THE VENUE
THE VENUE
SAUREEL VINEYARDS PROPERTY MAP
SAUREEL VINEYARDS PROPERTY MAP
ABOUT US
ABOUT US
The property currently named “Saureel Vineyards” has a rich history that dates back to the California gold rush of 1849. Located just miles from where gold was first discovered, this property was at the center of a short-lived mining community of Cold Springs and is considered the “Gold Hill” area of El Dorado County.
The property was first settled in 1850 by the Veerkamp family who, since that time, took advantage of the areas fertile soils and began a family farming operation by planting many acres of pears, peaches, plums, and garden vegetables which they sold to the miners and later took wagons full of produce to other areas to sell. In 1912, William Veercamp built the now iconic “Pear Shed” across from the original homestead to process his crops to support the family farm fruit operation.
In 2015, the property was acquired by the current owner, Tim Sauer, who transformed the pastures into vineyards and manicured the property to support weddings & events.
Saureel is the combination of his family name (Sauer) and his mother’s maiden name (Creel), which is a play on words that truly captures the breathtaking beauty of this property.
The Veerkamp family continued to farm the property for a total of 126 years. In 1976, the family sold the property to Bill Graham, a citrus farmer from Southern California, who removed the aging pear trees and planted oranges, cherries, walnuts, peaches, apricots, and avocados. In 1999, the cherry trees died and were replaced with a special variety of mandarins which are sold to this day at the historic Pear Shed, using the honor system. By 1987, the majority of the farming operation was beyond its useful life and most of the orchards were removed. Looking for a property for a horse operation, Ken Hill purchased the property and began the process of creating a world-class equestrian facility which bred and trained cutting horses.
