Page 55 - Grapevine NovDec 2020

Around The Vineyard

ACQUIESCE WINERY:

Lodi’s Hidden Gem

By: Nan McCreary
W California, Zinfandel comes to mind. Yet, wine—so I wanted to do white wines, and I wanted
hen wine aficionados think of Lodi,
ond class citizen—you never see a 100-point white
in this sea of red, is Acquiesce Winery,
a hidden gem that makes nothing but white Rhône to do them right.”
wines. Research on the Lodi terroir encouraged Susan to
pursue her passion. The climate was similar to the
When Rodney and Susan Tipton purchased an Southern Rhône, with warm, sunny days to ripen
18-acre plot of land near Lodi with a hundred-year- the grapes and the delta breeze from the Pacific
old barn and 12 acres of Zinfandel, grape growing Ocean to cool the grapes at night. Plus, the sandy
was the last thing on their minds. They named the soil on their property was perfect for nourishing the
property “Acquiesce” after a k.d. lang song with grapes. She was convinced they could grow Rhône
the same name, which reminds one to acquiesce, grapes, and grow them well.
or surrender to nature and enjoy the quiet. This
was in 2000, and Lodi was buzzing with vineyards In 2005, with Susan as the winemaker and Rodney
and wineries. Inevitably, the Tiptons developed an as operations manager, the two planted their first
interest in the local wine trade. grapes–clones of Grenache Blanc from Tablas Creek
Vineyards’ cuttings, which originated from the
“We started making wine as home winemak- famed Château de Beaucastel in southern Rhône.
ers and, at the time, I just happened to taste a The success of these wines led the Tiptons to
Grenache Blanc from Châteauneuf-du-Pape and plant Roussanne, Viognier, Picpoul Blanc and more
thought it was the best wine I’d ever had,” Susan Grenache Blanc in 2009.
Tipton said. “I tried to buy two cases, but the store
owner said, ‘You are holding the last bottle in “At the time, we were making so much wine that
California.’ This is where we began our journey.” we had more than we could give to friends,” she
Susan, who managed various enterprises while said, “so we decided to open a tasting room in the
she and Rodney raised three boys, describes her- old barn. We started a wine club too, and when
self as a worker-bee, so she set out to learn all she it developed a significant waitlist, our members
could about white Rhône grapes. She discovered encouraged us to plant more grapes.”
that only 6% of grapes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape are
white, and most don‘t make it to the U.S. When In 2015, the Tiptons planted more Picpoul Blanc,
they do, they are usually oaked and expensive. Roussanne and Grenache Noir, along with new
varietal Clairette Blanche. In 2016, Acquiesce
Winemakers in Lodi discouraged her from making Winery was the first vineyard in the U.S. to plant
white wines, saying she’d need red wines to stay in Bourboulenc. All Acquiesce vines are cuttings from
business, but Susan remained undaunted. “I fell in Château de Beaucastel.
love with the Rhône wines, especially the whites in
the Châteauneuf-du-Pape grouping,” Tipton said. Early in this journey, Tipton hired winemaker
“I always thought white wine was treated as a sec- Heather Pyle Lucas, one of the founding wine-

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