These are some of the wineries that have recently purchased our grapes
Reach out to them for Alegría Vineyard-Designated wines:
Bailarin Cellars
Davis Family Vineyards
Hawley Winery
Mengler Family Wines
Myriad Cellars
Parmeson Wines
Ridge Vineyards
Ryme Cellars
Back to our roots
In 1990 we bought a century-old field blend vineyard near Healdsburg in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. While reviving the old vineyard, we planted new vineyards on the adjacent parcel.
For more than 30 years, we have sold our meticulously, hand-farmed grapes to multiple wineries producing Alegría vineyard-designated wines.
From 1994 through 2022, we also produced highly acclaimed wines from our sustainably farmed grapes under the ACORN Winery brand.
Now we have gone back to our roots. We are growing all of our grapes for other wineries.
The main varieties at Alegría Vineyards are Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Gruner Veltliner, and Alvarinho [Albariño].
Alegría, our vineyard name, means happiness and joy in Spanish and Portuguese. The name honors our Sonoma heritage.
Bill and Betsy Nachbaur
Alegría Vineyards
- Certified Historic Vineyard in the Russian River Valley
- 32 acres with alluvial, rocky clay-loam benchland soils
- Certified Sustainable by California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
and Certified Fish Friendly Farming by California Land Stewardship Institute
Check out our interactive
vineyard map
Farming
Preservation
We treat our vineyard as an ecology and strive for a balance among the grapevines and all the creatures that live here, including ourselves.
Hands-on
During the growing season each vine is visited a dozen times (for pruning, suckering, tying, training, leaf removal, crop thinning, trimming, etc.) to ensure the crop is in balance and the harvest will produce flavorful, complex wines.
Vineyard practices
We have always farmed sustainably, following a labor-intensive process that requires individual attention to each vine. Most vineyard work is done by hand. We remove leaves and manipulate the vine canopy to expose the grapes to sunlight to maximize color and flavor development and reduce the risk of pests. In the fall, we spread compost and plant a cover crop. Early in the season, before, budbreak, sheep do the first mowing. Their manure regenerates the soil, increasing biological activity while adding carbon.
We treasure our historic Alegría Vineyards and feel we are the stewards of a tradition created by generations of winegrowers.
In our Alegría Vineyards, we
- use organic products and methods
- use compost and organic fertilizers
- maintain a cover crop of grass, legumes, wildflowers, and weeds between the grapevines to prevent erosion and provide a diverse habitat for beneficial insects.
- monitor to be sure “good bugs” are there to control the “bad bugs”.
- let sheep do the first mowing of the season.
Our vineyards may look more scruffy than some, but that’s because there is more life there.
By farming sustainably, we hope to ensure that the vines and the surrounding environment will be a healthy place for the next generation.
