back in 1984,” said Kunde, a longtime fair board member, “but it never occurred to me that I would be standing here tonight receiving it.”
Fair board member Steve Dutton said Kunde, “Has been a key figure over the last 50 years in transforming Sonoma County into wine country.”
Kunde grew up on the ranch his grandparents started in 1904 near Kenwood. He earned his University of California, Davis bachelor’s degree in viticulture in 1964 and a master’s degree in horticulture in 1966. He subsequently worked as a viticultural consultant and then director of grower relations for the North Coast Grape Growers Association.
In 1982 he purchased Sonoma Grapevines, Inc., and over the course of the next 20 years turned it into the largest grapevine nursery in the United States. In cooperation with University of California, Davis, Kunde introduced the winegrape industry to newly developed rootstocks and clones which elevated the stature of California’s wine industry.
Kunde also worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to formalize America’s first viticultural appellation area, the North Coast, and created regulations for establishing all future viticultural areas.
Dutton said Kunde’s commitment to agriculture includes supporting programs that keep farms, ranches and vineyards part of the county’s landscape and economy.
Kunde is one of four community leaders cited for contributions and achievements in the business of producing, managing, processing or marketing the county’s agricultural crops. Bret Munselle was named Outstanding Young Farmer, John Azevedo was named the Outstanding Young Person in Agri-Business, and Paul Kelley was honored as the 2010 Friend of Sonoma County Agriculture.
Kunde and other honorees will be formally presented with the honor at the Harvest Fair Awards Night Gala Sept. 25. The 2010 Harvest Fair is Oct. 1 – 3, 2010.
