ACORN Winery

Winemaking Philosophy

At ACORN Winery our passion is traditional field blend wines.

A field blend is when multiple grape varieties are grown together, harvested together, crushed, and co-fermented. The melding of flavors from the different grapes starts at the very beginning of the winemaking process—on the day the grapes are picked.

Along with each of our wines being a field blend, we also strive to produce food-friendly wines that fully express the fruit characteristics of the diverse grape varieties we grow. Our wines demonstrate how the cool microclimate of Alegría Vineyards, in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley, brings out the essence of our grapes' varietal character.

Winemakers concur that "great wines are made in the vineyard." That means you have to start with exceptional grapes to make exceptional wines. We also believe exceptional wines should reflect the varietal characteristics of the grapes and the place where they were grown.

At ACORN Winery, we strive to produce wines that emphasize natural fruit flavors and aromas and exhibit the subtle influences of our vineyards’ special terroir. We do this through gentle handling of the grapes and wine. We try to maximize the number of whole grapes, which allows for a mini-carbonic fermentation within the grapes that enhances fruity aromas and flavors.

Bill works closely with our consulting winemaker Clay Mauritson to ensure that the flavors of Alegría Vineyards are fully expressed in each wine. A key to our winemaking style is the judicious use of new oak to complement, but not overwhelm, the wines. Bill has focused on which barrels add the most character to each wine while at the same time respecting the fruit. He tastes through the wines, barrel by barrel, at various times during the year to determine how the wine is progressing. Over the years he has identified the particular barrels that work best with each wine, and he has developed a special combination of barrels for each wine. Each combination has a different mix of forests and coopers. This hands-on approach allows us to continue to produce wines we can be proud of and pleased to share with visitors to our winery. We produce the following varietal wines and blends: Russian River Valley Cabernet Franc Russian River Valley Dolcetto Russian River Valley Sangiovese Russian River Valley Syrah Russian River Valley old vine Zinfandel Acorn Hill, a proprietary blend Medley, a proprietary blend Rosato, a dry rosé

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