àMaurice Cellars

àMaurice Cellars was founded in 2006 by Tom and Kathleen Schafer, who acquired the property in the Walla Walla Valley and planted the 13-acre estate vineyard the same year. The estate is named for Maurice Schafer, an ancestor who built one of the largest and most successful timber companies in the Pacific Northwest, and the connection grounds the winery in a multi-generational family business identity that long predates the wine project. The Schafers committed to sustainable practices from planting, and the vineyard was registered as the first sustainable vineyard in Washington State, an early commitment that has informed the estate's approach to viticulture and winemaking ever since.

• Founded 2006 by Tom and Kathleen Schafer with a 13-acre estate vineyard planted the same year
• Estate vineyard registered as the first sustainable vineyard in Washington State
• Estate name 'àMaurice' is a tribute to Maurice Schafer, founder of a major Pacific Northwest timber company
• Family business identity grounded in multi-generational Pacific Northwest commercial work that long predates the wine project

Anna Schafer, Tom and Kathleen's daughter, serves as winemaker at àMaurice Cellars and is involved in every aspect of the vineyard and winery. Her winemaking education included two harvests at Paul Hobbs's Viña Cobos in Mendoza, Argentina, in 2006 and 2007, where she worked under one of the most internationally visible South American winemaking operations of the era. Her first wine landed on the French Laundry's wine list when she was 25 years old, an unusually fast credibility build for a young Washington winemaker and a clear marker of the estate's serious quality intent from the outset. Anna's hands-on approach across vineyard and cellar has continued, and the estate has built a quietly devoted following among Walla Walla specialists.

• Anna Schafer, daughter of Tom and Kathleen, serves as winemaker; involved in every aspect of vineyard and winery
• Worked harvest at Paul Hobbs's Viña Cobos in Mendoza, Argentina in 2006 and 2007
• First wine landed on the French Laundry wine list when she was 25 years old
• Hands-on approach across vineyard and cellar has continued throughout the estate's life

àMaurice produces a range that spans Bordeaux-variety reds, Rhône-style cuvées, and Burgundy-influenced bottlings, drawing on the estate vineyard plus selected Walla Walla Valley sources. The Bordeaux-style reds are typically Cabernet Sauvignon-led blends consistent with the broader Walla Walla pattern; the Rhône cuvées draw on Syrah and other Rhône varieties; and the Burgundy-influenced wines include Chardonnay alongside the rare Walla Walla Pinot Noir program. Production stays deliberately small to support hands-on quality control across the entire range. The Artist Series 'Schafer' bottling is among the estate's more distinctive label projects, with rotating designs reflecting the broader family connection to Pacific Northwest creative work.

• Range spans Bordeaux-style reds, Rhône cuvées, and Burgundy-influenced wines (Chardonnay, rare Walla Walla Pinot Noir)
• Sourcing combines the 13-acre estate vineyard plus selected Walla Walla Valley sources
• Production stays deliberately small to support hands-on quality control
• Artist Series 'Schafer' bottlings feature rotating designs reflecting the broader family identity

àMaurice Cellars occupies a distinctive position in Walla Walla as a small family estate with serious environmental credentials, a clear winemaking lineage through Anna Schafer's training under Paul Hobbs, and an unusually broad varietal range for an estate of this scale. The first-sustainable-vineyard registration in Washington State, the early French Laundry placement, and the family-business roots in Pacific Northwest timber all combine to give the estate a distinctive identity within the appellation. For drinkers tracking the small, hand-farmed end of the Walla Walla market, àMaurice is one of the more reliably interesting names.

• First registered sustainable vineyard in Washington State, an early environmental commitment
• Anna Schafer's training at Paul Hobbs's Viña Cobos provides clear winemaking lineage
• Unusually broad varietal range for a small estate, spanning Bordeaux, Rhône, and Burgundy-influenced cuvées
• Distinctive family-business roots in Pacific Northwest timber predate the wine project by generations