A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a truly one of a kind property
This quintessential California retreat’s design at 6500 Redwood Retreat Road in Gilroy takes advantage of the blend of indoor and outdoor living. The main house features four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms and more than 4,000 square feet of living space. $15,000,000. The Dreyfus Group, Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty, Michael Dreyfus, 650-704-7928, M.Dreyfus@GGSIR.com and Aisha Krechuniak, 831-595-9291, aisha.krechuniak@sothebyshomes.com.
Exceptional ranchland in the south valley, on the market for the first time in more than 60 years, offers a rare opportunity to retreat to the peace and quiet of a rural farm land, and own a flourishing vineyard and a piece of history. Just 45 minutes south of Silicon Valley, it is an ideal weekend retreat, summer getaway, or the beginning of a whole new lifestyle.
Bates Ranch Vineyard, located at the foot of Mt. Madonna in the Santa Cruz mountains, is a 932-acre parcel that includes the 22-acre Janaca Vineyards, filled with award-winning cabernet, cabernet franc, and Grenache vines, a spring-fed lake, oversized swimming pool, and four structures surrounded by lush gardens and wide open spaces. There is a main house that features four bedrooms and four-anda-half bathrooms and more than 4,000 square feet of living space.
A guesthouse features three bedrooms and three bathrooms. A caretaker’s house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The foreman’s house has three bedrooms, and two bathrooms.
The main home and guest house were designed in the 1930s by the renowned William Wurster, a former dean of the UC Berkeley School of Architecture and the School of Environmental Design which he helped establish by combining the departments of architecture, landscape architecture, and city and regional planning.
A prolific architect, Wurster is known for his design of the Bank of America building on California Street, and the famed Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, the Mill Valley Library, and the Pasatiempo Country Club and Estate in Santa Cruz. He worked many times with the renowned landscape architect Thomas Church, a fellow UC Berkeley graduate known for his garden designs at UC Berkeley and Stanford University campuses.
The Bates Ranch Vineyard has been taken care of by one family for the past 60 years. Jack Bates, a renowned trial attorney at the San Francisco-based Pillsbury Madison & Sutro law firm, married Nancy Witter, whose father helped establish the brokerage firm Dean Witter & Co. The couple purchased this ranchland as a getaway from city life in 1958. Their children enjoyed the country life and all of the values it takes to be stewards of large land holdings while Jack and Nancy often invited family, friends, colleagues and notables of the era to enjoy the countryside. Jack had a passion for the land and Nancy rode beloved horses through the trails daily while on the ranch. Today, those same trails offer an excellent opportunity for mountain biking and hiking in addition to horseback riding.
This quintessential California retreat’s design takes advantage of the blend of indoor and outdoor living where vineyards and cattle coexist in a peaceful bucolic setting.
Explore the abundant opportunities available for a farm-totable enterprise. Expand the vineyard, plant an olive grove, grow a variety of produce, or fruit trees.
A plethora of outdoor recreation opportunities on the land include fishing and canoeing at the spring fed lake. Hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding trails meander throughout the property.
Despite the size and value of this property, its tax base is very low because it is subject to the Williamson Act, a California law which preserves much of the original tax base for the next steward of the land. The Bates Ranch supports a more than 30 pair cattle operation with large range pastures and corrals. Price: $15,000,000
Where: 6500 Redwood Retreat Road, Gilroy
Website: www.BatesRanchVineyard.com Shown by appointment only Listing Agents: Michael Dreyfus 650-704-7928 M.Dreyfus@GGSIR.com Aisha Krechuniak 831-595-9291 aisha.krechuniak@sothebyshomes.com
The Dreyfus Group Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty