Bottles Baby
Winery makes sustainability its focus
By Gabrielle Myers
November 2026
Acheson Wine Company is a cute little tasting room and wine shop on 19th Street near Q. The backstory is all about refillable wine and sustainability.
Loraine Scott and her husband Brian created Acheson in 2013 to fill a gap in the market with an inexpensive cabernet sauvignon. The shop opened six years later. This was bad timing as pandemic closures soon arrived.
By 2021, the couple was ready to try again.
They knew their business. Loraine managed Fred’s, a high-end department store bistro in Barneys New York, for 18 years. She’s a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, a female-focused culinary arts leadership group.
Acheson Wine’s attention to sustainability is a main feature. Customers buy wine in refillable bottles. They return bottles for cleaning and refilling.
Acheson Wine labels are baked into the bottles in Napa, reducing waste. The strategy cuts down on waste from corks, caps and cardboard packaging. The company takes the money it saves and reinvests in wine.
“Since our reopening in 2021, the winery has saved 80,000 bottles from going to the landfill,” Loraine says. “Our winery transitioned to the 100% refillable model to combat waste in the wine industry as nationally only about 30% of wine bottles are recycled.”
Recycling wine bottles is difficult, Lorraine explains. “The brown and green glass needs to be sorted separately from clear glass, a process many recycling companies miss, which often results in contaminated loads being sent to landfills. Glass is also heavy, making transportation to recycling plants costly and sometimes impractical.”
Nearby customers can skip the return trips. Acheson delivers wine in an electric vehicle to places within 5 miles of the shop.
Acheson wines are only available locally, emphasizing the connection between the company and its community.
Grapes primarily come from Lodi, with additions from El Dorado, Amador and sometimes Sonoma counties. Acheson offers cabernet, pinot, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, plus varietals such as albarino and barbera. With 1,500 to 1,800 cases a year, Acheson is considered a microwinery under state regulations.
For several years, Acheson worked with winemaker Steve Birch. These days the wine is created by freelance winemaker Joseph Smiles.
Loraine and Brian have a strong connection to Sacramento. Brian’s family arrived in the area in the 1800s. The name Acheson was Brian’s grandmother’s maiden name.
Loraine works hard to build connections and partnerships. The shop provided wine for City Council Member Lisa Kaplan’s food truck wine garden, Tahoe Park Food Truck Nights, Pops in the Park, Chalk it Up! and Fairytale Town Tales & Ales. Partnerships include the Sacramento SPCA, Front Street Animal Shelter, Native American Health Center and Saint John’s.
Many customers hope the company expands to Elk Grove and Roseville, but Loraine has another priority—a bigger presence at local events.
“These off-site engagements help bring new customers into the Midtown tasting room and spread news of our wine with the greater Sacramento community,” she says.
For information, visit achesonwinecompany.com.
Gabrielle Myers can be reached at gabriellemyers11@gmail.com. Her latest book of poetry, “Go Forth: Lose Yourself Into Life,” is available at finishinglinepress.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
