Our Story
As a child I roamed my family’s ranch with a sense of freedom most children today are denied. I explored creeks, climbed trees, picked berries and walked through vineyard rows searching for arrowheads. I was grateful to know the land, but in my innocence did not realize how quite fortunate I was.
Like many small town kids, I grew up and wanted to get as far away as possible from St. Helena. After a few years of studying glaciers, rangering for the National Park Service and traveling the world, I found myself working on an organic market farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It was there one day while blissfully picking lettuce that it came full circle. I realized, like my father and ancestors before me, I too was a farmer.
Soon after my epiphany, my husband Erik and I migrated south, tempted by a longer growing season, the family land, and the promise of opportunity. We dove in and began to learn the wine industry ropes; Erik went to work in the vineyard and I in the cellar. In the fall of 2006 we bought grapes from the family and made our first Cabernet… and here we are today!
Hayfork Wine Company’s goal is to emphasize the importance of farming in winemaking. We strongly believe the hands of the farmer in the field lay the foundation necessary to produce a quality wine. And we are proud to be part of a family whose past is deeply rooted in the soils of our land and valley. We make our wine with the hope it will help support the ranch upon which we thrive, and inspire land stewardship in generations to come, within our family and beyond.
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Haley Wight