Winery Wild Boar (Gone)
Healdsburg, California
Note: The boar was removed by a new property owner in 2022.
Normally, a place such as the Ferrari-Carano Winery would evade our selective attraction eye. It's beautiful, an Old World-style estate surrounded by lush vineyards, featuring an outdoor terrace, fountains, and an elaborate walled garden the public can stroll. All serious Roadside America disqualifiers... but they have this pig statue named "Boardeaux"....
A bronze sculpture of a wild boar sits along the entry walk. The sculpture is 1,300 lbs., created by Douglas Van Howd in 2001 and commissioned by Rhonda Carano. According to the accompanying plaque, the statue represents a real pig from the early days of the current owners' residency. The wild pig conducted regular destructive raids on Rhonda's garden, but was ultimately dealt with by her husband Don. The grisly details are withheld, but Boardeaux was somehow lured with an ear of corn, and "To this day, he haunts the grounds of Ferrari-Carano."
Abiding by what's claimed to be an old Italian legend, everyone rubs the ghost boar's metal snout for good luck.