HACIENDA WINE CELLARS BRAND
The wines from the Hacienda Wine Cellars are hard to find, even in California. Annual production comes close to about 20,000 cases of wine per year. Grapes for Hacienda are supplied by the Buena Vista Vineyard and the Oak Valley Farm in Cloverdale, and also by selected vineyards within the Sonoma County area.
BACKGROUND
In 1857, Count Agoston Haraszthy de Mokesa, a Hungarian nobleman, acknowledged as the "Father of Modem California Viticulture", collected 100,000 grape cuttings from France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, and started the vineyards which surrounded Hacienda and made it a historic landmark.
Hacienda Wine Cellars was founded in 1973, in Sonoma Valley, by Frank H. Bartholomew, former President of United Press International and occupied the land where European grape varieties were first commercially planted in America.
Steven MacRostie joined Hacienda as winemaker in 1974. His first wine, a 1974 Chardonnay, took a gold medal at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair; fine Sonoma wines and the Hacienda label have been synonymous ever since. Crawford Cooley purchased a majority interest in Hacienda in 1977 following a successful career in the venture capital field of investment banking.
In 1992, the Franzia family (Bronco Wine Company) purchased the rights to the Hacienda label and cased goods inventory. The family markets and distributes the brand on a national basis through their subsidiary, Classic Wines of California.
The Hacienda label now encompasses a "Clair de Lune" series of four varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, and White Zinfandel, packaged in 1.5 Liter and 750 ml, in order to appeal to a wider audience for Hacienda's fine varietal wines. The term, "Clair de Lune", or moonlight, was first used with Hacienda's Chardonnay by Frank Bartholomew. His love of classical music, especially Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune", and the area in Sonoma where Hacienda was located, Valley of the Moon, prompted its use as a proprietary name.
 |
Available Varietals: "claire de lune" chardonnay, "claire de lune" cabernet sauvignon, "claire de lune" merlot, "claire de lune" white zinfandel, "claire de lune" shiraz, "claire de lune" sauvignon blanc, "claire de lune" white merlot, "claire de lune" dry chenin blanc, "claire de lune" pinot noir |
Hacienda Wine Varietals |
 |
Adobe PDF |
 |
Microsoft Word |
|
"Value Brands of the Year" - Wine & Spirits, June 2000 |
1999 Merlot "Clair de Lune", CA
"Best New World Merlot"/ Gold Medal/ Best of Class
Silver Medal/ 91 pts
Silver Medal
Silver Medal (50 entries)
Bronze Medal
Bronze Medal |
Jerry D. Mead's 2001 New World
California State Fair 2001
Los Angeles County Fair 2001
Riverside Int'1 Wine Comp. 2001
2001 West Coast Wine Comp.
Dallas Morning News 2001 Wine Comp. |
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon "Clair de Lune", CA
GOLD Medal
Silver Medal
Silver Medal (110 entries) |
Jerry D. Mead's 2001 New World
2001 West Coast Wine Comp.
Riverside Int'1 Wine Comp. 2001
|
1999 Chardonnay "Clair de Lune", CA
Silver Medal
Silver Medal
Bronze Medal
Bronze Medal
Bronze Medal (215 entries) |
2001 Pacific Rim Int'1 Wine Comp.
Jerry D. Mead's 2001 New World
Long Beach Grand Cru 2001
Los Angeles County Fair 2001
Riverside Int'1 Wine Comp. 2001
|
1999 Dry Chenin Blanc "Clair de Lune", CA
Silver Medal
Bronze Medal
Bronze Medal |
Los Angeles County Fair 2001
Long Beach Grand Cru 2001
Jerry D. Mead's 2001 New World
|
CURRENT AWARDS (2006, 2008)
2006 West Coast Wine Competition
Cabernet Sauvignon |
Silver |
Hacienda Wine Cellars, 05 Cabernet Sauvignon |
Gewurztraminer |
Bronze |
Hacienda Wine Cellars, 06 Gewurztraminer |
Merlot |
Silver |
Hacienda Wine Cellars, 05 Merlot |
Viognier |
Bronze |
Hacienda Wine Cellars, 05 Viognier |
White Zinfandel |
Bronze |
Hacienda Wine Cellars, 06 White Zinfandel |
2008 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition
Silver 89
Hacienda Wine Cellars
2005 Merlot Clair de Lune
Bronze 86
Hacienda Wine Cellars
2006 White Zinfandel Clair de Lune
|
