Beekeeper Cellars
THE STORY OF BEEKEEPER
Beekeeper Cellars is the vision of best friends and co-winemakers Ian Blackburn and Clay Mauritson. Individually, the two pursued adventurous careers in the wine industry, and eventually came together to launch a collaborative project—Beekeeper Cellars.
A 7th generation grape grower himself, Clay and his family found themselves the owners of a significant slice of the Rockpile Appellation through a fortuitous combination of historical land transactions. Aware of the potential of this land, the Mauritson family created the Rockpile AVA. in 1998, Ian and Clay climbed the hill and watched as the Madrone Spring Vineyard was planted. It was there that the future of Rockpile began to solidify, and there that they began to understand the dream that it represented in their lives.
In 2008, Clay saw the fruits of his family's labor taking shape and came to Ian with a unique opportunity to utilize the fruit from his land. He told Ian in the difficult days of 2008, “now is the time to get in and build the business and have it take shape as the market improves.” Ian's reaction: "When your best friend is Clay Mauritson and he offers Rockpile fruit and to assist with winemaking…... you make Zinfandel.”
In Los Angeles, Ian operates a specialty wine marketing organization known as wineLA and has pioneered wine education for the past 20 years (since 1995) through www.learnaboutwine.com and www.wineLA.com. Along with wineLA, Beekeeper Cellars is an undertaking that represents one facet of Ian's Masters of Wine Thesis project, and provides him the winemaking training to help pass the infamously difficult Masters of Wine exam—an ongoing pursuit.
A 7th generation grape grower himself, Clay and his family found themselves the owners of a significant slice of the Rockpile Appellation through a fortuitous combination of historical land transactions. Aware of the potential of this land, the Mauritson family created the Rockpile AVA. in 1998, Ian and Clay climbed the hill and watched as the Madrone Spring Vineyard was planted. It was there that the future of Rockpile began to solidify, and there that they began to understand the dream that it represented in their lives.
In 2008, Clay saw the fruits of his family's labor taking shape and came to Ian with a unique opportunity to utilize the fruit from his land. He told Ian in the difficult days of 2008, “now is the time to get in and build the business and have it take shape as the market improves.” Ian's reaction: "When your best friend is Clay Mauritson and he offers Rockpile fruit and to assist with winemaking…... you make Zinfandel.”
In Los Angeles, Ian operates a specialty wine marketing organization known as wineLA and has pioneered wine education for the past 20 years (since 1995) through www.learnaboutwine.com and www.wineLA.com. Along with wineLA, Beekeeper Cellars is an undertaking that represents one facet of Ian's Masters of Wine Thesis project, and provides him the winemaking training to help pass the infamously difficult Masters of Wine exam—an ongoing pursuit.
OUR MISSION
Beekeeper started with a simple vow: “craft beautiful vineyard expressions from premier vineyard sites, and reintroduce the quality wine audience to Zinfandel.” Today, we continue to innovate toward that goal. Our wines are crafted with all the attention to detail of an ultra-premium Cabernet—premier vineyards, low yields, carefully hand-selected fruit, and artisan winemaking. They are quality-focused, with extended time in French Oak barrels. Because of this meticulous approach, our wines are built to age. In fact, they require age. Our Zinfandel is a worthy investment, and patience will be consistently rewarded with a unique depth of flavor from any of our vineyard bottlings.
WHY BEEKEEPER CELLARS
In the 1800s, you needed a noble profession to be allowed entry into America. My Great Grandparents were ‘pre-Vaudeville’ entertainers, and entertainer was not considered a noble profession. Our family was modest and lived off the land and were at one point hunters, farmers, and yes, even Beekeepers… but singing and dancing was an integral part of that life. They took a few liberties and claimed to be Beekeepers. The family byword was established: “we come from a long line of Beekeepers,” though we can’t prove we’ve ever kept bees.
My Uncle used the radio handle Beekeeper during his time as a Military Officer, thus continuing the family expression “we come from a long line of Beekeepers,” and now, with my wine label, I’m a Beekeeper too.
My Uncle used the radio handle Beekeeper during his time as a Military Officer, thus continuing the family expression “we come from a long line of Beekeepers,” and now, with my wine label, I’m a Beekeeper too.
OUR LABEL
To increase the features and benefits of our wine package, we decided to move away from the traditional format of paper labels. Instead, we went with a revolutionary new laser printing process to create a rich three-dimensional package that is memorable, functional and creates the brand’s signature look. Our cork is one of the best quality available on the market and features our honeycomb pattern. This new approach also helps with functionality as a wine that wants to be cellared, allowing our bottles to be placed in wire racks with little to no label damage.
Each vineyard has a distinctive color theme for ease of identification in your cellar! Our Rockpile Zinfandel is characterized with copper accents, the Monticello Vineyard Zinfandel label is blue (tonally spiritual, matching its translation: ‘close to heaven’), and our Hidden Hillside Reserve features a platinum gunmetal.
Details on the back label inform the consumer where the wine came from, who the winemakers are, technical information and the grapes selected. The information also improves our communication with our friends and customers.
Award winning designer - Peter Greco’s first wine label (original concept in pencil)
CAD Computer designed/Engineered by Greg Barnett
State of the art printing services by Savannah Bergin
Peter Greco is an award winning street artist and educator at Cal Arts. His work can be seen all over Los Angeles, in particular his street art adorns many buildings in downtown LA. Peter drew our label with a unique custom font and filagree detail in pencil, then we used a CAD system to laser sharpen the edges and prepare it for digital printing. The resulting label won a gold medal at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition.
Each vineyard has a distinctive color theme for ease of identification in your cellar! Our Rockpile Zinfandel is characterized with copper accents, the Monticello Vineyard Zinfandel label is blue (tonally spiritual, matching its translation: ‘close to heaven’), and our Hidden Hillside Reserve features a platinum gunmetal.
Details on the back label inform the consumer where the wine came from, who the winemakers are, technical information and the grapes selected. The information also improves our communication with our friends and customers.
Award winning designer - Peter Greco’s first wine label (original concept in pencil)
CAD Computer designed/Engineered by Greg Barnett
State of the art printing services by Savannah Bergin
Peter Greco is an award winning street artist and educator at Cal Arts. His work can be seen all over Los Angeles, in particular his street art adorns many buildings in downtown LA. Peter drew our label with a unique custom font and filagree detail in pencil, then we used a CAD system to laser sharpen the edges and prepare it for digital printing. The resulting label won a gold medal at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition.
Until we meet again…. drink well and may our wines continue to tell great stories.
Thank you for ten + great years!
Ian and Team Beekeeper
