The most popular tourist attraction in Sonoma County during the 1950s and 1960s was — you guessed it — a winery. But not just any winery. The Italian Swiss Colony was once the leading wine producer in California. It was based in Asti, an unincorporated area located along Highway 101 between Healdsburg and Cloverdale.

Known for its Tipo brand table wines, the Italian Swiss Colony was established in 1881 by Andrea Sbarbaro, who immigrated from Northern Italy to the United States as a teenager in the early 1850s.