Ironstone Vineyards

It was on a warm June day in 1990, that I first met John Kautz, visionary, patriarch and chairman of the board of Ironstone Vineyards in the small Sierra Foothills town of Murphys. After a ride around the hillside vineyards, we had walked out to the edge of an excavation opposite a rock wall where drilling and blasting had begun for the winery’s aging caves.


Pointing in various compass directions he described his dream. “There, on the north slope,” he says, “there will be a natural amphitheatre, stretching from a pond and grove of native trees to the edge of the apple orchard. There will be a lake and a wildlife sanctuary, a covered bridge, places to stroll, lawns for spreading a picnic, and above it all a mega-winery, producing ultra-premium wines at affordable prices.”

Four years later the main elements of the dream had become a reality. The main building, which houses the winery, the hospitality center, tasting room, delicatessen, Alhambra Music Gallery and culinary arts demonstration kitchen, is seven stories high, modeled after an 1859 Gold Stamp Mill. The building steps down through three elevations, east to west, with the winery and 10,000 sq. ft. of caves at the westernmost edge.

By 1996, the three-story Conference Center had been completed. The top floor of the building is devoted to the Heritage Museum, with relief maps of the gold region, ore samples, historic photos and ancient mining artifacts.

A visit to Ironstone is not a quick in-and-out, sip, spit, and buy a bottle of wine experience. It is best to plan to spend at least a day or two in the area to take in the wonders of the winery, and stroll the wooden sidewalks of Murphys, rich in reminders of Gold Rush days. Flower lovers need almost a full day to revel in the scents and colors of the gardens, which change seasonally.

Despite its physical size and its quarter-of-a-million case production, Ironstone Vineyards is a family-owned and run winery. Stephen Kautz is president, Kurt Kautz is secretary-treasurer and Joan Kautz handles the export business.