Lodi and West Sacramento Wine Visits, May 2022, Part 2b - Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards
I’ve posted a portion of Part 2 of a report on a three-day May wine tour with Eric Anderson of Grape-Nutz to visit vintners in Lodi and West Sacramento. Further parts will be following soon. The full version of this report is on the Grape-Nutz.com website:
Lodi and West Sacramento Wine Visits, May 2022 – Part 2
Bokisch Vineyards
Harney Lane Winery
Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards
m2 Wines
Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards
Our first visit on Friday afternoon was with winemaker Sue Tipton of Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards, located in the northeastern part of the Mokelumne River AVA of Lodi. Acquiesce is unique in Lodi in that they make only white wines and rosés, no reds. The focus here is on white grape varieties from the Rhône Valley. I’d first tried the Acquiesce wines at a couple of large Bay Area tasting events and was impressed by them, and I visited there in 2016, but this was Eric’s first experience with their wines.
Sue and her husband Rodney own Acquiesce. The winery name is a reference to a k.d. lang song that the couple had listened to about 25 years ago as they were sitting out on the patio of their home in Portland. Rodney predicted that they would one day have a place with lots of land and beautiful views where they could “acquiesce.” They’d thought about finding a spot to grow winegrapes, and after Rodney’s business took him to the San Joaquin Valley not far from Lodi, they purchased their 18-acre property in 2003. There was already a small vineyard with Zinfandel on the property, as well as a century-old hay barn that needed lots of work. Sue worked with the vines, planted in sandy soil, although she had not originally planned to make wine commercially. Between Sue making wine at home and the couple’s shared love of the white wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, they decided to launch their own label. They began replacing the Zinfandel vines with white Rhône varieties, and worked with a consultant to convert the old barn into a winery. Early customers loved the wine that Sue made from the new white grape varieties, and helped convince the Tiptons to plant more of them.
Lodi, with its warm climate, has never been particularly known for its white wines, so a plan to focus on white Rhône grape varieties might have seemed a daring choice there, but they’ve made it work remarkably well. More white varieties have gone into vineyards in the region in recent years, very likely due in large part to the success of the Acquiesce wines. Sue oversaw the first plantings in 2008-2009 of four acres of Picpoul Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, and Roussanne, plus some head-trained Grenache Noir for a rosé. Later, more Zin vines were taken out and that area was replanted with Clairette, Bourboulenc, plus more Picpoul Blanc, Grenache Blanc, and Grenache Noir. Clairette and Bourboulenc are fairly new and rare varieties in California – Acquiesce was the first vineyard in the country with Bourboulenc.
Ten acres are currently planted at the estate Lady Acquiesce Vineyard, and Sue told us that another 5.5 acres will be planted soon, to include more Picpoul Blanc plus some Grenache Gris and Cinsaut for rosé. All of their plant material was sourced from Tablas Creek clones that were brought to California from Château de Beaucastel, except that the Grenache Noir planting is Alban clone. The vineyard is Certified Green under the Lodi Rules sustainable winegrowing program.
All of the fruit for the Acquiesce wines comes from the estate vineyard, and Sue’s aim with her winemaking is to produce fresh, crisp wines. Sue told us that harvest is in August and September, and that the fruit is hand-picked in the early morning and then whole-cluster pressed and fermented cool in jacketed stainless steel tanks with individual temperature control. The wines are aged in stainless steel as well, and the lees is stirred about once a week to give the wines more texture. None of the Acquiesce wines go through malolactic fermentation, to help retain their acidity. The wines are generally bottled in March of the year following the harvest, and all of the current wines are under 14% alcohol. Current annual production is about 4,000 cases, with plans to increase to around 6,000 cases after new plantings go in.
Specializing in making white wines in Lodi is not the only thing that helps set Acquiesce apart from other wineries in the region – they’ve taken an active role in working to increase inclusion of under-represented groups in the wine industry. Rodney co-founded the Lodi Appellation Inclusion Collective (LAIC) in 2020, with a goal of increasing diversity in Lodi and beyond. And Acquiesce is also a partner in The Roots Fund, which looks to help provide resources and financial support to under-represented groups in the wine business through educational scholarships, wine education, mentorship, and job placement.
Acquiesce owner / winemaker Sue Tipton with Eric Anderson
Eric and I sat down with Sue at a table in the tasting room to try some of the winery’s current releases. The Acquiesce sit-down “Elevated Tasting Experience” includes small bites specially created to pair with each of the four wines selected for the tasting. Rebecca Forrest of Lodi’s Bordeaux Inn bed & breakfast created the small bites for the pairings. We started off our tasting with the 2020 Estate Bourboulenc, which was paired with mofongo – plantain, chicharrón, garlic, chicken broth, and cilantro. The wine featured bright citrus fruit with a touch of fresh herbs, vibrant acidity and a fresh finish. Next was the 2021 Estate Grenache Blanc, probably the wine that Acquiesce is best-known for. Paired with a soyrizo empanada – onion, bell pepper, and potatoes on a Ritz cracker – the wine displayed green apple and stone fruit aromas, a hint of strawberry and pretty floral overtones, juicy acidity, medium-light weight on the palate, and a long crisp finish.
We moved on to two somewhat weightier white wines. The 2021 Estate Viognier was paired with a chicken mole tostada – Dona María mole, chicken, and cheese. This wine showed the upfront stone fruit and floral aromas characteristic of the variety while retaining great acidity along with medium body and a long finish. The last wine of the four wines paired with the small bites was the 2020 Estate Roussanne, paired with Mexican street corn – chili, garlic, lime, cotija, and crema – the wine had a deeper yellow color, with spice and pear aromas along with hints of flowers and nuts, more weight on the palate but with a lively texture and finish.
Sue poured Eric and me a few additional wines as well. The 2020 Estate “Ingénue” is one of two Acquiesce white blends – all of the other white wines are single-varietal. This one is 35% Grenache Blanc, 35% Clairette Blanche, 20% Bourboulenc, and 10% Picpoul Blanc, and featured pear and ripe apple fruit, flowers, and a touch of spice on the nose, with medium-light weight and lively acidity on the palate and the finish. We continued with the 2021 Estate Grenache Rosé, which includes 3% Cinsaut – this had fresh strawberry and floral aromas with nice weight in the mouth and a juicy texture and crisp finish.
Sue wanted us to taste a new wine made by the Acquiesce assistant winemaker Christina Lopez. Christina came over to the table and poured her 2021 “Christina’s Outlier,” made from 90% Grenache and 10% Cinsaut, and not yet released. It is indeed an outlier at Acquiesce, the only red wine made at the facility! A very light red, this displayed bright red fruit with touches of fresh herbs and flowers, medium-light body, and a lively mouthfeel and finish. This wine will probably be released in August, and Sue noted that it’s already won a Gold Medal at 2022 Sunset International Wine Competition.
Acquiesce assistant winemaker Christina Lopez
We went on to taste the 2021 Estate Cinsaut Rosé, just released in June – red fruit and tropical fruit on the nose with floral undertones, fine acidity and a long, clean finish. Sue finished up our tasting with the 2018 Estate Sparkling Grenache Blanc. This was fruit-forward and had similar aromatic character to the still Grenache Blanc with its apple and floral notes, plus fine bubbles and a crisp, pleasant finish. Sue told us that they’re currently working on a sparkling Picpoul Blanc and sparkling Grenache Rosé as well.
After we’d finished tasting, Sue led Eric and me out to take a look at the vineyard, and then over to the winery building. Lots of stainless steel tanks were lined up there, waiting to be filled with fruit for the wine from the 2022 vintage.
Sue poured Eric and me most of the current Acquiesce releases – the only ones we didn’t taste on this occasion were the Picpoul Blanc, Clairette Blanche and the “Belle Blanc” – a blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Bourboulenc. The Acquiesce wines have consistently won top awards at highly-regarded wine competitions. The 2020 Grenache Blanc, 2020 Picpoul Blanc, and 2020 Roussanne were named Best of Class at the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, while the 2020 Viognier was name Best White Wine at the same competition – a very impressive achievement for the winery. I should note the elegant and distinctively-shaped bottles – just one more thing that helps differentiate Acquiesce from any other Lodi winery.
Eric and I had a great time visiting with Sue at Acquiesce. The vibe at the tasting room is relaxed and low-key, and I think that reflects Sue’s personality well. The small bite pairings with the wines was new for me there, and made for a delightful tasting experience, and it was a fun bonus for us to try Christina’s wine as well. The Acquiesce wines have shown without doubt that Lodi can be well-suited to white grape varieties and not only big reds. As with a few of our other Lodi winery visits, it wasn’t easy to pick out favorite wines since they were all so good, but standouts for me included the 2021 Estate Grenache Blanc, 2021 Estate Viognier, 2020 Estate “Ingénue,” and 2021 Estate Grenache Rosé, as well as Christina’s 2021 “Christina’s Outlier.” If you’re looking for a real change of pace in tasting Lodi wines, you can’t do better than Acquiesce.