Warren Dutton, 57; Pioneering Sonoma County Winegrower
Warren Dutton, 57, a pioneer of the Sonoma County wine scene, died Oct. 25 after suffering a heart attack while horseback riding on his family’s property in Sonoma.
Dutton, a fourth-generation farmer who began growing grapes in the area in 1964, was a driving force behind the move to fine wine varietals and the establishment of both the Russian River Valley and Green Valley American Viticultural Areas.
He was among the first growers to plant chardonnay, which has become the Sonoma Valley’s signature grape. Though he never made any wine of his own, his grapes were highly sought-after and regularly turned up in some of the greatest wines made in Sonoma County.
A founding member of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers, Dutton was just completing his second year as the group’s president. A committed conservationist, he also had been president of the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District and the Santa Rosa Junior College Agricultural Trust.
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