Acre
California Muscle in a Southern Farmhouse
Auburn · Auburn · American, Southern American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 5, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into a lovingly restored 1930s farmhouse in Auburn, Alabama and finding 150-plus California-focused selections anchored by Ridge Monte Bello and Paul Hobbs is not what you expect — and that's exactly the point. This list has real ambition behind it, and sommelier John David Hammond's fingerprints are all over it. It reads like someone actually cares, which in a college town in the Deep South is its own kind of achievement.
Selection Deep Dive
The list leans hard into California — and earns it. You've got Kistler Chardonnay sitting next to Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Ranches, and Stag's Leap alongside Jordan and Duckhorn, which tells you this program isn't just cherry-picking trophy bottles for the look. The $35-$150 sweet spot covers serious ground, and the fact that they push above $200 for the right bottles (Ridge Monte Bello, we're looking at you) shows confidence without being obnoxious about it. There are gaps — more depth outside California would push this into Rager territory — but for Auburn, this list is quietly remarkable.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty pours by the glass is a generous program, and having Hammond curate it means you're not just getting the bottom of the barrel rotated through a speed rail. If even a fraction of the producers on the bottle list are represented by the glass, you can build a genuinely interesting meal around pours alone. We'd love to see a bit more rotation here, but the depth gives you real options.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $65
Jordan consistently retails in the $50-$60 range, and at most restaurants it gets marked up to wince-worthy territory. At Acre, it lands at a price that feels fair — you're getting a polished, food-friendly Sonoma Cab without getting punished for ordering something recognizable.
Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Ranches Chardonnay
Most guests reach for Kistler when they want a serious California Chardonnay, and Kistler deserves the attention. But Sonoma-Cutrer's Russian River Ranches is a genuinely underrated pour — leaner, more precise, less opulent — and it absolutely sings alongside the cast iron chicken or Gulf seafood. It's the move for anyone who wants substance without the sticker price of the headline act.
Duckhorn Merlot
Duckhorn makes fine Merlot and nobody's arguing otherwise — but it's one of the most over-ordered, over-marked-up wines in American restaurants, and its presence here feels like a concession to the crowd rather than a statement of intent. You can do better with the same budget on this list.
Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon + Pork Chop
Monte Bello is a genuinely great wine — complex, structured, built for the table. A well-executed pork chop with the kind of char and richness that farm-to-table Southern kitchens do well gives this bottle the savory counterweight it needs to show its full range. This is the splurge combination worth planning a visit around.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Acre is the kind of place that makes you reconsider your assumptions about wine in the South — Hammond has built a California-forward list that punches well above its zip code. If you're in or near Auburn and serious about what's in your glass, this is the room.
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