Ackerman Family Vineyards

Ackerman Family Vineyards is owned and operated by Lauren Ackerman, long time resident of the Napa Valley. Lauren previously lived and worked in the Silicon Valley and has enjoyed fine wine for many years. She has a degree in public relations and business from USC and an MBA from Pepperdine University. She worked in high tech for many years (marketing and brand building). Her husband at the time, Bob was a long time collector of wines from Napa Valley including some of Heitz Cellars older vintages. They were married at Auberge du Soleil in 1989 and after their honeymoon instinctively knew they wanted to somehow return to live in Napa Valley.

Several years later Bob began looking to buy a horse for Lauren (who is an avid rider) and with a bit of luck, discovered an already planted vineyard piece of property (called Stonehaven Vineyard) in the southern part of the Coombsville appellation located just east of the town of Napa. The horses he was interested in were housed on this property.

Unbeknownst to Lauren, Bob initially met with the real estate agent to look at this property for a possible purchase. Later he invited Lauren to “start looking” but had told the real estate agent previously to pretend that she had never met Bob. This way it would appear that the “first” piece of land they looked at would be the last one. Instead of just purchasing the horses, the Ackerman’s purchased the land and the horses were included in the deal. There was already a vineyard planted but over time blocks were replaced and since their purchase the entire vineyard has been replanted. The 16 acre site has approximately 10 acres planted to vine, all clone 337 of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Lauren began producing home-wine in 1995; this was well before their first commercial release bottled under Ackerman Family Vineyards in 2003. Years of making wine before bottling it commercially, allowed her to learn about all the various nuances of the vineyard and fine-tune their wines as well as establishing important relationships in Napa Valley (which would later be extremely beneficial).

As of our latest update to this review, Ackerman Family Vineyards currently sells some of their grapes and produces between 500 and 1000 cases per year. If they decide to grow their production in the future, they can do so from the estate as their vineyard produces more grapes than they currently use.

This is one of the most unique producers in Napa Valley as 100% of their total net profits are donated to the Napa Valley Community Foundation. This foundation is a philanthropic bank for non profits which connects donors to various charity projects (focusing on youth and poverty). Out of well over 1,100 unique producers in Napa Valley there are maybe 5 or 6 producers in which the focus of their production and business model is to provide a significant amount of their net proceeds directly to the community. Lauren, has also served as a trustee and chair woman for the Napa Valley Community Foundation.

A few days before we met Lauren in Coombsville for this initial review in 2009, their vineyard had just been officially certified CCOF organic – a process that takes a little over 3 years to complete. This was Coombsville’s first CCOF organic vineyard. She has farmed her vineyard sustainably since the land was purchased, however having the certification certainly validates her efforts. Coombsville is known as a cooler region compared to central and more northern parts of Napa Valley; this region is located fairly close to the moderating influences of the cold waters of the San Pablo Bay to the south. This proximity results in a rather long growing season usually producing slow and even ripening. Lauren remembers their earliest harvest coming towards the end of the September (unusual) with their latest harvest coming on November 5th (extremely late for this part of the valley). Their vineyard is trellised with the cooler climate in mind; in this case using an open lyre system to allow the grapes greater exposure to the sun.

In the past Coombsville may have been associated with producing blending fruit for “up valley” wineries, but the fruit coming out of this region today is highly sought after for its combination of finesse, elegance and structure.

Select Wines
Ackerman Vineyards used to produce a single 100% estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon each year, but have since increased the number of their bottlings. With consistency in managing their vineyard, winemaking, and the barrel program, the differences one may taste from year to year are respective of the vintage. Unlike many wines in Napa Valley the Ackerman bottlings tend to be lower in alcohol, typically ranging from the mid 13’s to about 14%. Lauren Enjoys drinking wines that are versatile, especially wines which can be paired with a variety of foods; these are the types of wines they strive to produce.

The 2005 Ackerman Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon: we tried this vintage just before its October 2009 release. Ackerman uses all new French (Taransaud) oak barrels for aging the wines for two years. After bottling, the wine sits for another 2 years before being released to the consumer. Based on their experience with older home vintages, wines from this vineyard age very well. This extra age before being released is never a bad thing for the consumer. The 2005 vintage straddles the line between the more restrained 2003 vintage and the 2004 bottling which shows more fruit.

The 2005 Ackerman Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is dark ruby in the glass with an elegant bouquet that shows some floral notes, blackberry as well as subtle aromas of cigar. The oak is well integrated throughout and certainly does not dominate. This wine shows complex and layered flavors with its structure becoming noticeable from the mid palate onwards; this leads to a finish that is anchored by broad slightly dusty tannins. This is more of a traditional Bordeaux styled wine that will age well yet can also be consumed in it youth, especially with food.

A more recent addition to their wine portfolio is the Le Chatelaine Napa Valley Red Wine (a five variety Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based blend) also grown at their Coombsville vineyard. Le Chatelaine is French for Mistress of the Castle. The 2013 vintage shows a noticeable espresso and mocha characteristic on the bouquet. The texture is wonderful, displaying an almost a fine-chalkiness.

NOTE: we will revisit Ackerman Family Vineyards before the end of 2022 and significantly update our tasting notes and this review at that time.

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They sell direct; the easiest way to order is from their website and or join their rapidly growing mailing list or if visiting Napa Valley one can reserve an appointment to taste at the historic Ackerman House near downtown Napa. Ackerman’s wines can also be found locally in the valley at a variety of locations including Backroom Wines in downtown Napa and at Auberge du Soleil in St. Helena. They are also distributed in other states including Arizona, Florida, New York and Wyoming. Because their distribution is small, they plan on capping their retail outlets to a select group of 100.

A small amount of wine is held back each year and then re-released as their library vintages. Aside from having the chance to purchase older releases, these wines remain priced reasonably.

They are even found overseas in one location, the fantastic Waddesdon Manor in the UK owned by the Rothschild family. Lauren remembers visiting this amazing estate and described how the wine shop carries two wines from Napa Valley, Opus One and Ackerman.

Ackerman House, Napa
Over the span of some five years (with a brief interruption due to the Napa earthquake in August of 2014), Lauren meticulously oversaw the restoration of a Queen Anne Victorian originally built in 1888, previously known as the Gifford House and today known as the Ackerman Heritage House. Lauren is only the 6th owner of this historic house.

The house was named after E.R. Gifford who moved to Napa in 1904 and soon opened up Gifford’s Department Store advertised as ‘the house of quality’ which he operated for more than 20 years until he sold it on August 1, 1927 which then took the name of Albert’s Department Store and by 1962 Mervyn’s took over the old space. Gifford’s store was a prolific advertiser in the early 1900s in the Napa Journal (the first ad we came across for his department store in old newspaper records was 1905). In the 1930s the Gifford’s used the house to host a variety of functions including the Napa Study Club and the Napa Sewing Club. In 1936 at age 79 Gifford oversaw the construction of a new room to the house for $500. The house underwent an exterior renovation in 1998.

This downtown Napa located “living museum” contains many unique and one-of-a-kind items that Lauren personally discovered and purchased – some she found by taking multiple trips to Europe. After this restoration was completed in 2015, this has become one of Napa’s hidden gems. It is within a short walk of many of Napa’s noted restaurants and a number of the downtown hotels. The kitchen is arguably one of the highlights of this home. And in 2019, the Ackerman Vineyards received a California Preservation Design Award for the meticulous restoration on the hold house – a statewide award highlighting excellent in historic preservation.

The home can be rented out as an event space and already has been used for political functions, small corporate events and dinners. And the guest rooms upstairs can also be rented. Inquire for details.

Ackerman Family Vineyards offers a variety of experiences including a traditional tasting, a vineyard tour at their Stonehaven property followed by a tasting or a number of culinary experiences. Tastings are held in The Aviary, a cozy space in a separate building adjoining the main house. This was initially built by prior owners as an enclosed aviary for keeping pheasants and chickens. Guests who taste the Ackerman wines here will do so under the calming gaze of Robert Mondavi as a painting of this Napa Valley ‘godfather’ hangs near the tasting bar.

And note that Napa producer, Lloyd Cellars used to use the Aviary as their tasting room; former Ackerman Family Vineyards winemaker Rob Lloyd produces mostly non Napa wines.

Ackerman Heritage House