Granz, Herman

Herman Granz, born in Germany in 1841, immigrated to San Francisco in 1869 after mastering the cabinet-maker’s trade across Europe. He built a highly prosperous furniture manufacturing enterprise that employed seventy-five workmen and supplied markets throughout the western United States and Hawaii. Seeking a healthier climate, he relocated to Fresno County in 1887 to transform raw land into a pioneer winery and an expansive commercial real estate empire.

To seamlessly manage his growing agricultural and urban holdings, he formally incorporated his properties as the Granz Estate in 1913. He operated two modern wineries with a combined capacity of over half a million gallons alongside his sons, Carl and Edward. A prominent Republican and charitable civic leader, Granz remained dedicated to the development of the San Joaquin Valley until his wife Adelaide’s passing in 1919.