When my wife and I first arrived to the north coast of California, by way of New York City and after a brief stop in LA, we settled in the town of Santa Rosa. We did not know many folks in the area but we picked Sonoma County to begin new lives and careers due mainly to the quality of life we found here. I was originally from the bay area, San Mateo, but my family left for the east coast when I was still quite young. When we came to northern California looking for a place to live and work, this area really felt like home to me and my wife agreed, so we stayed and started our lives.

Although Sonoma County has grown since our arrival, it has been moderate growth and the economy has become more diversified. The local economy continues to be dominated by tourism and agriculture, and the “ag” aspect is mostly related to the wine business. When we arrived, I chose to pursue a career in real estate brokerage. I began that career during the last downturn in the economic cycle in the late 80’s and I have been a real estate professional now for the better part of 20 years, the majority of which have been here in the North Coast wine country. During that beginning period of my career, I was forced to look beyond selling traditional “in town” homes because they just were not selling well. I naturally gravitated to what I had interest in, selling “country property”, including unimproved land, ranches and vineyards. Although my experience in the real estate industry is now quite diversified (I have served in many roles including sales, Broker/Manager and different executive positions) I still have a passion for the land. The acquisition and/or disposition of land related real property brokerage is, at least in my mind, as much art as science. There are many intangibles involved in the sale of country type property as compared to, say, a home on a subdivision lot. Much of what is required to truly add value to a buyer or seller in this kind of transaction is local and specialized knowledge which cannot be taught in a real estate licensing course.

Several years after settling in Santa Rosa, my wife and I acquired a land parcel in an area called Bennett Valley. I suppose that it was my interest in this aspect of the real estate industry in Sonoma County that led me and my wife to become farmers. Another major influence for us in our decision to start farming this otherwise unimproved parcel was the friendship of the only people that we knew when we arrived to the area, Dave and Pat Coffaro, of David Coffaro Winery in Dry Creek Valley. Dave and Pat kindly took us under their wing and helped us to feel welcome here in wine country. They own a beautiful Old Italian field blend vineyard and its beauty always fascinated me when we joined the Coffaro’s for their many summer barbeques up on Dry Creek road in our early years. After we bought our property in Bennett Valley, Dave strongly encouraged us to plant wine grapes. Today, in addition to my full time job as a real estate broker in Santa Rosa, the Connell family farms premium wine grapes (pinot noir and syrah) in Bennett Valley, which is located southwest of Santa Rosa. Currently, we are in our 8th year of growing and harvesting premium wine grapes in Sonoma County.

Posted By: Brian Connell