Acumen – the importance of the human factor

looking across Acumen’s Edcora Vineyard – photo used with permission from Acumen

The exceptionally heavy and much-appreciated rains seen in California this winter have people through the region feeling as though California’s recent drought is at least temporarily over. While vineyards throughout the lower-lying areas of California’s North Coast were under water in places, vines were dormant and there should be no negative effect during the growing season. On the positive side, water stores are refilled, and the aquifer is presumably at least partially replenished. Most of all, vines have access to natural groundwater in the soils again, which is a benefit as it serves overall vine health more readily than irrigation usually does. How the 2017 vintage goes will depend on the weather during the upcoming bloom and fruit set period, and then of course during ripening.

Because of the rains I had to postpone my scheduled visit to Acumen estate in the Atlas Peak AVA of the Vaca Range on the eastern side of Napa Valley. Though its high-elevation vineyards and well-draining volcanic soils meant flooding was of no concern on site, for some time roads throughout the region were underwater, and landslides were an issue in places as well. Travel through the valley was so difficult that I put off my meeting on the estate with Acumen president Steve Rea (pictured below) until a dry day in March by which time the roads had cleared and the vineyards were dry enough to walk.

Acumen may be a new project for the region – with its 2013 vintage their first and current release – but the wines are built from a much older site, the Attelas Vineyard, planted in 1992 by Dr Jan Krupp. Krupp is known throughout Napa Valley for having had a considerable influence on the Pritchard Hill and Atlas Peak subzones. Although Antica was the first to plant in Atlas Peak, Krupp established one of the region’s most famous sites, the Stagecoach Vineyard, sold just last month to Gallo. Krupp began planting Stagecoach in 1995 having already planted Attelas.

Part of what makes Atlas Peak unique as an appellation, besides its high elevation (reaching 2,663 feet at its highest), is its sizeable amount of…

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