A visit by Dave Portnoy, the social media personality and founder of Barstool Sports, has left the workers at Acre Pizza in Sebastopol answering a lot of phone calls about its award-winning cheese pizza slice Portnoy reviewed in a June 6 social media post.
Portnoy was in Wine Country because he was “doing the wine thing” and in the Russian River Valley because he’s a Pinot Noir fan, according to the post.
Acre was recommended to him by Paul and Kathryn Sloan, owners of Sebastopol’s Small Vines, which Portnoy visited and called “the hidden secret of the century” and the “best Pinot Noir in the world.”
Portnoy’s One-Bite Pizza Review YouTube channel has 1.46 million subscribers and the Acre Pizza review has over 111,000 views. Portnoy also has more than 5.6 million followers on Instagram and 4.4 million followers on TikTok.
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After his signature single bite, Portnoy called the pizza “a little floppy” and despite having what he described as “9,000 bottles or glasses of red wine,” he called the pizza “pretty good.” He gave the pizza a 7.7/10, taking into account he’s had “eight bottles of wine.”
Acre owner and founder Steve DeCosse said in a Monday interview with The Press Democrat that he’s been following Portnoy for years on social media and called him “the number one pizza reviewer in the world.”
A surprise Portnoy visit
“It was Memorial Day when he showed up, so I was all panicked, sick to my stomach, I had no idea of the quality of the pizza he had,” DeCosse said. “When he did 7.7 I was so relieved. I was so concerned about a low score.”
Portnoy began his review with confusion surrounding the type of pizza that Acre serves (and confusion surrounding the pronunciation of “Sebastopol”), so DeCosse set the record straight. In addition to several Detroit-style offerings, Acre, which also has locations in Cotati and Petaluma, makes a “neo-New York”-style pizza with a signature fermented dough. Their pizza is not Neapolitan.
The Portnoy effect has been tangible, with DeCosse saying the local pizza chain has seen 87,000 views to its Instagram page and that he has reconnected with people he hasn’t spoken to in decades as a result of the review. Also, a lot of people want to know about that cheese pizza Portnoy raved about. “We’ve had a lot of phone calls asking when we open. A lot of people asking, ‘do you have the cheese slice?’” he said.
The pizzeria is a labor of love for DeCosse, who opened the restaurant in February 2020. DeCosse collaborated with consultant Alastair “The Pizza Buddha” Hannmann to source the freshest ingredients for the restaurant.
DeCosse got his start in pizza when he was 14 years old, living in the Ozarks where he worked at a pizza parlor. He became manager of that place at 16, according to a 2020 interview with The Press Democrat.
As for the famed cheese pizza, “We’ve been working on it for years,” he said. The hard work has paid off, with Acre winning first place in 2023 for the Southwest Region at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas.
Pinot and pizza perfect Portnoy pairing
The pizza spot is also a favorite of the Sloans of Small Vines. “We’re organic farmers and try to only eat pizza with really good ingredients,” Kathryn Sloan said.
Sloan, who started Small Vines along with her husband in 2005, said Portnoy’s visit was, “Exciting and surprising. A big win for all of us [in Sonoma County].”
Since Portnoy’s rave review, Sloan said the winery has seen a “major spike” in website traffic and wine sales.
Portnoy mentioned several Sonoma County wineries in his post, including Kistler Vineyards in Forestville, Merry Edwards Winery and Kosta Browne Winery in Sebastopol, and DuMOL Winery in Windsor.
“He [Portnoy] was a really nice human, and he cares about people and small businesses … I think that’s why he did what he did,” said Sloan.
Sebastopol Acre Pizza, 6761 McKinley St Suite 150, Sebastopol, 707-827-3455, acrepizza.com
You can reach intern Rosemary Cromwell at 707-521-5220 or rosemary.cromwell@pressdemocrat.com. On Instagram @rjc.img.