Across this creek and extending for several miles lay the vineyards and home of the Count. In 1857 he acquired 750 acres from Julius K. Rose, a San Francisco real estate investor, for $11,500. The property lay between two flanks of the Mayacamas Mountains, where the valley floor runs up the banks of Arroyo Seco Creek into a ravine. He called it Buena Vista Ranch and immediately began planting grapevines. He ran cattle on some higher hillsides and planted 350 acres of flatlands to wheat. In 1859 he began constructing a new residence in the style of a Roman villa. As the years passed, he acquired more land adjoining his original purchase. In 1863 he formed the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society, a modern agricultural corporation, and sold $630,000 of stock. With these funds he built a stable with room for 50 horses, a short railway to haul grapes from the vineyards to the Press House, and three quarters of a mile of three inch pipe to bring water to the cellars, distillery, stables, and other buildings. By 1866 the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society possessed 500 acres of grapevines and was producing 200,000 bottles of wine a year.