Robert Young grew grapes for nearly 35 years before his family started to make their own wine under the Robert Young Estate Winery label in 1997.

Look around Sonoma County and you’ll find lots of examples of growers who start their own winery. Clay Mauritson’s family grew grapes for 130 years before he was the first to venture into winemaking in 1998 with Mauritson Wines in Dry Creek. Across the street, Tom and Tina Maple had been growing some of the finest old vine Zinfandel in Dry Creek Valley for more than 30 years before keeping a few tons of grapes for themselves in 2006.

And why not?

Both Robert Young and the Maples got some help developing their name recognition over the years by requiring wineries to designate their vineyards on the wine label. Smart move, since Wine Country regulars have come to know both vineyards as a mark of quality. Robert Young has had a good run these first ten years; the Maples are soon to release that 2006, the first time their name will be in the post position on the bottle. We’ll see what happens then, and what other growers will follow suit.