Clay Mauritson Archives - Wine Country Getaways

The Mauritson winery and tasting room on Dry Creek Road

Mauritson Wines – Rockpile Wines

Along Dry Creek Road are many interesting wineries to visit. One of those is Mauritson Wines. The Mauritson Family has a long history in the Dry Creek Valley. The family began as sheep farmers in land where Lake Sonoma is now located. When they were forced to sell this land under the Eminent Domain laws for Lake Sonoma, they began to focus on vineyard lands in Dry Creek and above Lake Sonoma. This area above Lake Sonoma has become one of the most notable vineyard areas in Sonoma County and is called Rockpile. Just around 2000, winemaker Clay Mauritson convinced his father that is was time to use some of their vineyards to make their own label of wines. The big barn-style structure pictured above has now become somewhat of a landmark as you drive along Dry Creek Road. The tasting room is bright and cozy with an array of wines to be offered to the wine country traveler. None more sought after are the wines made from the Rockpile AVA. The Zinfandels are big, bold, and full of complex fruit flavors that delight the Zinfandel wine enthusiast. The Rockpile Zins are produced from vineyard blocks. For example, Jack’s Cabin Zinfandel and Cemetery Vineyard. There are other varietals made from Rockpile, but it is Zinfandel that is the king. Mauritson Wines is open daily from 10am to 5 pm . It is just a few miles west on Dry Creek Road from the Highway 101 Exit at Dry Creek.

Other important Dry Creek details

We met Clay Mauritson, owner and winemaker of Mauritson Winery, early on Saturday morning at the Mauritson winery and followed him up to his family vineyards in the Rockpile AVA. Rockpile is a small AVA that is situated high above Lake Sonoma. This is a chaparral environment, dry and rocky, with steep hillsides. By the looks of it, you would hardly expect any vineyards to grow here. Yet, at Rockpile there are roughly 148 acres of vines that are stressed to the max and produce big, full-flavored and complex wines. The Mauritson Family owns 40 plus acres of vineyards at Rockpile.

This is not a normal morning at Rockpile. The air is thick with fog and you can barely see more than 100 yards. What makes this area so special is the fact that Rockpile is 800 feet to 2000 feet in elevation. With Lake Sonoma below, an inversion layer is created so it always has sunshine while the rest of the Russian River wine region is in fog. On most days, the afternoon brings strong winds from the Pacific Ocean that stress the vines and causes them to lose water. Yet all the vines look amazingly healthy at this time of the year.