Hailey Hartford Murray
We have to think about what's best not just for the health of our land and people in the short term, but what decisions we can make that will ensure our community will be here for 200 years.
Hailey Jackson Hartford Murray has winemaking in her blood. As granddaughter of Jackson Family Wines founder Jess Jackson, and daughter of Jennifer Jackson Hartford and Don Hartford, she’s been immersed in the wine business since childhood.
Hailey was only four years old when her parents founded Hartford Family Winery, and grew up with an eight acre Zinfandel vineyard in her backyard. Some of her fondest childhood memories are playing hide-and-seek among the century-old vines. Hailey worked a harvest in France and traveled through wine country in Chile before attending Scripps College where she earned a degree in Biology. Her intention was to go on to veterinary school, but the thrill of harvest – this one in the Russian River Valley – proved too exciting. She decided to pursue wine and immersed herself in the family business, working harvests at Yangarra Estate in McLaren Vale, Australia and Château Lassègue in Bordeaux. “The wine business is so multifaceted, celebratory and evocative – there is always something new to discover and enjoy about wine” she says. “I love that both the making of wine and sharing of it brings people together and builds community.”
Hailey, together with her brother MacLean and her parents, is co-owner of Hartford Family Winery, located in the Russian River Valley. She became a Certified Specialist of Wine in 2015 and looks to blend her personal affinities – interacting with people, a love of science and nature, and a fascination with the winemaking process – in her work as a next generation Jackson family member and President, of Hartford Family Wines. She lives with her husband, Max Murray, and their children in Sonoma County.