Dhatri Iyer

At Garrod Farms, dozens of horses frolic in front of picturesque mountains.

The locally owned and well-known Garrod Farms is only a 20-minute drive from the hustle and bustle of the tech towers of San Jose, but it feels like a place from a completely different universe. 

After driving up bumpy and curvy Mt. Eden Road, visitors see 120 acres of a quaint, idyllic dreamland that’s covered in a protective shroud of green leaves and smells of fresh rain. 

Here, deer and coyotes roam freely, bikers fight their way up the strenuous hills and birds chirp and sing throughout the day, each adding to the chorus of this charming setting. 

It was a chilly Saturday afternoon when I drove there, the overcast sky radiating a gleaming white light on Pierce Road. Nearing the farms, signs litter the edges of the street, pointing toward the winery, stables and parking. Following the signs, I entered the farm’s winery courtyard, known as The Garden Patio, where people of all ages converse. As I got closer, it was clear that this is a family destination. While parents tasted different homegrown wines, children scurried between tables and picked flowers. The winery was my destination of choice. I planned to meet with Cory Bosworth, the manager of the winery and tasting room and a member of the family who has owned and operated the property for more than a century. 

Bosworth greeted me with a firm handshake and led us into an empty tasting room, where we sat around a wooden barrel to have our chat. 

Bosworth, a Class of ‘95 SHS alumna, grew up on Garrod Farms. Her family has been running the farms since 1893, when David Garrod, Bosworth’s great-great grandfather, emigrated from England to the then-agricultural paradise of the Santa Clara Valley and acquired the land. Since then, the farms have seen numerous notable changes. 

From the 1890s to around the 1950s, they grew apricot trees and prune trees and made dried fruits. While the fruit business was profitable for decades, after World War II, the Bay Area started to expand rapidly into a new industry: tech. Numerous small family farms like the Garrod’s started to close, gobbled up for housing and commercial properties. 

“My grandfather, Vince Garrod, saw the writing on the wall,” Bosworth said. “We weren’t going to be able to keep the farm if we kept making fruit.” 

At the time, the fruit industry was moving east into the Central Valley. The Garrods’ big idea for how to keep the farm afloat came from the most unexpected of places: horses. 

“My mother was 11 or 12 at the time, and she was horse crazy,” Bosworth said. “My grandfather realized — as all these farms were folding — that people now had horses with nowhere to keep them. So, we decided to add boarding stables. And that’s still our main business today.” 

Currently, Garrod Farms hosts 5-10 day summer camps for kids, where they get to take care of an assigned horse. The kids learn basic horsemanship, like grooming, saddling and riding, with the help of experienced college-age camp counselors. At the end of the camp, there’s a show for all the kids to display what they’ve learned. 

Additionally, horse-loving customers can board their horses at the farm, paying monthly rates depending on the type of boarding facility. Equestrians can also participate in the farms’ vaulting program — one of the oldest vaulting programs in the United States. Additional features of the farms’ stables include riding clubs, guided trail rides and lessons for all ages.

In the ‘70s, George Cooper, who married into the Garrod family, had another good idea: putting part of the acreage into wine grapes. Cooper was a fighter pilot in World War II who flew a remarkable 81 missions, including two on D-Day. When he returned to the farm after the war to settle down, he became a test pilot for NASA, then known as NACA. 

After retiring from flying in the ‘70s, Cooper decided to start a vineyard as a hobby on the farm. He started with Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape widely grown in California, and shortly after, Chardonnay. Cooper and Bosworth’s uncle Jan Garrod partnered on the farm’s wine-making efforts, with Jan managing the vineyard and Cooper transforming the grapes into wine. 

Cooper’s retirement hobby stayed as just a hobby until decades later in 1994, when Garrod Farms began to label and sell the wines they created.

Now, customers can join the farm’s wine club, which allows them to receive three, six or 12 bottles of wine per quarter with quarterly prices depending on their preference of amount. Members receive perks such as discounts on additional wine and riding lessons, among other things. Additionally, wine tastings and small à-la-carte bites are also available for any visitors.

The tech influence in the family doesn’t just stop at Cooper, though. Cory’s brother Andrew Bosworth, a 2000 graduate of SHS, was one of the first employees at Meta (then Facebook), and is the current chief technology officer at the company. Other members of the family have gone into separate fields, but they all remain connected to the family’s land.

“I think our family history, being in agriculture and in tech is cool because I do think it reflects the local history and how my family evolved,” Bosworth said. “But at our core, I think we still consider ourselves farmers here.” 

The farms are also certified sustainable, using partially solar-powered energy and composted soil among other tools to keep their certification. They have bird boxes for owls and bluebirds, and they rely on local wildlife to help manage pests without the use of harmful pesticides. 

However, small businesses like the Garrod’s have become difficult to manage in recent times. While the farm doesn’t export products internationally, trade policies such as the Trump administration’s new tariffs can have an impact on necessary production materials such as glass, steel and corks. 

The farm’s barrels come from France, their corks from Portugal and their glass from Mexico, which could potentially affect production costs. 

Additionally, while Garrod Farms doesn’t sell to foreign customers, other large companies export similar products. If those companies’ sales are halted, their wines could flood the U.S. market and increase competition. However, these scenarios are all “ifs,” as Bosworth explains — and only time will tell. 

“In the interim right now, the hard thing is that we just don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bosworth said. “The uncertainty is difficult; it’s tough to say at the moment, and I think any business owner would prefer a stable, predictable market.” 

The farms have also been affected by the effects of climate change. Although grapes are a fairly drought-resistant crop, extreme weather like temperatures over 100 degrees Farenheit can have a very negative impact on the fruit. Hot weather can cause grapes to ripen extremely quickly, or in some cases, the fruit will shut down and go into “hibernation mode,” according to Bosworth, forcing the family to stop production until the heat passes. 

Volatile weather such as heavy storms, which have been an issue in recent years, can cause erosion on many farms. However, because grapes are a crop that can control erosion, especially on hillsides, Bosworth said the farm is in good condition at present. Additionally, she notes that the wine industry in general is starting to look at grapes that grow better in specific climates, which can help with arising problems due to climate change. 

Wine-making on the farm will continue for generations to come

Bosworth carries the family legacy of having a strong passion for the intricacies of wine — the world-famous styles and flavors carry a strong message for her. 

“Wine is a pretty cool product because it’s always a result of a specific place, and there are always great stories about wine,” Bosworth said. 

After living on the farm for a large portion of her life, being connected with their wine production was a natural progression. Bosworth notes that learning about the places wine comes from and what influences the flavors is what interests her the most about her job. 

“Any time you become excited about a subject, you pick it up faster,” Bosworth said. “And that’s been true for me.”

The extended Garrod family, which spans six generations, always makes sure to keep in touch. Six family members, including Bosworth, live and work on the farm, and most of the family has stayed in the local area. Some family traditions include coming back to the farms for Christmas dinner and for the “Family Fiesta,” as Bosworth calls it, during the summer. Besides the Coopers, the Garrods and the Bosworths, the Cagliostros, including 2024 SHS grad Ryan, are part of the family.

As we have our conversation, I can hear customers laughing beyond the walls of this room. Their lively chatter fills any empty space — it’s loud and joyful, adding to the harmonious chorus of the farm. Outside, horses prance along pebbled pathways and families gather to share a drink. 

“A bottle of wine is a serving for multiple people — it’s always meant to be shared and enjoyed with food and people and a good story,” Bosworth said. 

For people like Bosworth, whose origins at the farm run back to its inception over a century ago, this is a home in every sense of the word. 

“The most important thing about this place is that it has kept my family together for all these years,” Bosworth said. “It’s my roots.”