2022 Accenti Verdelho

Region: Contra Costa County < CA

Grape: Verdelho

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic farming; the first press was whole cluster with juice divided between stainless steel tank + neutral oak for ferment.  2nd half got 3 hours skins and foot treading before pressing into neutral barrel. The two lots were blended before bottling, unfined/unfiltered with minimal So2; 11.5% ABV; 25 cases

Winemakers: James & Lorenza Allen 

NEW VINTAGE!  Accenti, formerly known as Thereafter, is the passion project of a lovely young couple, James and Lorenza, who both work day jobs for other wineries but with Accenti are focused on regenerative viticulture and super low intervention winemaking.  Their philosophy is that the land, vines, and wine will exist far longer than we can imagine. They say, "With this in mind, being good stewards of the vineyards and the ecosystems within them is our top priority. Everything else falls into place more easily afterwards."

Accenti means "accents" in Italian (Lorenza is a Piedmont, Italy native), and they like to think of their wines as California with an Italian accent -- meaning subtle, low ABV, food-friendly wines, which we love.  This restraint, along their focus on next-level farming, are unusual things for the Napa/Sonoma regions where they work and source grapes.  

This organic vineyard in Contra Costa county is planted with a suitcase clone smuggled back from Madeira (an island off Portugal).  This clone is more aromatic and interesting than Verdejo from Spain, and makes such a zippy, almost spritzy white for summer.  Super lemon/limey with bright acid and tart, juicy fruit (think ripe kiwi, nectarine), we're loving this light, refreshing white for the dog days of summer.