A hand holds a bottle of Murray Rosé with the current label design against a backdrop of cherry blossoms. The label design is white with a single red, celtic rose knot.
The current label design for the Murray label was introduced with the 2015 vintages.
The current label design for the Murray label was introduced with the 2015 vintages.
The original Murray labels featured a drawing of a yellow lab named Murray with a red rose in his mouth.
The original label art for the Murray brand.
The original label art for the Murray brand.
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About Us: Murray Wines

The Mysterious Murray of Murray Wines

Who is Murray? Where is Murray? Why is Murray? These questions haunt many of our guests as they wonder why we bother having two separate brands, and how we named the second label. Many remember the original label which had a dog’s face on it. That dog’s name was Murray, but the story doesn’t end there; Murray is also the last name of some of our closest friends.

When we first started Hightower Cellars in Woodinville, Jim and Lori Murray were our neighbors. They were always very supportive of our foray into winemaking. For example, they would go for a walk every day and we would often come out with a blend for them to try. An adult lemonade stand, if you will. Even beyond critiquing our blending creations, they spent many a late night helping us crush grapes and figure out complicated, industrial machinery. When we had to leave Woodinville behind to begin our new adventure of becoming farmers on Red Mountain, we got a gorgeous Yellow Lab to ease the transition. Logic follows, we named him Murray. This Murray wasn’t quite as helpful with blending, but his other charms more than made up for it.

A few years went by. As our production expanded, we came across an interesting problem: we needed a way to select specific barrels for our Hightower wines. In the past, we only made one wine – Cabernet Sauvignon – and the barrels were either in or out. But now we were starting to build up a collection of wines that, while delicious, were not perfect for the Hightower flavor profile. It became clear that we needed another brand so we could use every barrel, which gave us an excellent opportunity to create more approachable wines at a price point that was perfect for weekly drinking and placements in restaurants. We have always appreciated the connection between wine and food, so being in restaurants was part of the plan from the very beginning! When we launched the new brand, there was never a question of its name. Murray Wines celebrates our Murrays, the friends and the four-legged companion.

Cheers to Murray!