Clay Mauritson’s family has been farming in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley for six generations. Though primarily a sheep farmer, his great-great grandfather, S.P. Hallengren, first planted grapevines here in 1884 and shipped the resulting wine back to his Swedish homeland. Today, much of the family’s original property is now under water (lost when the state flooded the valley to create Lake Sonoma), and what’s left can largely be found in Rockpile, one of the few AVAs with both a geographic and an elevational boundary (above 800 feet). The appellation is also distinct because, as Mauritson explains, “It’s closer to the coast than many realize—only 12 miles from the ocean—and that means a moderate climate with fog in the area. But because Lake Sonoma is V-shaped, there’s an inversion layer that pulls the fog below 800 feet.”
The rugged, hillside environment means a diversity of soil that results in shallow roots and stressed vines. “Vines from this stressed environment tend to produce smaller berries and lower yield,” Mauritson says, “but they also have higher tannin, deeper color and great intensity of fruit. That’s one reason Zinfandel from Rockpile is renowned.”
In 2009, Mauritson’s Zinfandel was voted tops in our Readers Poll. This year, it’s being singled out for Sauvignon Blanc. The winery produces 17 distinct wines, mostly single vineyard and very small lots (all but three are less than 500 cases annually) and, as a winemaker, Mauritson prefers to focus on the “purity of the wine.” For Sauvignon Blanc, this means there’s no oak and no malolactic fermentation. “So many wine drinkers have become ‘Chardonnay-centric’ in their expectations of white wines, which has led to many other varietals being produced similarly, with dominant oak and butter” he says. But for him, a perfect Sauvignon Blanc “has a sense of place. When you taste it, you know where it came from.”
As an example, he mentions Sauvignon Blanc from the Dry Creek Valley AVA (which overlaps Rockpile in the lower elevations). “Because of the terrain, it takes longer for the fruit to ripen, but it exhibits a bright acidity and really nice tropical and stone fruits, like apricots,” he says. “It’s much less grassy than many other Sauvignon Blancs—lean and crisp, not flabby on the palate.”
This is in-step with Mauritson’s overall winemaking philosophy of “taking the path of least resistance. I want to showcase each vineyard at its full potential.”
Mauritson only uses between 15 and 20 percent of the fruit grown by his family; the rest is sold to other premium North Bay wine producers. His brothers Bob, Blake and Cameron, and his father, Thom, run the vineyard business, which is separate from the winery. Still, “this [winery] is a whole family partnership,” says Mauritson.
“When I was away at college, I realized I didn’t want the farmer’s life,” he explains. “I thought I’d go into sales or marketing in the wine industry. But after graduation, I couldn’t find a job [in that field]. I eventually took an entry level job at Kenwood Vineyards, where my family sold fruit. I knew within three weeks that I’d found what I really wanted to do with my life—I wanted to make wine with my family’s fruit.
“It took about six months to talk them into it.”
Lucky for all of us, he did, because as a result, we have one of this year’s award-winning wines.
“Thank you very much,” says Mauritson. “There are so many great wine producers in the North Bay; to be chosen from among them is very special.”
