We are the sixth generation of the Duttons to farm in Sonoma County. When we founded Dutton Estate Winery in 1995, we continued a multi-generational family story and commitment to our distinctive corner of the Russian River Valley.
Tracy Dutton ♦ Founder and Co-Owner“Together, Joe and I created a family and a business that our grown children are working with us in today. Our family is a team of forward-thinking farmers that binds succession for the future to sustain Sonoma County agriculture through our vineyards and our wines. I feel very blessed.”
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Dutton Estate Winery is located in the Green Valley AVA of the Russian River Valley near the small charming town of Sebastopol. Once a dominant apple-growing region, Sebastopol is now a destination hide-away for visitors and home to the winery’s founders, Joe and Tracy Dutton. Joe and Tracy’s agricultural heritage is deeply rooted in Sonoma County.
Tracy Dutton was born and raised in Sebastopol where her ancestors began farming apples in the 1920s. Her grandparents Tony and Carmen Kozlowski established Kozlowski Farms in 1949. At a young age Tracy began working with her family, picking fresh berries and apples, making jam, and baking with her grandmother. She quickly learned the many tasks of the family’s booming roadside fruit stand and farm store along the main highway passing through the now prestigious growing region, as vacationers traveled from all over to the famed Russian River Valley Resort areas. Tracy worked from the ground up. At 16 she managed the family’s retail store that expanded from fresh berries and apples to more than 70 food products produced on the family’s farm, including freshly baked pies and a Sonoma County gift basket shipping business throughout the country. As Tracy mastered retail operations, she began regional travels after school and on weekends to promote and sell Kozlowski Farms’ products. Regional travels quickly led to national sales within two years.
In 1992, Tracy studied Marketing at California State University Chico and transferred to Sonoma State to finish her studies in Economics. Upon graduation, Tracy returned to Kozlowski Farms with a full-time position in accounting and enjoyed opportunities to travel with Carol Kozlowski, her mom, Vice President of Sales for the family business. During this time, she met and married the boy from the ranch next door, Joe Dutton.
Joe Dutton was born and raised near the town of Sebastopol on his family’s ranch in the Green Valley. In 1964, five years before Joe was born, his parents Warren and Gail purchased a parcel of property near the little town of Graton just outside of Sebastopol. The property was planted to French Colombard wine grapes and apples. Warren and Gail and named this land Dutton Ranch. Joe became interested in the family business as a young boy. He grew up picking apples, operating the farm equipment and helping his father oversee the orchards and expanding vineyards every day after school and during summer vacations. Upon graduating from high school, Joe immediately pursued the family farming operation. By staying on the ranch and working beside his father, Joe’s intuitive vision to grow the family vineyard holdings was unlimited. ⇒
As a young couple, Joe and Tracy each worked with their respective family businesses - Dutton Ranch and Kozlowski Farms. The couple was the “talk of the town”, as many considered Joe and Tracy’s story the “American Dream.” Joe and Tracy made their home in a little farmhouse with a vineyard they named Dutton Palms Vineyard. The property, which remains their home today, is nestled among several of the Dutton Ranch vineyards and is across the country road from Dutton Ranch headquarters. After the birth of Kyndall, Tracy and Joe’s first daughter in 1994, the couple saw an opportunity and was inspired to start a business in which their children could work alongside them and that would celebrate their agricultural heritage.
In 1995, Dutton Estate Winery was born. Tracy and Joe purchased a 20-acre Chardonnay vineyard, tasting room, and barn along the same highway stretching through Russian River Valley’s Green Valley region. situated one and a half miles north of Kozlowski Farms and two miles northeast of Dutton Ranch. The vineyard Joe and Tracy purchased was planted to Chardonnay grapes and was farmed by Dutton Ranch and under the care Warren and Joe Dutton. The inaugural release was 1000 cases of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Today Tracy oversees and manages the daily operations of Dutton Estate Winery. The winery produces 5,000 cases for Dutton Estate Winery. In addition, the winery property includes a tasting room, Chardonnay vineyard and a mid-size winemaking facility. Dutton Estate’s custom crush clients comprise several high-end Sonoma and Napa wine producers
Both Joe and Tracy valued their experience growing up and wanted that same experience for their three girls. Their oldest and middle daughters Kyndall and Kylie works closely with Tracy learning the many aspect of the winery. Kylie also works alongside the winery’s winemaker as the Assistant Winemaker. Their youngest daughter Karmen can sometimes be seen helping out at winery events.
"Creating a business for my children to grow into has been my dream since I was a little girl. I am extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to develop a business where I could raise my three daughters, Kyndall, Kylie, and Karmen. I found it rewarding to balance the challenges of my daily life of making a home for my family, being “a farmer’s wife,” and an involved mother in my daughters’ lives and activities, all the while, building a successful business. For me, success is not defined by my business, rather, the achievement of my successful dream." Tracy Dutton
