Heritage Oak Winery stands on land that has been worked and lived upon by Tom Hoffman's family for nearly 150 years.  In the 1860's, Tom's great-great-grandfather, James Christian, (born 1827), homesteaded a 400 acre farm along the Mokelumne River near Lockeford, California. Like many farmers in those days, he grew wheat.  In 1872 he married Martha Givens, (born1842), and together they had two children, Lilla Jane, and James. Their home overlooked the river from its location about a half mile east of where the winery would stand more than a century later.

James L. Christian

Tom's great grandfather George Jack

and his mule team

Tom's great-grandmother, Lilla Jane (born in 1874), received the land where the winery stands today from her parents when she married her husband, George Robert Jack in 1892. There, beneath the same towering blue oak that shades the winery, they built a barn with living accommodations to house both themselves and their animals.  They had two children, Ethel and Carl. From the land,   they grew wheat, hogs and stone fruit and Tokay grapes.  Years later, in 1913, Lilla Jane and George built and moved into the farmhouse where Tom and Carmela live today.

Tom's grandmother, Ethel Jack, was born in 1897.  In 1919, she married her husband, Verne Hoffman (born 1895) and together they received from her parents a portion of land along Bruella Road, three quarters of a mile west of the where the winery stand today. Verne taught high school while Ethel stayed at home raising their three children Verne Jr., Robert and Marolyn.  Verne took over operation of the family farm in the 1940's when his in-laws passed away. Tokay grapes became increasingly more popular during this time and much of the acreage was planted to this. When flood control became a reality after Camanche Dam was built in the 1950's, Verne was able to clear the bottomland and plant crops down there.

Tom's grandmother

Ethel Vera Jack