Acorn Winery's Cabernet Franc

At Acorn Winery our passion is traditional field-blend and vineyard-blend wines. Our food-friendly wines fully express the fruit characteristics of the diverse grape varieties we grow at our Alegría Vineyards in the Russian River Valley.

Winemaking Notes

Cabernet Franc (which is one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon) produces a nuanced wine that is more aromatic and less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes for Acorn’s Cabernet Franc come from vines we planted in our Alegría Vineyards in 1991.

We firmly believe that wine is made in the vineyard. It takes intensive hand labor of removing leaves and extra canes and clusters to assure vine balance with good sun exposure for the grapes to maximize color and flavor development and even ripening. The high quality of the grapes in 2004 enabled our consulting winemaker, Alison Green Doran, to produce this delicious wine.

We harvested the grapes at peak flavor on October 18 and 20, after a long cool growing season. The yield was less than 4 tons/acre.

In keeping with our commitment to field blends, we also harvested Merlot and Petit Verdot (complementary Bordeaux grapes) to co-ferment with the Cabernet Franc. The crushed grapes were cold soaked for ten days before fermentation began.

This wine was aged for 17 months in a combination of American and French oak to integrate and meld the wine’s flavors and soft tannins. Only 11 barrels were produced.

Tasting Notes

This European-style wine is a versatile, foodfriendly dinner companion. Enticing aromas of rich cherry, caramel, and toasty oak lead you to lush flavors of bright cherry, plum, and mixed berry, mingled with spicy vanilla, dark chocolate, and hints of cedar and black licorice framed by soft tannins.

Composition

A single-vineyard field blend of 98% Cabernet Franc with 1% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.

Release Date: Fall 2006