Acorn Winery's Dolcetto

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

Dolcetto is a delicious dry red wine that is very popular in the Piedmont area of Italy, but it is still rare in California. We planted it in our Alegría Vineyards in 1991, and we’ve found that Dolcetto thrives in our cool Russian River Valley climate. The long growing season optimizes expression of Dolcetto’s varietal characteristics. 2004 gave us another richly flavored vintage.

To preserve and enhance Dolcetto’s full-bodied varietal character and to maximize color and flavor, we fermented the grapes in small open-top fermenters, with Brunello yeast and frequent gentle punch-downs. For added complexity, we picked Freisa and Barbera, two other Piemontese grape varieties that are planted with the Dolcetto and co-fermented them. Barrel aging for 18 months in a combination of French and Hungarian oak barrels softened the grapes’ dusty tannins. This wine is a lovely reflection of the terroir of our Alegría Vineyards, and the skill of our consulting winemaker, Alison Green Doran. Only 7 1/2 barrels were produced.

Tasting Notes

The alluring aroma has lovely hints of blueberry and orange peel mingled with milk chocolate, cherry, and floral notes. In the mouth, bright cherry and ripe blueberry flow into mixed berry/cranberry mid-palate. A jammy essence adds an intriguing dimension to the toasty fi nish. Enjoy this delicious, medium-bodied wine with appetizers, roasted meats, or with a fruit and cheese platter.

Composition

A single-vineyard fi eld-blend of 96% Dolcetto, 2% Freisa, and 2% Barbera.

Release Date: Fall 2006