The Wine Photography Collection primarily draws from the Sonoma County Wine Library holdings, with additional contributions from the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library. The collection includes images of historical interest of the Sonoma County wine industry from the 1870s through the present. These images portray the wine makers and companies of Sonoma County, past and present. They document the the early wineries, wine families and workers, the vineyards and wine production, and the many varieties of wine created in Sonoma County. Most photographic postcards and a selection of photographs were taken by commercial photographers and include captions. Some may also be found in the library online public access catalog. Consult the library for more information. The collection is part of the Sonoma County Local History & Culture.

Photographers in This Collection

While the vast majority of photographs in this collection were created by unknown photographers, a few photographers are well represented, including:

• Don Meacham (May 30, 1916-Feb. 28, 2010) was born in Cowell, Contra Costa County in 1916. He lived most of his life in Sonoma County where he retired as freelance commercial photographer after 50 years in the profession. He worked as a photographer in the Navy during WWII; was the flagship photographer on the U.S.S. Augusta during the North African invasion; and was Chief Photographer of the Naval Air Station in Santa Rosa until the war ended. Meacham was a charter member and chairman of the Santa Rosa Civic Art Commission and was instrumental in establishing Arttrium, the county's first visual and performing arts festival.
• Dennis E. Harris (1939-2009) was a prominent Sonoma County architectural historian and instructor at Sonoma State University.