Accurso Wines

Accurso Wines was founded by Waverly and Michael Accurso with their first vintage in 2022. Both are Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduates; Michael majored in Ag Business. Before he graduated in 2010 he took a viticulture class which changed his perspective of the wine industry. A Napa native, he grew up surrounded by friends whose family worked in the business but his family did not and was not directly exposed to viticulture or winemaking. After graduation he worked his first harvest at Beaulieu Vineyard and then moved to Argentina, working a harvest at a winery in Tupungato, about an hour southwest of Mendoza. While in Argentina, he spent some of his time traveling around Patagonia and fell in love with what he calls the rustic Pinot Noir of this region. Returning to Napa Valley he worked one harvest at Silver Oak, a harvest on the central coast of California and then took an internship at Golden Eye where he became their winemaker and was exposed to a number premium Pinot Noir sites.

Waverly was studying in the wine business program at Cal Poly; while fully immersed in the sales and marketing classes of the program she planned to pursue a career in winery sales post graduation. But professor in the Wine & Viticulture Department at the time, Dr. Keith Patterson at Cal Poly mentioned something that would change the course of her career, “if you want to sell wine you need to know how it is made”. He encouraged his students to pursue a harvest internship. So she applied and was accepted for a harvest internship with 14 other interns at Girard Winery; at the time their production was in Sonoma. She remembers interns being excited about having already secured cellar positions in the southern hemisphere. She thought this sounded rewarding and within about a month she was in Australia working harvest at Michelton Winery north of Melbourne.

During her time here she realized she preferred working at small wineries and made a promise to herself that she would do so when she returned to California and that she would also only focus on a single variety, Cabernet Sauvignon. She remembers that while in Bali, she connected to some cheap WIFI and began browsing job listings on WineJobs.com and soon discovered a cellar position at Paraduxx Winery. Perfect. Napa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon. But by the time she applied, she learned that the position had already been filled. However, she was offered another winemaking position at Goldeneye, also a part of the Duckhorn Winery portfolio. She didn’t know how far Napa Valley was from Mendocino County when she accepted the position; soon she was living and working in Anderson Valley focusing on producing Pinot Noir.

But it was at Goldeneye in 2012 that Michael and Waverly met for the first time as interns; in fact they were the only two interns that particular harvest. Both stayed in Anderson Valley for several years; Michael remained at Goldeneye, eventually becoming their head winemaker. Waverly took on an enologist position at Roeder Estate, moving seven minutes ‘up the road’ to produce sparkling wines. One of the highlights of working here was sitting in for blending sessions, a multi-month process when the team from France would travel to Anderson Valley. And later she was a production assistant in the cellar at Hundred Acre in Napa Valley. She considers several winemakers as mentors including Michael Faye, the winemaker at the time at Golden Eye and also Roederer Estate winemaker Arnaud Weyrich.

Making their own wines had been a dream for many years prior. Winemaker at Saintsbury Tim Colla kept encouraging Michael, “you got to do your own thing”. During lunch one day, Michael told Tim he would make wine but on one condition, it would be made at Saintsbury. Tim agreed.

Waverly’s good friend Lyndsey Rocca gifted them a wedding present of two of her drawings featuring Druid trees for each of their Zodiac signs including an Aries Alder and a Gemini Elm. After seeing these, both Waverly and Michael realized they would look great on a wine label. And after having children, Lindsey gifted two more drawings, that of a Pisces Ash and a Taurus Honeysuckle. These drawings are also used on their wine labels.

One of the common themes when starting a new brand is the difficulty of choosing an appropriate name that is both reflective of the brand yet also one that is not trademarked. Accurso was available, is catchy, stands out and reflects their family name.

Always looking for ways to preserve the varietal expressions, their use of oak is judicious. The wines are kissed by oak rather than being a recipient of a strong overbearing hug. They are crafted with restraint rather than opulence and are straddled on the side of elegance. And showcasing layered aromatics is always an important part of the Accurso wine profile.

Select Wines
The 2023 Accurso Wines Rosé of Pinot Noir, Napa valley Carneros Lee Vineyard. Based on its proximity to the vineyard, the grapes are left on the skins a minimal amount of time between being harvested and pressed. The wine was fermented slow and cold in barrel and then aged for 4 months in neutral French oak barrels. This wine is medium salmon in color; bright, fresh and zesty with a citrus leaning, its scents include kumquat, dried orange peel and strawberries. Balanced and easy drinking. Its acidity is there but it doesn’t dominate. Minerally, the palate also offers flavors of raspberry, dried orange peel, strawberries and lychee. The texture is silken with a creamy character; it plays well with the balanced acidity. Lingers with plenty of flavor. This is not a lightweight bottling, rather it is a a rosé that stands nicely on its own. A balancing act is the key here between both fruit and acidity. This wine was made entirely from the Pommard clone of Pinot Noir; it was whole cluster pressed and fermented in neutral French oak barrels. For reference, Saintsbury previously produced a vineyard designate Pinot Noir from this property. Michael recommends pairing this bottling with a lightly seasoned white fish, carpaccio or a scallop crudo.

Both Michael and Waverly made California Chardonnay for the wineries they previously worked for. But these wines were never grown, harvested or crafted in the style they enjoyed. They spent their honeymoon in France where they were exposed to White Burgundy’s; when they returned to California they began to search for Chardonnay that mimics White Burgundy but doesn’t duplicate the exact style. Based on their familiarity with Anderson Valley they began their initial search there.

But an opportunity to work with a vineyard in Oregon soon presented itself. Michael reached out a friend and asked for his ‘golden star’ vineyard. He was connected to Mark Royer, a vineyard owner in the Eola-Amity Appellation. Royer only grows white varieties with his property located in volcanic red soils at about 1,500 in elevation. Michael picked out several clonal selections, harvested the grapes and shipped them overnight in 30 degree F refrigerated truck.

The 2023 Accurso Wines Chardonnay Royer Vineyard Inn the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. The wine was 100% barrel fermented slow and cold and then aged sur lie for 14 months in 50% once used French oak and 50% neutral French oak puncheons. The wine was put through full malolactic fermentation with regular and rigorous battonage. At harvest the pH was 3.15g/L – at bottling its pH was 3.28 g/L. The focus here is on an acid-driven Chardonnay. This wine is medium yellow in color; the initial aromatic hit we noted was of bees wax. Layered, its scents are of wild yellow plums, citrus blossom, apricot, yellow peach, golden apples and pineapple accompanied by a hint of honeysuckle and a light note of butterscotch as the wine evolves. Smells Oregon elegant rather than California opulent. On the palate there are flavors of golden apples, white pineapple, apricot, pear, lemon meringue and dill. And a chalky and a saline character. The palate is lightly creamy, rounded and supple; the low pH preserved during malolactic fermentation keeps the texture from being oily, viscous or heavy. Its cadence is buoyed by its bright acidity ensuring the finish is fresh and energetic. And we might add, a great length in terms of both flavor and brightness. Beautiful. This Chardonnay is impressive for what it doesn’t have, IE., it is not oaky, overly ripe or overly extracted in terms of texture. And its a refreshing 13.% ABV.

In 2022 Chris Walden of Vine Dresser Vineyard Management called Michael and offered to sell him 4 tons of Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley including his two favorite clones: 115 and 667. This phone call was the impetus to start Accurso Wines. Michael describes these two clones as being like peanut butter and jelly when blended together. Clone 115 is meaty and savory while 667 produces smaller clusters, tighter berries and contributes deep and dark brooding fruit characteristics. Their vineyard changed in 2023 to the Mills Vista Vineyard.

The 2023 Accurso Wines Sonoma County Pinot Noir Mills Vista Vineyard, Green Valley is pale to medium ruby in color; the diverse and layered bouquet sports scents of Rainier cherries, clove, Bergamot tea, dried anise seeds, damp potting soil, mushroom, blood orange, dried orange peels, spicy plum skin and crushed pink peppercorn. Its a union of both fruit and spicy nuances with loads of character at play. Let this wine open further, you will continue to be rewarded by its aromatics. This is clearly not a California over ripe or linear bottling from this variety. Rather its fresh character is exactly what one would expect from cool-climate Green Valley. Vibrant and balanced cross the palate, it offers flavors of raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate including the flavor resulting from its inner membrane and lasting lightly spicy notes of clove and white pepper. Its texture is soft with the finely-polished tannins seamlessly integrated on the finish. It drinks nicely by itself, but we wouldn’t mind pairing this wine with roasted duck leg seasoned with salt and Chinese five-star spice.

In this region of western Sonoma County, the cold air sinks to the lowest parts of the rolling hilly landscape and often doesn’t warm up too much, even later in the day. The marine layer can be persistent and tenacious and is why we will never live here, but these are ideal conditions for growing premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This contributes to slow and even ripening; one has to be exceptionally patient when determining the pick date. About 20% of this wine was fermented whole cluster. The whole cluster grapes were transferred to their fermentation vessel and then layered with the destemmed grapes on top, essentially creating a micro carbonic fermentation within the overall fermentation.

While Michael is passionate about Pinot Noir, Waverly is equally passionate about Cabernet Sauvignon. Her first wow wine moment was over a glass of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. While looking for a vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon, Michael located a one-acre site on the lower slopes of Diamond Mountain. He offered the owner the option of leasing his vineyard; the offer was accepted. Michael now oversees the management of this tiny 100% Cabernet Sauvignon block. And this wine is also an homage to Napa Valley, a variety that has become synonymous with the region and so beloved by so many people.

The 2023 Accurso Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Diamond Mountain, Haas Family Vineyard. This wine is medium to dark ruby in color; the aromatics immediately smell lifted as opposed to ripe or even overripe. The fruit is red fruited including of currant, plum, cranberry and dark raspberry with some appealing herbs including white sage and creosote, garigue and an all-spice character which becomes more noticeable as the wine evolves in the glass. Savory across the palate, there are flavors of dark raspberry, plum, smoked sage, smoked cedar and a light note of pepper. This is a lighter structured Cabernet Sauvignon; its texture is remarkably integrated at such an early age, especially considering the overall structural heft of this vintage in Napa Valley. The tannins are already rounded with very light edges; their presence lingers with a light gravelly character felt mostly on the front of the palate. For reference, we tasted this well in advance of its release. Only a barrel of this beauty was produced.

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Annual production of all their wines is under 500 cases a year. The wines are sold primarily direct to consumer with some placement in Granite Bay, CA and at Norcina Restaurant in San Francisco. Locally the wines will be selectively sold at several retail outlets with the goal to slowly increase their retail exposure over the years. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are released in the spring with the Cabernet Sauvignon released in the fall. For more information and to purchase wines, visit: www.accursowines.com