Hailey Jackson Hartford-Murray

Hailey Jackson Hartford Murray’s passion for wine is born from the joy she experiences working alongside her family to craft something lasting & beautiful. Wine enjoyed with others nurtures the bonds between one another and when sustainably farmed provides a unique opportunity to also nurture & protect the land it’s sourced from. As the granddaughter of Jackson Family Wines founder Jess Jackson, and daughter of Jennifer Jackson Hartford and Don Hartford, she’s grown to love the wine business from a young age and is particularly interested in its existence at the intersection of farming, community & family.

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 amongst the century-old vines and feeding apples to her neighbor’s horses. As a teenager, Hailey worked a harvest in France before attending Scripps College where she earned a degree in Biology. Her intention was to go on to veterinary school, but the allure of a new harvest – this one in the Russian River Valley – proved too exciting. Her enthusiasm for winemaking galvanized, she immersed herself in the family business. She became a Certified Specialist of Wine in 2015 and worked two more consecutive harvests at Yangarra Estate in McLaren Vale, Australia, and Château Lassègue in Bordeaux, France. “The wine business is so multi-layered – from winegrowing to winemaking to sales and hospitality – the opportunities it provides for growth, learning & collaboration with others is endlessly fascinating!”

Hailey, together with her brother MacLean and her parents, is the owner of Hartford Family Winery, located in the Russian River Valley. Hailey 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 at Hartford Family Winery. She lives with her husband, Max Murray, in Sonoma County.