ABOVE: Great-grandpa Wilhelm, Walter, Grandpa Edward and Great-grandma Pearl. BELOW: The old barn at the corner of Dry Creek Valley and Lytton Springs, where the tasting room and winemaking facility now sit.

For new visitors to the winery, the wide expanse of 35-year old gnarled zinfandel vines outside our tasting room certainly allude to our family history with farming, however, it just barely scratches the surface of our long relationship with the land.

Since 1868 the Mauritson family has been growing grapes in the Dry Creek Valley. Our great-great-great grandfather S.P. Hallengren, a grape growing pioneer in the Rockpile region, first planted vines in 1884, shipping every ounce of his wine back to Sweden. Our family's Rockpile homestead and ranch grew to 4,000 acres by the early 1960s when all but 700 ridgetop acres was aquired by the Army Corps of Engineers in order to develop Lake Sonoma. The vineyards shown in many of our historical family photos are now under water! For the next 30 years, the Rockpile property would serve mostly for sheep grazing.

Our family farming operation moved first to Alexander Valley then expanded into the benchland of Dry Creek Valley, where we delivered superior fruit for regional winemakers to work with year after year. Still do! Our family currently manages 310 vineyards acres spread across Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley and Rockpile Appellations.

BELOW: Carrie and Clay relax with Soho on the Rockpile property.

In the mid 1990s Clay Mauritson returned from college with an unexpected longing to get back in the vineyards. This time, though, along with pruning and picking, Clay was determined to add winemaking to the family operation. Honing his winemaking skills and knowledge of winery operations at Kenwood, Taft Street and Dry Creek Vineyards, Clay was ready in 1998 to release the inaugural Mauritson Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Clay's wife Carrie soon joined him, leading our marketing and operations support.

Soon after that inaugural release, we took a fresh look at the potential for superior grape growing in the Rockpile region and planted 34 acres to vineyards in eight distinct blocks. The combination of low air moisure, poor soils, and moderate temperatures was starting to turn heads. Our family farming operation had come full circle...and then some!

Six generations and 140 years later, we are earning a reputation for outstanding winemaking along with our sought-after harvests. Opened in April 2004, our winemaking facility and tasting room is located at 2859 Dry Creek Road, on the corner of Dry Creek and Lytton Springs roads in Healdsburg. Tasting room hours are 10:00 am to 5:00 pm daily, with winery and vineyard tours available by appointment.