Lorenza B. Allen: Accenti Wines

www.accentiwines.com, @accentiwines

Graton Rancheria, Southern Pomo land - Sonoma, California

Lorenza loves to explore and experiment with all the different facets of winemaking. Growing up and getting a winemaking degree in Piedmont, Italy, taught her a lot about tradition. It was only when she joined a masters program in France, full of international winemakers, that the world of styles opened up to her. After finishing her thesis in the vineyards of Portugal, she set out to discover the New World by moving to Australia, where she lived for three years. Seeing the extremes of maximum and minimal intervention helped her find her place on the spectrum: to respect the terroir by taking a hands-off approach while paying close attention to the science. Since moving to California she's gotten deep into regenerative agriculture, farming four small vineyards around Napa Valley and making a line of wines under the labels 'Accenti' and 'ThereAfter' with her husband. On rare days off you can find her eating oysters at the beach, hiking with her dog, and perfecting her focaccia recipe.

Social Justice/Environmental Preservation Statement
As a business with a women owner, equity for women in the wine industry is a major focus of our’s. But labor justice is the true black eye of the wine industry, and has been since the very beginningAlthough we’re lucky if our business breaks even, paying workers and growers on time will always be one of our top priorities, along with ensuring safe working conditions. In California, this means avoiding work when it’s too hot and providing proper safety gear in smoke conditions.

Being farmers ourselves, we have the opportunity to be mentors to marginalized folks. Our interns and vineyard workers are paid a fair, living wage (even though we can’t yet give them enough work for full-time jobs). In cases where we discover injustices with our growers or other business partners, we address them and sever ties if corrections aren’t made.

Environmental justice is also social justice! We shine a spotlight of sustainability on every decision we make, from the vine to the cork. Dry farming vineyards organically and regeneratively nourishes a depleted ecosystem and prevents endangering precious natural resources. No polluting tractors are used in our farming, and carbon is captured and stored in our no-till soil. As this business grows and changes, we pledge to inspect each choice we make from a standpoint of social responsibility and justice.