Acorn/Alegria Vineyards

Here at Acorn/Alegria Vineyards , though an appointment is necessary to visit, ideally 24 hours in advance,  the friendly, hospitable Nachbaurs are usually present (this is also their home), and often can accommodate with very short, or even sometimes, not much notice.  So call already! Your tasting and tour appointment at this 3000-case production facility, will include, time and weather permitting, a vineyard walkabout with an owner; this is a very personal expression of what Acorn does:

Estate-Grown, Sustainably-Farmed, Field-Blend Wines.

Acorn Winery, named for “small things from which mighty things grow” produces traditional, and also, proprietary field blends, creating wines which are approachable and food-friendly.  The vineyards, founded in 1990, are part of the Sotoyome Land Grant, and in honor of the Spanish roots here, their name, Alegria, translates as happiness and joy, evident here at Acorn/Alegria in the labor-intensive, 19th century-styled, sustainable and respectful agricultural practices and detail oriented, loving wine-making. Alegria contains vines dating back to 1890 as well as new blocks; on one corner of this Russian River Valley property there are vines planted in 1890 adjacent to similar varietals planted in 1990.  This is so cool:

I learned a twist on an old viticultural practice, where roses, planted at the end of vineyard rows, like inanimate canaries in coal mines, succumb to and broadcast mold and other maladies, prior to the infection of the vines.  Here, in addition to that, where the vineyards were originally tilled with horse-drawn equipment, the tender-footed, though horseshoe- shod equine laborers (pretty flowery phrase for “‘horse”, si?) would not cut the rows short, being frightened that they might step on a thorn from the roses waiting at the end of each row- thus complete plowing prowess was achieved with little wrangling necessary.

 

Heading out through Alegria Vineyards, one of my favorite points of departure:

Here’s looking at you, kids.

TR